Strickland releases on Hugo Boss and Akron Biomaterials Commercialization Hub
Two releases sent out from of the office of Governor Ted Strickland today are shared below, one focuses on Hugo Boss in Brooklyn back in production after it was announced in 2009 the last Hugo Boss facility in North America was going to close. The second one focuses on the creation of another Ohio hub, this one in Akron for biomaterials:
Governor, Sen. Brown Celebrate ‘First Suit Off the Line’ as Nearly 200 Hugo Boss Workers Return to Work
Brooklyn, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown today joined Hugo Boss workers to celebrate the ‘first suit off the line’ at the Hugo Boss Plant in Brooklyn. Nearly 200 workers are back on the job at the company’s only U.S. suit manufacturing facility after Strickland and Brown fought with workers to reopen the doors when the company had announced plans to shut down.
“I’ve said many times that I believe in Ohio, and one of the reasons I do is that no matter what adversity we face, we never give up,” Strickland said. “And we never back down from the ideal that hard work should pay and that good work should be rewarded. That’s what’s happening right here with Hugo Boss suits rolling out the doors again.”
Hugo Boss announced plans to close the Brooklyn plant in December 2009. Strickland and Brown worked closely with Workers United, Hugo Boss, and Pemira Advisors urging company officials to keep the plant open.
“We’re here today because all of us – management, workers, and public officials – came together to a save a plant and a community,” Brown said. “Today should serve to remind us that manufacturing always was and will continue to be a ticket to the middle class. When we walk down to the end of the production line, we’ll enter a new chapter – for this company, for these workers, and for this community.”
In April 2010, Governor Strickland and Senator Brown stood with Ohio workers and the management of Hugo Boss to announce an agreement to save 375 jobs that were to be shipped overseas, including 300 union jobs, support Cleveland’s economy and maintain the only Hugo Boss facility in North America.
Strickland Announces Akron Biomaterials Commercialization Hub of Innovationand Opportunity
Akron, OH – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today announced the designation of an Ohio Hub of Innovation and Opportunity in Akron to assist Ohio’s biomaterials industry.
The Akron Biomaterials Commercialization Hub will bring together the Austen BioInnovation Institute of Akron, the University of Akron, Summa Health System, Akron General Medical Center, Akron Children’s Hospital, the Akron Global Business Accelerator, Summit County and the City of Akron.
“Hubs are one piece of a larger strategy to strengthen our workforce, our economy, and our state,” Strickland said. “In recent months we’ve seen job growth in Ohio again because in recent years we’ve been investing in Ohio’s advantages. I believe in Ohio because we’ve never given up. I believe in Ohio because of the great strengths of our cities and regions, including this biomaterials hub here in Akron.”
The Akron Biomaterials Commercialization Hub will focus on orthopedics and wound-healing applications, and will be established in the existing Akron Biomedical Corridor. The Hub will assist the city with becoming a globally-recognized leader in the commercialization of innovative biomaterials technologies, products and services. The Hub will also attract and provide assistance to international biomaterials companies as they enter the U.S. market.
A state investment of $250,000, administered by the Ohio Department of Development, will support the Hub.
The plan for the Biomaterials Commercialization Hub is to help the Akron region unify its healthcare assets into a single planning district that will guide the city’s future development, expanding on Mayor Don Plusquellic’s 2006 strategy that created the Akron Biomedical Corridor.
“This further capitalizes on Akron’s world-class biomaterials expertise,” said Mayor Don Plusquellic. “Since we announced the Akron Biomedical Corridor in 2006, there has been a steady progression linking our global reputation in polymers and materials science to our nationally-recognized leadership in medical research.”
“Governor Strickland’s designation of Akron as a Hub of Innovation and Opportunity for biomaterials, orthopedic and wound care is an important step in solidifying this industry and creating future job growth for our County and region,” said Summit County Executive Russell M. Pry.
Ohio’s Hubs of Innovation and Opportunity are supported by the Ohio Department of Development and work to leverage a region’s resources and investments to attract clusters of connected businesses, encourage new investments and an influx of talented workers, and help to create new opportunities to grow jobs and develop Ohio’s key industries.
“With the existence of three nationally recognized hospitals in the area, Akron is a perfect location for the newest Ohio Hub,” said Lisa Patt-McDaniel, Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “The research and top talent in the biomaterials industry will continue to be an asset to the state and attract future opportunities for the people of this region.”
Strickland Announces Support for Austen BioInnovation Institute as a Hub Anchor
Governor Strickland also announced the State’s commitment to provide a research and development loan in the amount of $2.5 million to the Austen BioInnovation Institute of Akron’s future headquarters at the site of today’s press conference, directly as a result of the location of the facility in the Hub of Innovation and Opportunity. The ABIA center will be a state-of-the-art healthcare training facility that will offer novel team-based, patient-centered simulation programs.
“The new facility represents a significant investment by ABIA, the County and the City and reaffirms our founding partners’ commitment to making Akron a global center of biomedical innovation, discovery and entrepreneurship through high-profile, cutting-edge programs,” said Dr. Frank Douglas, ABIA president and CEO. “We are creating more than just office space; we are building a 21st century hub allowing us to recruit great talent, and to provide an environment that will push discovery and commercialization forward.”
Ohio Hubs
Today’s announcement is the fifth Ohio Hub designation, following the Consumer Marketing Hub of Innovation announcement in Cincinnati on July 9, the Northwest Ohio Solar Energy Innovation Hub announcement in Toledo in June, the Cleveland Health and Technology Corridor Hub announcement in June and the Ohio Aerospace Hub announcement in Dayton last September. The Ohio Hubs program develops a unique, concentrated environment that spurs innovation, company growth, employment, capital investment, product sales and community development in designated areas.
To be designated an Ohio Hub, a region must identify core strengths and develop a strategic plan for urban revitalization. The designation consists of a commitment from both the state and the region to work collaboratively and target economic development efforts toward building upon those identified strengths.
