Judge rejects Toledo's lead paint suit vs. Sherwin-Williams, by Peter Krouse, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 14, 2007
Toledo—A Lucas County judge has dismissed the lead paint lawsuit brought by Toledo against Sherwin-Williams Co. and other former producers of lead pigment. The residents of Toledo are still covered under the public nuisance suit filed by Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann sued the industry on behalf of the entire state earlier this year.

Tri-C awarded state grant to create Bioscience Worker Training Center, Cuyahoga Community College, December 7. 2007
Cleveland—Cuyahoga Community College President Dr. Jerry Sue Thornton today announced the College has received a grant for $447,000 from the Ohio Board of Regents to develop a Bioscience Workforce Training and Assessment Center. The Center will train hundreds of workers to combat bioscience worker shortages in northeast Ohio. New training programs will start in January 2008 at the Tri-C Unified Technologies Center.

Arcelor Mittal pens Chinese deal, BBC News, December 14, 2007
London—Arcelor Mittal has agreed a deal with controlling shareholders in China Oriental to allow it to eventually raise its stake in the firm to 73.13%.

Judge says he'll sign Dana bankruptcy exit plan, Toledo Blade, December 13, 2007
New York—At the end of a three-day hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the judge said yesterday he would OK the firm's plan of reorganization. Once that happens, the way will be clear for Dana to leave Chapter 11 by the end of January.

FirstEnergy boss touts markets, not government, as the energy fix, by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 14, 2007
Akron—Competitive markets, not government mandates, will solve the nation's power needs over time, FirstEnergy Chief Executive Officer Anthony Alexander said Thursday in a speech at the Akron Round Table.

Related stories:

FirstEnergy president, CEO talks about UA pledge, challenges ahead, by Betty Lin-Fisher, Akron Beacon Journal, December 14, 2007

FirstEnergy gives money to UA for carbon-emissions research, by Katie Byard, Akron Beacon Journal, December 13, 2007
Akron—At the Akron Round Table, First Energy's CEO will announce that the company is giving $2 million to the University of Akron to create the create the FirstEnergy Fund for Advanced Energy Research. The fund will support research on reducing carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants; it will also support development of coal-based fuel cells, a non-polluting energy source.

AP Interview: Ohio Gov. Strickland pushes energy, collaboration, by Julie Carr Smyth, Associated Press via Ohio News Network, December 12, 2007
Columbus—Ohio must embrace new energy technologies like windmills and solar panels or its economic slide will continue, Gov. Ted Strickland said in an interview Tuesday.

Leonard Anthony named president, CEO of WCI, Warren Tribune Chronicle, December 11, 2007
Warren—WCI Steel named Leonard M. Anthony president, chief executive and a member of the board effective immediately. Anthony promised a faster, more aggressive approach to the marketplace for the custom steelmaker.

Shelton-Mathews owner plans comeback, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, December 11, 2007
Boardman, Ohio—Shelton-Mathews Chocolates, which stopped production in September, will reopen sometime next year, according to its owner, Jeffrey Stover. Stover told the Vindicator the company was not profitable, and he took on too much debt when he moved the business from a small storefront on Mahoning Avenue in Youngstown to Boardman. He has a new business model which includes a chocolate cafe in Boardman and online sales of the company's award-winning chocolates.

Books: How Detroit can speed along its learning curve, by Brock Yates, Wall Street Journal, December 12, 2007 (Subscription)
Review of: How Toyota Became #1, by David Magee (Portfolio): "In "How Toyota Became #1," David Magee tracks the rise of this once-obscure Japanese company, giving special attention to its success in North America. His subtitle suggests that he is offering "lessons from the world's greatest car company."

Upcoming events for manufacturers:

MAGNET Best Practice Plant Tours
The winners of MAGNET's 2007 Competitiveness Challenge will present an overview of their project and a facility tour. The two-hour tours begin at 7:30 a.m. and include a continental breakfast. Contact Katherine Boone for more information or to register; voice: (216) 432-5159.

