posted Mar 12, 2013, 8:31 AM by Tim Hindes
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updated Mar 12, 2013, 8:32 AM
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TECHBELT REGION - PITTSBURGH, PA (March 12, 2013) The TechBelt
Initiative, a network of technology and innovation stakeholders collaborating
to accelerate economic growth within the Northeast Ohio, Western Pennsylvania,
and Northern West Virginia region, has
recieved $5,000 from the Raymond John Wean Foundation, $25,000 in grant funding
from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, as well as $100,000 in funding
from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. This support will enable the TechBelt
to organize collaborative economic development activities and to identify new
opportunities to attract investment to maintain the momentum of growth in the
TechBelt region.
The TechBelt initiative members represent economic development
organizations, foundations, researchers, and chambers of commerce within the
tri-state area. Since its formation in
2008, the TechBelt has built upon its first focus on Life Sciences to include
additional sectors like energy and
advanced manufacturing .TechBelt has been working to forge new industry and
university partnerships, responding to competitive grant opportunities and
connecting cross-state resources to attract new investment. These TechBelt
efforts have provided a total return on investment of $195:$1!
The goal of the TechBelt Initiative to establish the TechBelt region as a
global center for public and private investment, research, and manufacturing.
The Initiative is currently making an impact in the region by bringing more
than $74 million in funding and research to the area. Of particular note is the
National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII), which brought $30
million in federal investment, as well as $39 million in additional matching
dollars to the area. NAMII provides a
method for TechBelt to reinvigorate manufacturing in the region, by creating
the resources to support a relationship with the NAMII through grant funding
like this.
“In 2013 we plan to use this foundation funding to leverage the momentum
being generated by NAMII, “ stated Eric Planey, Vice-President, International
Business Attraction for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, and Co-Chair of
the TechBelt Initiative. ‘”We have
identified advanced manufacturing as a sector that will have a lasting, positive
economic development impact on the region.”
The energy sector is another focus for the TechBelt, where the Initiative
is organizing a supply chain for Small Modular Reactors and other aspects of baseload
energy by working with private sector companies in the region to capture the
need and meet the 100 percent domestic content production required by
regulation for theses systems. In addition, 2013 will focus on combining the
respective strengths on Southwestern Pennsylvania and Northeastern Ohio in biomaterials
and medical devices, by bringing together a group of professionals and
researchers to determine the focus of efforts in this area.
About the TechBelt
Initiative
The TechBelt Initiative began as a regional conversation about developing a
strategy to reinvigorate the Cleveland-to-Pittsburgh-to-Morgantown corridor and
surrounding region. The continued transition to a technology and
knowledge-based economy combined with our industrial and academic assets,
dictates that the region is poised for renewed growth. To achieve success we
must identify opportunities to collaborate in the creation of new products,
technologies, companies and wealth. The
conversation has resulted in the formation of a collaborative effort known as
the TechBelt Initiative. www.techbelt.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jerry Paytas
TechBelt Initiative
techbelt@fourtheconomy.com
412-325-2457
www.techbelt.org
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posted Aug 16, 2012, 7:56 AM by Tim Hindes
posted Mar 16, 2012, 10:43 AM by Jerry Paytas
Eaton Corporation has received a $1.84 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) for the development and demonstration of more efficient commercial electric vehicle (EV) chargers. The project will promote smart charging technology that better manages the efficiency, availability and reliability of power, especially during peak times and at popular charging locations.
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posted Mar 16, 2012, 10:27 AM by Jerry Paytas
Brookings recently released a report on metropolitan exports which documented that for 2009-2010 the Youngstown metro had the highest growth of exports of all metros in the U.S. Crain's Cleveland Business Morning Roundup provided a good summary of the findings. |
posted Mar 16, 2012, 10:17 AM by Jerry Paytas
posted Mar 5, 2012, 9:14 AM by Jerry Paytas
It may be a slow process but people in Pittsburgh and Cleveland are beginning to get a new respect for each other. TechBelt has helped in this transition from rival to shall we say, frienemy? You can read about the new perspective of Cleveland native Isa Hopkins in Imagine Pittsburgh. |
posted Mar 5, 2012, 8:55 AM by Jerry Paytas
The City of New Castle was ranked among the top 80 micropolitans in the U.S. by Site Selection Magazine, a leading corporate real estate and economic development magazine. "New Castle is an ideal location to build a business, as it is conveniently located in the middle of the Pittsburgh-Cleveland Tech Belt, offers great energy infrastructure, highway access, affordable cost of living and a work force with a great work ethic, " according to Lawrence County Economic Development Corporation President, Sam Mastovich.
