Company expansion, job creation and economic growth flourished this week in NEO.  The Plus region was named to the Intelligent Community Forum’s 2011 Smart 21 list this week for promoting the growth of companies in health related fields.  Furthermore Cleveland State University received two grants totaling $3 million this week to aid in medical research.  The funds will be used to research new anti-inflammatory and anticoagulant medications. 

Other developments in Northeast Ohio this week:
•    Kent State University announced this week that a new course in industrial and technology innovation, and will help NEO reclaim its leadership role in manufacturing while promoting economic growth

•    Three Northeast Ohio businesses received Ohio tax credits in order to create and retain jobs.  US Steel Lorain, BASF Corp. and Norwalk are each receiving tax credits that will lead to 290 jobs and the preservation of hundreds more. 
•    Clovervale Farms received a tax credit worth an estimated $1.3 million that will allow the company to offer 452 more jobs, and increase wages. 

With all of the exciting economic growth happening in The Plus region, it is no wonder that local business leaders are excited to promote NEO.  Local leaders are supporting The Plus by advocating for NEO and helping to attract new businesses to the region.  Want to know more?  Watch the NEO ambassadors explain what their businesses are doing to better The Plus region.

Local businesses and leaders alike are excited about what Northeast Ohio (NEO) has to offer, and they want you to be a part of the excitement!   By advocating for NEO, participating in attracting businesses and supporting the Cleveland Plus region, local CEOs, chairmen, and program managers are promoting the Plus. Find out how businesses like Squires Sanders, GE Lighting, Westfield Insurance, CLE Hopkins and The Timken Corp. are acting as ambassadors for the Plus.

Biomedical imaging is a field on the rise, and the Northeast Ohio (NEO) region has a lot to offer.  Thanks to Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Image Research, The Plus region can offer potential businesses and employees an academic research program, tools to take the research to the marketplace and a capable group of graduates.

From 2004 to 2008, employment in biomedical imaging rose by 86% in Ohio, with NEO claiming over two-thirds of the imaging companies. Quality Electrodynamics (QED), a startup launched by CWRU alumnus Hiroyuki Fujita, has it roots in The Plus region.  After moving from a small office on the CWRU campus to a 27,000-square-foot facility in NEO, QED grew to 50 employees in 2009, half of which are former CWRU students, and was named one of Forbes’ Most Promising Companies.   Not only do companies like QED offer former NEO students countless job opportunities, but are attracting talented graduates from Harvard and Yale.

Radiotherapy manufacturer ViewRay followed QED’s lead, and also decided to call Northeast Ohio home.  The organization, which received $5 million in funding in 2009, hopes to take advantage of local funding, gifted NEO graduates and the CWRU Center for Image Research.

QED and ViewRay, along with The Plus region’s numerous, other imaging companies, put  NEO at the forefront of the developing biomedical imaging field, while proving even more that Northeast Ohio is the medical capital of the world.

This week we highlighted that the Akron based company Summa Health System continues to flourish in the Northeast Ohio (NEO) region, supporting over 14,000 jobs and generating $99 million for the state government.  The organization’s effect on Ohio’s government is predicted to increase by $2.6 billion by 2014.  We also learned this week that the Greenfield Solar Corp., another local business powerhouse, decided to make The Plus region its permanent headquarters.  The advanced energy startup will create more than 200 jobs in NEO by 2012, and already has a project with Cleveland Public Power at Rockefeller Greenhouse in the works.

Entrepreneurs on the rise should follow Greenfield Solar Corp.’s lead and call The Plus region home.  Ohio offers some of the lowest tax rates, thereby allowing Ohio based entrepreneurs to put money back into their businesses and support the local communities.

Looking for a Startup Weekend to attend? You don’t have to look too far with the help of NEO based entrepreneur Doug Craver.  Doug is working to organize a Cleveland Startup Weekend.  The event, which encourages economic growth in NEO, allows entrepreneurs to pitch business ideas, and the winner receives a financial reward towards the business venture.

Also highlighted was Northeastern Ohio’s wealth of medical resources as an economy booster.  The Plus region boasts 60 hospitals and 30 college and university programs in health related fields, which in turn create a lot of local jobs.  Plus,  Stark State College of Technology was awarded $2.1 million for a new Wind Energy Research and Development Center.  Not only will the center test new, environmentally friendly technology, but will create 57 part-time jobs and eight full time jobs in The Plus region.

Do you have the “greenest” office in Cleveland?  Enter the green office challenge and find out!

GreenField Solar Corporation, an advanced energy startup in Northeast Ohio, had a big idea that was about to change the solar energy industry. The startup, which produces cost efficient solar panels using patented PhotoVolt technology, already had offices in Northeast Ohio.  After receiving a capital investment, Greenfield began to search for permanent headquarters outside of Ohio.  Greenfield was considering Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas, but ultimately chose to remain in Northeast Ohio.

Specifically, Greenfield chose Oberlin, Ohio for its central location, and opened more offices in North Ridgeville, Ohio.  The company’s Oberlin location includes business offices and a laboratory for idea development.  While the North Ridgeville location is used for heavy lifting and construction of units.

Headed by Berea native Neil Sater, Greenfield already has some big plans for the Cleveland Plus region including creating 200 more jobs in Ohio by 2012! Greenfield is also in the early stages of a project with Cleveland Public Power at the Rockefeller Greenhouse that will produce solar and thermal electricity to heat the greenhouse.

The presence of Greenfield Corp. in Northeast Ohio is one of many reasons why Cleveland Plus is an advanced energy region on the rise!

