Market Scan: Timken toughs it out, by Ruthie Ackerman, Forbes.com, January 31, 2008
North Canton—Even though Timken has been hurt by the demise of Detroit’s Big Three automakers industrial demand remained strong. James W. Griffith, Timken’s chief executive officer, said the company’s financial results for 2007 show the strength of the industrial markets.

Grant Thornton report: Ohio manufacturers lag in efficiency, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 1, 2008
Cleveland—Manufacturers in the Great Lakes region lag behind the rest of the country in replacing old equipment with more efficient, new equipment according to a survey of more than 400 manufacturers analyzed by Grant Thornton LLP.Two more reports (dealing with operations and human resources) based on the data are due out in the coming weeks.

Plastech files for bankruptcy protection, by Jeffrey McCracken and Terry Kosdrosky, Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2008
Detroit—Like other auto suppliers who have filed for Chapter 11, Plastech was caught between rising costs for raw materials (including resins made from oil) and falling demand for its products (as automakers reduce production).

Related story: Car-industry woes push key supplier to financial brink, by Jeffrey McCracken, Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2008
Detroit—A bankruptcy filing by Plastech, which manufactures door panels, floor consoles and engine covers for the Big 3 U.S. automakers, could disrupt the production of many key vehicles.

Ohio steelmakers lift investments, Warren Tribune-Chronicle, January 30, 2008
Youngstown—The Ohio Steel Council reported that Ohio steelmakers boosted long-term investments in equipment and technology by 65.3% in Q3 2007, compared to Q3 2006. Investments totaled $74.5 million. For the first three quarters of 2007, investment grew 4% and employment in the sector increased 3.8%.

Editorial: Portrait of a region in transition; Northeast Ohio does create higher-paying jobs, Akron Beacon Journal, January 29, 2008
Akron—An economic transition as profound as the one facing Northeast Ohio won't happen overnight. Will the region, and the state, do what is necessary so that in 2022, the gains in employment will be more impressive?

Editorial: Building NE Ohio's economic future through venture capital, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 29, 2008
The rise in venture capital investment for Northeast Ohio health care entrepreneurs and start-up companies provide the strongest proof that bioscience is key to Cleveland's economic future. Investment [in the proposed Medical Mart] is vital for building on our existing assets and accelerating health care employment, innovation and impact.

China snow crisis shows vulnerability, by Elaine Kurtenbach and William Foremant, Associated Press, January 30, 2008
Shanghai, China—Snow and ice storms in east, central and southern China—at no more than a foot of snow overall in some places—have overloaded businesses, the electricity grid and other systems.

Related stories:

Global automakers' output hit by China snow storms, Agence France Presse, January 29, 2008

Heavy snow in China halts car production, Reuters, January 29, 2008

Dana Corp. faces new challenges after exiting bankruptcy, by John Sewer, Associated Press via Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 30, 2008
Toledo—Dana Corp. is set to emerge from bankruptcy this week, and Troy, Mich.-based Delphi Corp. plans to exit bankruptcy in March. Despite both companies' plans to cut costs and shift manufacturing over seas, industry analysts say parts suppliers will continue to be squeezed by car companies looking to cut costs.

Greater Cleveland Partnership gets $1.3 million for projects, by Stan Bullard, Crain's Cleveland Business, January 28, 2008
Cleveland—Topps Markets LLC and Premier Farnell Corp. have donated a total of $1.3 million to the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Economic Development Foundation. The partnership will use the money for continued catalytic economic development projects in Cleveland.

Plans revealed for former Hoover plant, by G. Patrick Kelly, Edd Pritchard, Canton Repository, January 29, 2008
North Canton—Robert DeHoff, a principal with the new owner, Maple Street Commerce, told a press conference that, while the facility no longer works for the manufacture of a single product, it will work well for medium- to small-businesses providing services or performing light manufacturing.

Related story: Former Hoover campus may get hotel, shops and light manufacturing, by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, January 28, 2008

Summmit County Port Authority gets state grant for Goodyear HQ development infrastructure, Ohio Department of Development, January 28, 2008
Columbus, Ohio—The Summit County Port Authority will receive a $2 million Roadwork Development Grant for costs associated with public roadwork to support The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company's new headquarters project in Akron.

Maker of cycle trailers set to grow; by Tim Yovich, Youngstown Vindicator, January 24, 2008
Warren—Loran and Pam Circle moved from Buffalo, N.Y. to Warren to start their small business manufacturing motorcycle trailers because of the easy proximity to vendors. Now, RallyTime Trailers turns out three trailers a day (soon to go to five trailers a day) at a 10,000-square-foot, once-empty building at Warren Commerce Park.

Viktor Schreckengost | 1906-2008, by Steven Litt, Plain Dealer art critic, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 27, 2008
Cleveland—Viktor Schreckengost, a Cleveland artist, teacher and industrial designer who transformed America through his own work and that of the generations of students he taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art, died Saturday night at age 101. The feature-length PD remembrance includes video and multimedia honoring the Cleveland icon.

Banking evolves with Diebold, by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, January 27, 2008
Green, Ohio—Diebold Inc. is betting that the future of retail banking lies in hand-held, Internet-enabled devices like the iPhone. This leading manufacturer of automated teller machines uses its Exploration Center at the company's headquarters to showcase its vision, which includes transforming itself from a high-profile hardware manufacturer into a company that also provides financial industry services and software.

Heavily into specialty metals; Army-backed tech center could be boon for Wayne County companies, by Paula Schleiss, Akron Beacon Journal, January 26, 2008
Jackson Township, Ohio—Specialty metal fabricators are hoping a new Defense Metals Technology Center (DMTC) that opened in Stark County last summer will expand the market. The DMTC will seek collaborations in Ohio and neighboring states to find innovative, cost-saving techniques for producing strategic metals for the military.