< Previous108 OHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE Out of This World The Ohio State University is part of the founding leadership team of the George Washington Carver Science Park established in 2021 by Voyager Space and Nanoracks. OSU will host the terrestrial lab, which will replicate a space station science park aboard Starlab, a commercial, low-Earth orbit space station Voyager Space and Nanoracks are building. Other entities on the leadership team include NASA research partner the Universities Space Research Association, based in Cleveland; ZIN Technologies in Middleburg Heights, a contractor to NASA, the Department of Defense and private industry; and the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation, based in Málaga, Spain. “We have only just begun to scratch the surface of the possibilities and opportunities that await us in the ‘final frontier,’ and our ability to maximize future exploration hinges on collaboration between scientists and industry experts,” said Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson in a September 2022 Ohio State News bulletin announcing OSU’s role. “Locating the terrestrial lab of the George Washington Carver Science Park at Ohio State will be the best possible way to facilitate this joint effort and ensure we are sharing resources, research and knowledge across multiple disciplines.” Dayton Still Delivers Joby Aviation announced in September 2023 that it will build its air taxis — technically, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft — at Dayton International Airport, where it acquired a building for its first scaled aircraft manufacturing operations in March. Joby’s Dayton operations are expected to produce up to 500 eVTOLs annually. Photo Courtesy of Joby AviationOHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE 109 The California-based company plans to construct a facility on a 140-acre site where about 2,000 employees will produce up to 500 eVTOLs annually. It’s scheduled to be completed in 2025. “We’re building the future of aviation right where it all started, in Dayton, Ohio,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, in a release announcing the Dayton location. “The Wright brothers harnessed revolutionary technology of their time to open up the skies, and we intend to do the same — this time, bringing quiet and emissions-free flight that we hope will have an equally profound impact on our world.” Joby Aviation’s air taxis will transport four passengers up to 100 miles. The company says it plans to operate these aircraft as part of aerial ridesharing networks in cities and communities around the world, starting in 2025. Joby Aviation will invest about $500 million as it scales up operations. Dayton International Airport is becoming much more than a passenger and air freight facility. In addition to Joby Aviation’s project, Sierra Nevada Corporation in 2023 opened the SNC Aviation Innovation and Technology Center, a 100,000-sq.-ft. large aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility there, which is the first of two to be built. The complex will support about 150 jobs. Lt. Governor Jon Husted at the opening of the facility: “Choosing Dayton to build this large-scale aviation center is proof that SNC recognizes Ohio as having the infrastructure, workforce and expertise to support the aviation sector at the highest levels.” BRE’s U.S. Life Sciences Research Talent 2023 report named not one but two Ohio cities among the top emerging hubs for researchers. Out of the nine clusters ranked, Columbus and Cincinnati, No.1 and No.2, were the only cities included from the same state. Both represent robust research institution networks that have received signifi cant support through National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, one of the key factors CBRE considered in its assessment. Columbus With 50 higher education institutions, the universities and colleges in the Columbus region collectively amassed more than $306 million in NIH funding in 2022. This number has continued to scale over the last year. Columbus- based The Ohio State University, the largest university in Ohio, led the entire state in NIH-funded research in 2023, collecting an impressive $252 million. Ohio State is currently No.11 among all institutions in the nation in research and development expenditures, having spent approximately $1.36 billion in fi scal year 2022, according to the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) Survey. It is also among the top 10 universities nationally for biological and biomedical science doctorate completions. Over the last fi ve years, Central Ohio’s universities and colleges have collectively granted more than 8,700 degrees in biology, biomedical science, chemistry and pharmacy, earning the region its ranking as No. 23 in the nation for graduates with degrees in these fi elds. As CBRE states in the report, identifying sources of emerging talent is critical to fueling a growth industry like life sciences. With this pipeline established and continuing to expand, the Columbus region is starting to attract big names to the city as well as the surrounding communities. New Albany Welcomes Amgen to Ohio Located 15 miles northeast of Columbus, the city of New Albany is home to the newest location in Amgen’s global operations network. The biotech giant opened its Central Ohio operations in 110 OHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE LIFE SCIENCES C In February, Amgen opened its “most advanced facility to date” in New Albany, Ohio. Photo courtesy of Amgen OHIO CLAIMS THE TOP TWO EMERGING HUBS FOR BIOTECH RESEARCH by LINDSAY LOPPOHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE 111 February, 26 months after the initial groundbreaking, the fastest site completion in Amgen’s nearly 45- year history. Described as Amgen’s “most advanced facility to date,” the plant has been designed to meet environmental sustainability standards that support Amgen’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in all its operations by 2027. “Our new facility, known as Amgen Ohio, was designed with the latest innovation and technology to deliver safe, reliable medicines for ‘every patient, every time,’ ” said Bob Bradway, chairman and CEO at Amgen, in a press release. “As part of Amgen’s global biomanufacturing network, Amgen Ohio will play an important role in helping us address serious disease around the world with our innovative biomedicines.” Amgen expects to introduce 400 well-paying, full-time jobs through this expansion, representing $40 million in annual payroll. Roles for technicians and engineers, along with quality assurance, quality control, administrative and management positions, have been made available. In addition to creating jobs, Amgen has announced plans to take a hands-on approach in preparing the local