• MacNeil Industries, Painesville, January 8
• MTD Products Inc., Valley City, January 15
• Astro Manufacturing and Design, Eastlake, January 23

MAGNET/Canton Regional Chamber Manufacturing Education Series
As part of an ongoing partnership, MAGNET and the Canton Regional Chamber will present a series of breakfast presentations on manufacturing competitiveness. Call the Chamber's reservation hotline at (330) 458-2071 or visit the links below to register online.

• "Improving Global Competitiveness," Canton Regional Chamber, January 30
• "Growing Your Company with New Products," Canton Regional Chamber, March 26

Goodyear to combine two overseas divisions, Akron Beacon Journal, December 11, 2007
Akron—Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced the formation of a Europe, Middle East and Africa business unit effective February 1. The new unit combines the company's former European Union and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa business units. The combined sales of the former units in 2006 were $6.5 billion.

Related story: Goodyear Combines EU, Middle East, Africa Units, Dow Jones Newswires via Wall Street Journal, December 10, 2007 (Subscription)

Goldman Sachs delays Myers Industries deal; Akron plastics manufacturer's stock plummets, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 11, 2007
Akron—GS Capital Partners, a unit of Goldman Sachs, delayed closing a deal to purchase Myers Industries until April 30, sparking a sell off that dropped the company's share price by 30%. In September, GS Capital agreed to purchase the 74-year-old maker of plastic products used in agricultural, automotive and consumer markets for more than $1 billion in cash and assumption of debt, but the closing has been delayed twice.

Related story: Delay lowers Myers shares, by Jim Mackinnon, Akron Beacon Journal, December 11, 2007

Timken enters Chinese joint venture, Crain's Cleveland Business, December 10, 2007
Canton—Timken Co. agreed to establish a joint venture with Chinese heavy equipment maker Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Co. to produce ultra-large-bore bearings for main rotor shafts of multi-megawatt wind turbines for the Chinese wind energy market.The joint venture plans to begin construction on a $38 million plant in Xiangtan, located in China’s Hunan province next year.

Related story: Timken, Xiangtan Electric join to manufacture parts for wind turbines, Industry Week, December 10, 2007.

Wind behind their backs, by David Bennet, Crain's Cleveland Business, December 10, 2007
Avon—Avon Bearings Corp., a company that has been involved in the wind energy business for about 20 years, says its sales are rising in states that are moving ahead with programs that push electric utilities to produce power from sustainable energy sources such as the wind. Ed Weston, director of the Great Lakes Wind Network, said the wind turbine business is a solid market opportunity for Northeast Ohio manufacturers.

Environment: The world's most polluted places, Forbes.com, November 29, 2007
The nonprofit Blacksmith Institute released its second annual list of hyper-polluted hot spots around the world, with Russia, China and India in the lead. The institute's founder and director, Richard Fuller, says life expectancy in some of these towns has fallen to rates not seen since medieval times. According to Fuller, for less than $1 billion it would be possible to significantly mitigate the unhealthy effects of all the worst places across the globe. Forbes published the shocking images.

Intellectual property bill receives NAM's support, Industry Week, December 6, 2007
Washington—John Engler, CEO of The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), called the bipartisan Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007 (H.R. 4279) introduced in the house on December 5, "an important first step by Congress to address an issue plaguing nearly every American manufacturer." The bill's sponsors say the legislation will improve civil and criminal laws relating to copyright and trademark infringement.

Dana in home stretch of bankruptcy, by Gary T. Pakulski, Toledo Blade, December 9, 2007
Toledo—Twenty-one months after entering Chapter 11, Dana Corp. begins a crucial new phase in its bankruptcy case tomorrow in a federal courtroom in lower Manhattan. Most creditors will receive 72 cents to 86 cents for each dollar they are owed. Although observers expect the judge to OK the plan either at the end of the hearing or soon afterward, the deal is not without opponents.

New Toledo plant will convert methane into energy, Toledo Blade, December 10, 2007
Toledo—Construction has begun on a $26 million facility that will convert landfill methane gas into power. The city plans to pipe the landfill's methane 2 1/2 miles to the sewage plant, where it will be used to spin turbines that generate electricity.