Polymers industry plan aims to keep jobs in NE Ohio

Leaders of the polymers industry have unveiled a "road map" to create and retain jobs in Northeast Ohio that calls for shifting from high-volume production of parts to higher-value and more profitable products and processes.

The study, which was unveiled Tuesday, calls for industry, universities and government to invest $232 million in the next 10 years to foster collaboration and commercialization of products based on emerging market opportunities and new technologies.

Northeast Ohio is the world market leader in polymers - materials that include coatings, tires, molded rubber and plastic products, and resins - and Ohio leads all states in polymer-related jobs, said Tom Waltermire, president and chief executive of PolyOne Corp., who co-chaired the road-map project.

But Waltermire said more than 140,000 Ohio jobs are threatened by global competition and lean production methods unless the industry makes a concerted push to commercialize new technologies, processes and products in close collaboration with universities and government.

"We're losing business to competitors in developing countries," Waltermire told a briefing held Tuesday afternoon on the grounds of RPM International Inc., a maker of specialty coatings and sealants in Brunswick Hills Township.

The road map, which was prepared by Battelle, a Columbus science and technology enterprise, outlines five areas of opportunities for Northeast Ohio firms: electronic, conductive and photonic polymer research into new control and measurement applications; novel processing methods; nano-enhanced polymers; biocompatible polymers for biomedicial products; and renewable biopolymers.

It also calls for increased collaboration between businesses and universities such as the University of Akron, Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University to commercialize new products and launch startup firms.

Martin Grueber of Battelle said the plan could create 3,450 high-wage jobs in a 13-county Northeast Ohio region over 10 years. In 2002, the region had 43,562 polymer-related jobs, according to the study.

Grueber said some of the new funding would come from doubling the $15 million a year in federal polymer-related research currently going to Northeast Ohio institutions.

"I think it's a good message," said Robert Lehman, president of Robin Industries Inc., a Cleveland maker of molded rubber products, who attended the briefing Tuesday.

In the last two to three years, Robin has developed several applications in areas "where we don't compete with commodity, or cheap labor products," Lehman said.

Still, having a stronger tie to university research would help. "We're too small to do much research and development ourselves," he said.

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tgerdel@plaind.com, 216-999-4114

© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.