Utilities balk at Husted's benchmark proposal; House speaker wants to force manufacturers to make steady progress annually from 2009-25, by Laura A. Bischoff, Dayton Daily News, February 22, 2008
Columbus—Environmentalists applauded and manufacturers howled as House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, announced a plan to force electric utilities to make steady progress toward using more and more renewable energy.

Candidates pledging to help ailing autoworkers in Ohio, by John Seewer, AP via Ohio News Network, February 22, 2008
Toledo—At nearly every campaign stop around Ohio, manufacturing is on the minds of all. Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are promising to alter foreign trade agreements and end tax breaks for companies that close factories and send the jobs overseas.

Ohio apparently lost steel mill because of electricity issue, by Peter Krouse, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 21, 2008
Columbus—Steel Development LLC, which is composed of steel executives from Europe and the United States, had been looking at Ohio, among other states, to build a scrap-based steel mill that uses electric arc furnace technology. But the group wasn't able to get a handle on its electricity costs in Ohio because the state has yet to decide how rates will be regulated in the future,

Indian automaker, Ohio in talks; Company wants to assemble pickup trucks here using pre-fab kits, by Paul Wilson, Columbus Dispatch, February 20, 2008
Columbus—Officials with the Ohio Department of Development said yesterday that they are having discussions with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. about a proposed plan to build tens of thousands of light trucks annually in the state starting next year.

Obama kicks off campaign for Ohio at RMI Titanium, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, February 19, 2008
Weathersfield Township, Ohio—Senator Barack Obama kicked off his Ohio campaign at RMI Titanium Co. yesterday. A campaign official said they chose the Mahoning Valley as its first stop because of the loss of manufacturing jobs in the region. However, the president of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers held a simultaneous telephone press conference in which he criticized Obama for what he said was a lack of action to help save machinists’ jobs in Illinois.

Chrysler begins overhaul in engineering, by Josée Valcourt, Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2008 (Subscription)
Detroit—Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli plans to expand operations at engineering centers in China and Mexico and open engineering offices in India and Eastern Europe. Nardelli is betting the overseas centers will help Chrysler cut engineering costs and help the company source parts and sell vehicles in developing markets. Two other recent Nardelli engineering initiatives: "Project D" aimed at developing a new generation of midsize sedans, and "ENVI" a new engineering group that will focus on hybrids and electric vehicles.

In the Rust Belt, hope: 12% export growth In the Midwest, a slumping U.S. dollar is leading to a manufacturing renaissance, by Barrie McKenna, Toronto Globe and Mail, February 15, 2008
Solon, Ohio—Kennametal Inc. could be a perfect barometer of U.S. manufacturing. Even as the U.S. economy gears down, the company's international business is picking up the slack, buoyed by the sharp fall in the U.S. dollar.

Toy Fair Notebook: Industry moves closer to new safety rules, Dow Jones Newswires via Money.CNN.com, February 18, 2008
San Francisco—The Toy Industry Association, in conjunction with American National Standards Institute, plans to release on Friday new proposed standards to regulate toy makers. Nancy Nord, acting chairwoman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission, said the CPSC is setting up a new division to inspect imported toys. She added that Senate lawmakers may debate toy legislation as soon as the first week of March.

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Toymakers take lashing over safety, by Anne D'Innocenzio, AP via Denver Post, February 19, 2008
New York—The acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission lashed out Monday at the toy industry for a lack of safety controls that led to a string of highly publicized recalls. The Toy Industry Association released details of a certification program that mandates uniform testing, auditing of factories and risk-assessment analysis of each product.

Steelmakers agree to iron-ore prices, by Elisabeth Behrmann and Alex Wilson, Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2008 (Subscription)
Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul and Rio de Janeiro—Three Asian steelmakers agreed with a Brazil-based leading provider of iron ore on a 65% price increase for iron-ore shipments. Other global steelmakers, including leading Chinese companies, appear close to accepting a similar increase in iron ore prices for fiscal 2008-09. Analysts said the price rise will add around $50 to the cost of producing a ton of steel

Business still sparks: Imperial Electric in Akron evolves over past century, by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, February 18, 2008|
Imperial Electric's 100th anniversary officially was Jan. 27. The privately owned company got its start in 1908 as an electric motor manufacturer. Electric motors — ranging from two pounds to three tons — are still the company's bread and butter. Exports go to China, Europe, Australia, South America, Mexico and Canada. Executives say sales have nearly quadrupled since 1998.

Old building blues: Why Bridgestone Firestone is looking for a new home for its Technical Center, by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, February 18, 2008
Akron—In a process that started two years ago, Bob Handlos, vice president, materials and race-tire technology, is leading a team that will recommend whether the company should renovate the existing building or move the Technical Center to a new site near the company's North American headquarters in Nashville.

Editorial: A STEM school will take root in Cleveland, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 18, 2008
The PD's editorial board applauds Cleveland schools CEO Eugene Sanders' plan for a science, technology, engineering and math school (STEM) based at the General Electric Co. Nela Park campus in East Cleveland.

Little Tikes and Step2 offer sneak peek of new products, by Betty Lin-Fisher, Akron Beacon Journal, February 17, 2008
Hudson, Ohio and Streetsboro, Ohio—Officials at Hudson's Little Tikes and Streetsboro's Step2 offered a sneak peek at their hottest new toys for the spring and summer season and discuss the impact of the China toy recalls on the North American toy manufacturing business.

U.S. undergoing railroad renaissance, by Daniel Machalaba, Wall Street Journal via the Canton Repository, February 17, 2008
For decades, railroads spent little on expansion, even tore up surplus track and shrank routes. But since 2000, they've spent $10 billion to expand tracks, build freight yards and buy locomotives, and they have $12 billion more in upgrades planned.

Editorial: Speaker's energy reform rewrite bill is a high-wire act, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 17, 2008
According to the PD editorial board, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted is rolling the political dice by deciding to rewrite a portion of the proposed energy bill.

Hearing is Tuesday on Cleveland Port move to East 55th site, by Tom Breckenridge, Cleveland Plain Dealer, February 17, 2008
Cleveland—On Tuesday, the Cleveland- Cuyahoga County Port Authority will explain why it has proposed building a man-made peninsula, north of East 55th Street, as its new headquarters.