Recycler takes aim at stirring up excitement in new process, by Katie Byard, Akron Beacon Journal, May 28, 2010
Akron—Startup Akron company Polyflow wants lots of plastic trash to show potential investors how its process breaks down the trash into a ''pygas'' — similar to a type of light crude oil.

Sherwin-Williams and other lead paint companies must cover own costs, judge rules, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 26, 2010
Providence, R.I.—Three companies that sold lead-based paint and were sued by the state in a landmark case cannot recover money they spent defending themselves in the lawsuit, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Chamber makes trip for wind power, Warren Tribune-Chronicle, May 26, 2010
Youngstown, Ohio—Regional Chamber officials traveled to Dallas this week to meet for a second time with an Asian wind turbine maker who visited the area in April.

Ohio is chosen for car battery plant, Warren Tribune-Chronicle, May 26, 2010
Columbus—A manufacturer of electric cars that's linked to Delphi Packard Electric plans to open a battery plant in Ohio that could mean hundreds of jobs. Several sites in central Ohio are under consideration, including one in Columbus.

89 deaths tied to Toyota acceleration, government says, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 26, 2010
Washington—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that from 2000 to mid-May, it had received more than 6,200 complaints involving sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles. The reports include 89 deaths and 57 injuries over the same period. P

Demand growing for electric Leaf, Nissan CEO says, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 26, 2010
Detroit—Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday he's not bothered by skepticism about the company's upcoming Leaf electric car because thousands of orders have convinced the company of consumers' demand for it.

• Nissan plugs electric plans, by David Welch, Bloomberg News via Akron Beacon Journal, May 26, 2010

• Rebounding auto industry boosts Shiloh Industries' second-quarter sales, profit, by Robert Schoenberger, , May 25, 2010
• Nordson Corp. of Westlake reports continued growth in fiscal first-quarter, Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 22, 2010
  
• Nordson Corp. sees second-quarter earnings more than double year-ago profits, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 22, 2010

Three Northeast Ohio companies receive $1.4 million in state money, by Chuck Soder, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 25, 2010
Cleveland—Parker Hannifin Corp. of Mayfield Heights and U.S. Endoscopy of Mentor are among three Northeast Ohio companies to receive Ohio economic development funds.

Cliffs Natural Resources seeks to gain control of Canadian chromite property, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 25, 2010
Cleveland—Chromite is important — especially to a company such as Cliffs, which already sells materials to the iron and steel industries — because it is used to make stainless steel.

Brush Wellman expands operations with $90 million facility, by Sarah Weber, Sandusky Register, May 25, 2010
Elmore, Ohio—Seeds of industry planted by Brush Wellman five years ago blossomed on Monday as the company opened a new beryllium pebble plant at its Elmore facility. The new $90.3 million, 51,045-square-foot plant creates 25 new jobs and helps the company retain more than 100 others.

US Endoscopy receives state incentive grant, by Jacob Lammers, Willoughby News-Herald, May 25, 2010
Mentor, Ohio—The $100,000 state incentive grant is part of the company’s overall plan to invest $4.7 million to begin manufacturing a new medical device.

TechTol puts its focus on 360-degree images, by Larry P. Vellequette, Toledo Blade, May 25, 2010
Sylvania Township, Ohio—TechTol Imaging LLC - which received a $50,000 grant from local development officials two years ago - will publicly introduce a nearly instantaneous, 360-degree photography system next month at Owens Community College.

Mayor Frank Jackson kills Sunpu-Opto deal, says city will start over again to find LED light supplier, by Mark Gillespie, Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 25, 2010
Cleveland—Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson on Monday killed a controversial, no-bid contract with a Chinese LED manufacturer because he thinks he "tainted" the process when he announced the deal in March while his staff was still seeking responses from other companies.

• Cleveland's controversial light deal with a China based company is dead, by John Kosich, Ohio News Network (ONN), May 25, 2010
• LED plan's execution, rollout fail Jackson, by Jay Miller, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 24, 2010 (Subscription)
  

Electric-car maker picks central Ohio for battery plant, Columbus Dispatch, May 25, 2010
Columbus—Electric-car manufacturer Coda Automotive said yesterday that it has chosen to open a battery plant in central Ohio, a move that is contingent on the approval of federal and state aid. Although the company is looking at several local sites, the leading choice is the former Lucent Technologies factory on E. Broad Street.

• U.S., China firms to make electric-car batteries in Ohio, by Norihiko Shirouzu, Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2010 (Subscription)

Goodyear shutting plant in Taiwan to lower costs, by Staff and Wire Reports, Akron Beacon Journal, May 25, 2010
Akron—Starting in 2007, Goodyear invested as much as $300 million to modernize the Taiwan plant to make premium tires. The equipment from that investment will be moved to other plants with more a competitive costs.

Electric-car deal offers promise for new partners Toyota, Tesla, by David R. Baker, San Francisco Chronicle via Akron Beacon Journal, May 25, 2010
San Francisco—While the surprise deal between Tesla Motors and Toyota will reopen the auto plant in Fremont, Calif., their partnership will bear little resemblance to the Toyota-General Motors joint venture that built cars there for 25 years.