Case Western Reserve University is one step closer to building a new student center thanks to a $10.5 million donation from the co-founder of Lubrizol Corp. In addition the search for the top Northeast Ohio (NEO) young entrepreneurs is moving forward as well, with Lifeserve Innovations Smart Airways being the focus this week.

Efforts to make the workplace in The Plus region more environmentally friendly advanced over the past week as Cleveland State University paired with Clean Edison to offer a green job training program.  Also,  the Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center (MMCC) received 37 letters of intent from companies wanting permanent MMCC showrooms, and 16 letters of intent for conferences, conventions and tradeshows, further displaying the NEO region’s commitment to medical excellence.

Case Western Reserve University announced this week that it is expanding its faculty as well.  The new faculty will include human health, energy and advanced materials specialists.  The Snavely Development Company and Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company are joining forces to build a hotel in Cleveland’s University Circle.  The hotel will be located across from University Hospital’s new cancer center, and will bring even more jobs to Northeast Ohio.

The Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center (MMCC) is moving forward with 37 letters of intent from companies for permanent Medical Mart showrooms. These letters of intent will help to strengthen the Cleveland MMCC’s focus as an innovative marketing forum as well as the medical device industry globally.

Companies that will currently make up the MMCC’s 80,000 square feet showroom will range from:
•    Medical device manufactures
•    Medical furnishings and electronics
•    Healthcare publishing, media and educational institutions’
•    Surgical and sterilization equipment
•    Orthopedics products
•    Imaging equipment
•    Healthcare IT

In addition to this, Cleveland MMCC also has 16 signed letters of intent for conferences, conventions, and trade shows, fitting Northeast Ohio’s unique niche of attracting medical conferences and conventions to the nation’s medical capital.

The Cleveland MMCC project is scheduled to break ground this fall with a completion date in 2013. Learn more about the Cleveland MMCC and what it can bring The Plus region.

To help you get to know the two Northeast Ohio finalists in Businessweek.com’s America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs, CitizenGroove and LifeServe Innovations, we are spotlighting each one. Last week we featured CitizenGroove’s innovative program that helps to streamline music auditions for schools across the country. Today we will be moving the focus over to LifeServe Innovations and its medical device advancement.

LifeServe Innovations Spotlight
LifeServe Innovations’ Smart Airways medical devices were created to open patients’ airways in emergency situations, such as combat zones where personal might have minimal training and need to respond quickly. This unique device was created by Zach Bloom and Rick Arlow, students at Lehigh University and Case Western Reserve University. According to the entrepreneurs, their inspiration came from Rick Arlow’s experience as a paramedic and his vast understanding of emergency medicine.

LifeServe Innovations has three medical device products. One of the devices, the Viper Cric: SMART Emergency Cricothyrotomy, is based on the design of a viper’s fangs. This allows emergency providers to open patients’ airways through a minimally invasive procedure within 60 seconds or less, compared to 10 to 15 minutes for a comparably effective surgical procedure.

To help get the ball rolling, LifeServe Innovations owners raised $100,000 in grants and prizes. Currently the product is in pre-clinical testing at Lehigh University and Case Western Reserve University.

Vote for Your Favorite Young Entrepreneur
Want to vote for LifeServe Innovations or CitizenGroove? You can do so via Businessweek’s, Vote for Your Favorite Young Entrepreneur page. Remember voting ends Thursday, October 21st.

We started out the week highlighting two Northeast Ohio (NEO) young entrepreneurs that have been selected as finalist in the Businessweek.com’s 25 most promising young entrepreneurs. The spotlight was also shining brightly on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as we took a look back its’ birth and development in The Plus region.

The medical industry also soared this week with the news of RSB Spine, LLC receiving $1.5 million investment to help increase production of the spinal impact products.  In addition to this, University Hospital’s received a generous donation of $1.2 billion towards its Vision 2010 renovation and construction project.
The Cleveland Clinic is also helping to grow the biomedical industry with its Cleveland Clinic Innovations, which nurtures inventions from several thousand scientists and doctors at the Clinic. The process of licensing medical innovations generates about $8 million for the Clinic while the new products profoundly affect patients’ lives.

We also covered this week:
•    The economic development of the West Side Market
•    Nordson Corp. of Westlake plans to acquire Micromedics Inc.
•    Inc. white paper on Ohio’s Tax Reform regarding businesses and entrepreneurs

On a final note we would like to congratulate Rich and Tricia Kaman of Kaman’s Art Shoppes for being named Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year in the retail category in the Northeast Ohio region.

On Monday we highlighted the two Northeast Ohio finalists in Businessweek.com’s America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs, CitizenGroove and LifeServe Innovations. To help you get to know each finalist better we are going to spotlight each one individually. We are going to kick off this two part series with CitizenGroove.

CitizenGroove Spotlight
Each year music schools and colleges receive thousands of recorded applications from students that have to be manually labeled and sent to reviewers – a process that can be long and time consuming for schools. Inspired by this, four Case Western University students came together to design a tool that would help streamline the process for schools, students and reviewers – and that is how CitizenGroove was born.

CitizenGroove allows candidates to upload and label their own auditions for administrators to access and review – eliminating the need for equipment, physical storage and personnel. To participate in the program schools pay a fee. The fee can range from a couple thousand to over $10,000 per year depending on the schools application size.

Since its launch CitizenGroove has seven clients including Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Vote for Your Favorite Young Entrepreneur
Want to vote for CitizenGroove or LifeServe Innovations? You can do so via Businessweek’s, Vote for Your Favorite Young Entrepreneur page. Remember voting ends Thursday, October 21st.

Make sure to check back Monday when for our spotlight on LifeServe Innovations.