Ohio can give Michigan the business, by Paula Schleiss, Akron Beacon Journal, November 14, 2007
The Ohio Business Development Coalition used the occasion of the upcoming OSU/U. of Michigan game on Saturday, Nov. 17, to do some eye-catching advertising in the Wall Street Journal on Nov. 14 and 15. The full-page ad shows OSU president E. Gordon Gee standing in Ohio Stadium, touting the benefits of living and working in Ohio. See the full-size ad.

Online Album: Hoover equipment auctioned, the Canton Repository, November 14, 2007.
North Canton—Before an auctioneer began selling off the Hoover Company equipment on Tuesday, the Repository took its readers inside for one more look around.

See also, Online Album: Saving Hoover's history, a collection of archival images being preserved by the North Canton Heritage Society and Walsh University. Images: Canton Repository.

Manufacturing report: 70% of plants increased pricing, Reliable Plants, November 15, 2007
The 2008 Grant Thornton LLP Great Lakes Manufacturing Report (PDF, 790k) shows that rising overseas sales have not eclipsed production cost increases. Seven in 10 manufacturers in the Great Lakes region report increasing their prices in the past year, with the vast majority of those (87 percent) increasing prices from 1 to 10 percent over last year.

RTI in Niles gets $900 million Boeing 787 Dreamliner job, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 13, 2007
Niles, Ohio—RTI International Metals signed a 10-year, $900-million agreement to supply structural titanium components for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. An RTI spokeswoman says the company now has more than $4 billion in long-term contracts.

UA, Cleveland State joining forces to get ideas into marketplace, by Paula Schleis, Akron Beacon Journal, November 13, 2007
Cleveland and Akron—Cleveland State University and the University of Akron announced a new collaboration agreement aimed at facilitating the commercialization of technology developed in university laboratories.

Arcelor Mittal foots bill for demolition, by Jay Miller, Crains' Cleveland Business, November 12, 2007
Cleveland—Arcelor Mittal USA picked up the cost of demolishing an abandoned Slavic Village home. Marie Kittredge, executive director of the Slavic Village Development Corp., said the community was grateful to the steelmaker because the commercial/residential structure was laced with asbestos, driving the demolition cost up to $75,000.

STEM $ go to root of U.S. competitiveness, by Sheila Riley, EE Times.com, November 12, 2007
Sarah Rovito, a recent CWRU graduate in systems and control engineering, describes how a great high school calculus teacher and a summer internship at NASA in her junior year were both instrumental in helping her choose engineering as a career. Rovito was interviewed in support of the America Competes Act, which Congress passed in August. The bill will direct around $43 billion in federal funds to support science, technology, engineering and math education (STEM). The Bush administration has stated it intends to cut funding for some of the bill's projects in its 2009 budget.

Related stories:

America Competes spreads funds out, EE Times.com, November 12, 2007

Competitiveness debate shifts to U.S. tech priorities, EE Times.com, November 12, 2007

Upcoming Events:

Leadership Breakfast Series, Friday, November 30, 7:00 am to 9:00 am, Corporate College East, speaker: John M. Stropki, The Lincoln Electric Co., sponsored by Cleveland Engineering Society. Call (216) 361-3100 or visit www.cesnet.org.

Biomimicry Design Workshop, January 7-9, 2008, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, sponsored by Engineers for Sustainability. Early-bird registration discount deadline: Nov. 16. Call (216) 451-7755 or visit www.e4s.org.

MAGNET awards go to MTD International, McNeil Industries, Astro Manufacturing, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 9, 2007
Cleveland—Thirteen area manufacturers competed in the first MAGNET Competitiveness Challenge Awards.

Related story: MAGNET's Manufacturing Magic awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 15 is the Plain Dealer's Event of the Week!

Gov. Strickland's utility plan fizzles out; Legislature dilutes energy rates proposal, by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 12, 2007
Cleveland—PD reporter John Funk says an analysis of the changes made by the Ohio Senate committee reveals that, while manufacturers and other big industrial users would keep their deep discounts indefinitely, consumer rates will be calculated in a way that will keep them on the rise. The Senate changes also essentially gutted the Governor's renewable energy proposals.

U.S. steel makers draw fire, by Robert Guy Matthews, Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2007 (subscription)
Washington—The American Institute for International Steel, a group representing international steel exporters, importers and consumers, published a study it says shows U.S. steel makers benefit unfairly from $17 billion in various subsidies granted over the past seven years. A spokeswoman for the American Iron and Steel Institute, an advocacy group for domestic steel makers, say the biggest steel-producing countries would resume dumping if the duties are listed.

BHP Billiton bid for rival driven by mining boom, by Jason Singer and Robert Guy Matthews, November 9, 2007 (subscription)
Melbourne, Australia and London—BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, bid $142 billion for London-based Rio Tinto, which rebuffed the offer. BHP signaled it would continue to pursue a deal. A merger could allow a combined BHP-Rio Tinto to better manage logistics of getting products from mines to factories. The deal is likely to face antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.

Big steel is dealt weak bargaining hand, by Robert Guy Mathews, Wall Street Journal, November 12, 2007 (subscription)
The potential merger of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton is expected to accelerate efforts by steel makers to buy their own iron-ore mines. But for now, steel makers face the prospect of rising prices as they negotiate 2008 long-term contracts.

Commentary: Mining rivals Rio Tinto, BHP should iron out their differences, by Edward Hadas and Una Galani, breakingviews.com via Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2007 (no subscription needed)

Obituary: Mario A. DiFrederico, Firestone president dies at 86, by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, November 10, 2007
Akron—Akron native Mario A. DiFederico, who joined Firestone in 1947 as an engineer and retired 32 years later as president, died Thursday, Nov. 8 in Akron at the age of 86 from complications of Parkinson's disease.