Editorial: It's up to us, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 24, 2010
Cleveland—On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, Crain's editorial board recognizes individuals who have played key roles in the region's vitality, including Jack Breen, former CEO of Sherwin-Williams Co., and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.'s Bob Keegan. In the publication's special section, "30 Difference Makers," other manufacturing personalities recognized include: Sandy Cutler, Chairman and CEO, Eaton Corp., A. Malachi Mixon III, CEO, Invacare Corp., Bill Sanford, founder of Steris Corp., and Tom Tyrrell, founder of American Steel & Wire.

5 turbines in the works for wind power project in Lake Erie, by John Funk, Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 24, 2010
Cleveland—The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., known as LEEDCo, and Gov. Ted Strickland are to announce the deal in Dallas today during the annual conference of the American Wind Energy Association. The cutting-edge turbines would stand 300 feet above the lake and be clustered six miles or so off Cleveland's shore, northwest of the city's drinking water crib.

• Strickland: Cleveland wind project a laboratory to lower price of wind power, by John Funk and Tom Breckenridge, Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 24, 2010
  

Applied Industrial Technologies secures five-year GSA contract extension, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 24, 2010
—The contract extends through April 2015 and also includes the company's Applied MaintenancePRO training courses.

Sherwin-Williams to acquire Becker Acroma Industrial Wood Coatings of Sweden, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 24, 2010
Cleveland—Becker Acroma has more than 900 employees and annual sales of approximately $300 million (U.S.) It operates 9 manufacturing plants, 19 mixing sites and 13 technical centers around the world.

Declining value of euro bad deal for Ohio exporters, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 24, 2010
Cleveland—Cleveland-area companies that were boasting of healthy export sales into Europe, when it took fewer euros than now to buy their goods, aren’t as forthcoming about the potential impact on their businesses of a weakened euro. (Subscription)

Investors bet on Barberton rubber outfit's quality a second time, by Dan Shingler, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 24, 2010
Barberton, Ohio—Since buying Preferred Compounding the last time, Watermill has beefed up the company with the 2006 acquisition of Georgia-based Associated Rubber Co. and the installation of new mixers and other capital equipment. (Subscription)

Lockheed wins military blimp contract, by Chuck Soder, Crain's Cleveland Business, May 24, 2010
Akron—Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Akron operation has won a $142 million Army contract to build 17 tethered blimps that the military will use to gather intelligence. (Subscription)

Factory orders up but employers slow to rehire, by Mhari Saito, WCPN IdeaStream, May 24, 2010
Cleveland—Some good news for our economy finally: manufacturers are reporting higher numbers of orders and shipments. In April, US manufacturing expanded at its fastest rate since 2004. But despite the growth, many local plants are still very tentative about hiring people back.

U.S. businesses back more trade action vs. China, by James T. Areddy, Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2010
Shanghai—American companies are becoming more comfortable with the U.S. Congress taking a role in trying to level the playing field for businesses in China, said Thomas J. Donohue, chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Ford to invest $135 million in 2 Michigan factories, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 24, 2010
Detroit—The company said today it will create a "center of excellence" for electric vehicle development in the Detroit area, and it intends to add more than 50 engineers to work on the next generation of electric vehicles.

• Ford pumps $135M into green cars, by Greg Gardner, Detroit Free Press, May 24, 2010

Nissan's CEO sees U.S. car market recovering, by Mike Ramsey, Wall Street Journal, May 24, 2010 (Subscription)
New York—The U.S. auto market will see sales of 12 million vehicles in 2010, up 15% from last year, as the economic recovery continues, but the U.S. will never again regain the crown of largest car market, said Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn.

Visteon reorganization plan challenged AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 24, 2010
Wilmington, Del.—The judge in Delaware continued Monday's hearing until June 14 after two creditor groups said they can match Visteon's preferred plan without the associated tens of millions of dollars in fees and expenses.

Soda tax uncaps a fight, by Valerie Bauerlein and Betsy McKay, Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2010
New York—Makers and sellers of soda and other sweet drinks have intensified a fight against proposed taxes on their products, as a growing number of cities and states are weighing the measures to help fill depleted coffers. (Subscription)

Will the Volt recharge GM and U.S. auto industry?, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 22, 2010
Warren, Mich.—The car will have a 400-pound T-shaped lithium ion battery that gives it a range of up to 40 miles on one charge. After that, a small gas-powered engine will kick in to generate electricity to power the car about 300 miles. The battery can be recharged by plugging it into an electrical outlet.

State lawmakers push competing tax break bills for green energy, by Aaron Marshall, Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 22, 2010
Columbus—Senate Republicans have made the first move, acting this week to overwhelmingly pass legislation slashing tangible personal property taxes for companies building alternative energy projects in Ohio.

NASA Glenn and state of Ohio pledge to work more closely together, by Tom Breckenridge, Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 22, 2010
Cleveland—Gov. Ted Strickland and Glenn Acting Director Ramon "Ray" Lugo sat side-by-side Friday to sign an agreement calling for regular meetings, worker exchanges and collaborative projects, in areas like stored energy and biofuels development.

Buyer moving Denman assets, Warren Tribune-Chronicle, May 22, 2010
Warren, Ohio—The Illinois company that bought the Denman Tire name and intellectual assets this week announced Friday that it plans to move them out of Trumbull County for production elsewhere.