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posted Feb 28, 2012, 11:41 AM by Jerry Paytas
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updated Mar 1, 2012, 7:21 AM
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We've been seeing a lot of stories about Youngstown's rebound, but we're also seeing it in the job postings. Here are three jobs that are starting ASAP: |
posted Sep 2, 2011, 6:53 AM by Tim Hindes
TechBelt - Youngstown, OH – August 25, 2011 – Imagine a world where
businesses have access to the capital they need to drive innovation and
collaboration. Additionally, an educated workforce stands ready to have
companies compete for their employment, instead of the workforce competing amongst
each other for jobs. And, what if this world aggressively encouraged university
start-ups and on-shore manufacturing through tax credits and other rebates?
This is the world the Department of Commerce’s Innovation Advisory Board
is trying to create, with the help of regional business executives, nonprofits
and economic development organizations from across the country. This Innovation Advisory Board is a 15-member
committee who advises the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the
National Economic Council and other federal agencies, on the development of a
study focusing on America’s innovative capacity and global economic
competitiveness. The Innovation Advisory
Board was established by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010,
signed by President Obama in January of this year. Board members offer advice
and solicit feedback from stakeholders across the country, serving until the
completion of the study – required before January 4, 2012.
On August 25, 2011 at Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of
Business, regional thought leaders from across the TechBelt convened to share
their ideas and concerns surrounding global competitiveness, workforce
development and innovation ecosystems. A roundtable of nearly 50 executives had
their voices heard in an active discussion, which featured the Acting
Department of Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, as well as the Department’s
Chief Economist and Strategic Planning officials.
Two Innovation Advisory Board members, Rebecca O. Bagley, President and
CEO of Cleveland’s NorTech, and James Clements, President of West Virginia
University, hosted the event and focused the discussions around goals set by
the TechBelt Initiative. “The discussion represented a cross section of many
industries, all who are trying to survive and thrive during tough economic
times,” Bagley said. “With the information and feedback we received, the
Innovation Advisory Board will be able to formulate recommendations to promote
positive change for global competitiveness.”
The roundtable discussion focused on ways the Department of Commerce and
federal government can help or assist businesses in achieving success
throughout the TechBelt. Common themes included expedited access to capital,
increased investment, revised tax codes and balancing the portfolio of federal
funding. “As we enter the second decade of this new century we have a unique
opportunity to establish the legacy of the 21st Century as one in
which America again prospered in spite of unprecedented challenges,” added Jack
Scott, President of Youngstown-based Applied Systems and Technology Transfer
(AST2). “We cannot afford to delay action in support of embracing
funding and programs that will provide technology solutions to the imminent
need to reestablish the US as the global economic power.”
Participants were asked to prepare written statements surrounding the
themes of the roundtable, which will be assembled into an eBook, to be
distributed to the event’s attendees, the Department of Commerce, the
Innovation Advisory Board and posted to the TechBelt’s website.
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posted Mar 28, 2011, 10:26 AM by Tim Hindes
From Business Journal Daily U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17 Ohio, is joining with the president of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, Tom Humphries, and other business and community leaders to urge Gov, John Kasich to support the TechBelt Initiative, an emerging public-private partnership that seeks to pursue the planning and development of rail freight and high-speed rail connecting the Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown-Pittsburgh region.
In a letter sent to Kasich, Ryan and a long list of co-signers argued that the region would well-suited for a more developed rail network because of its population density, the large number of students attending colleges and universities, the presence of numerous local transit systems, four commercial airports, and the large number of active and underutilized legacy rail corridors.
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