community for the opportunities it has brought to the region. In collaboration with Columbus State Community College, Amgen is hosting an inaugural 18-month manufacturing apprenticeship at the new facility. Through this program, the company aims to expand employment opportunities that do not require a bachelor’s degree. Columbus State is also a part of the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) network, which works with high school teachers to introduce students to a series of hands-on biotech laboratory exercises. With the funds provided through this collaboration, Columbus State not only helps students develop skills in problem-solving, critical thinking, and foundational and equipment techniques essential to this industry, but it also allows underrepresented student populations to learn about careers in biotechnology and gain access to skill-developing tools early on that would otherwise be inaccessible. Cincinnati The emergence of Cincinnati’s life sciences sector should come as no surprise. The Queen City is home to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the nation’s No.1 children’s hospital. According to U.S. News & World Report, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital leads in four pediatric specialty areas: cancer care, diabetes and endocrinology, neonatology and urology. It receives the second-most research and fellowship awards from the NIH among all children’s hospitals and pediatric departments nationally. In 2023, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital received over $169.6 million in NIH funding through 311 awards. Most recently, the hospital was selected to join the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR) as a clinical research center. Previous CoFAR phases have led to important medical breakthroughs such as the development of the fi rst FDA- approved medication for food allergies, omalizumab, also known by the brand name Xolair, which reduces allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, that may occur with accidental exposure to one or more foods. In support of its participation, the NIH has awarded Cincinnati Children’s a grant of over $2.6 million to be dispersed in increments of $380,000 annually for seven years, plus additional funding for clinical trials. Through this partnership, Cincinnati Children’s becomes the only NIH- funded clinical research center for food allergy in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and one of only 10 centers in the United States. An Expanding Ecosystem Only 20 miles outside the city, National Resilience, Inc. (Resilience) seeks to make similar waves in drug innovation by expanding its West Chester manufacturing operations. The technology-focused biomanufacturing company is investing at least $225 million to increase the site’s drug production capacity. The plans for this project include adding a fourth high- speed fi ll line and increasing the number of device assembly and packaging suites. In collaboration with REDI Cincinnati and JobsOhio, Resilience will hire 440 new employees with an annual payroll of nearly $29 million over the next three years. Manufacturing engineering, quality control, IT and management roles are among the vast array of jobs expected to be created. Of those positions, 274 will be “ With a job growth rate of 25% over the last fi ve years and 17,000 workers, this announcement further solidifi es the Cincinnati region as the center of health innovation coupled with our world-class research universities and medical institutions. ” — Kimm Lauterbach, President and CEO, REDI Cincinnati, on the 440-job, $225 million expansion by National Resilience, Inc.direct employees, while 166 will be contracted workers. “Resilience adding more than 400 jobs to the region supports our well-established life sciences industry, spanning nearly 1,100 business locations from startups to homegrown companies,” said Kimm Lauterbach, REDI Cincinnati president and CEO, in a statement. “With a job growth rate of 25% over the last fi ve years and 17,000 workers, this announcement further solidifi es the Cincinnati region as the center of health innovation coupled with our world-class research universities and medical institutions.” The expansion is a part of Resilience’s larger goal to scale its network capacity to over 200 million units by 2025 to meet demand and support new and existing biotech and pharma partners. When the Ohio expansion was announced in December, the company also revealed that it was expanding the production capabilities of its RTP facility in Durham, North Carolina. 112 OHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDEOHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE 113 FOOD & AGRIBUSINESS Grounded in tradition, Ohio’s food industry is meeting consumers where they are. O FARMS OF THE FUTURE hio’s vibrant food industry represents a fusion of two great Ohio traditions, agriculture and innovation. With some 75,800 traditional farms spanning close to 14 million acres, Ohio has long been a leading producer of such staples as soybeans, corn, tomatoes, dairy products and poultry. These farms represent a vital economic driver that supports thousands of jobs and generates more than $120 billion in annual revenues. But the future of farming is expanding in Ohio, and that’s where Ohio innovation comes in. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the success of 80 Acres Farms, now the nation’s third- largest vertical farming enterprise. Founded in 2015 and based some 40 minutes north of Cincinnati in the small town of Hamilton, the company built its initial quarter- acre grow house to yield volumes of lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and microgreens equivalent to those produced by a traditional farm comprising 80 acres. Hence the company name, even as new efficiencies have boosted the facility’s production to 10 million servings of produce annually. “We built a farm where robots do the heavy lifting, so humans can focus on growing the freshest, most nutritious food possible,” says the company, maintaining that it can produce up to 300 times more food than a typical outdoor farm, using no pesticides, 100% renewable energy and 95% less water. And it does so year-round, unencumbered by the vagaries of weather. Since 2019, 80 Acres has been a supplier to Cincinnati-based Kroger and it currently serves more than 300 Kroger stores across the Midwest, with more on the way. In 2023, the company expanded its footprint with a $95 million facility in Kentucky. It plans to open a by GARY DAUGHTERS HoChan Jang of Balance Farms in Toledo Photo courtesy of Balance Farms114 OHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE vertical farm in Georgia next year. In all, more than a dozen indoor farming ventures dot the Ohio landscape. Like 80 Acres Farms, Toledo- based Balance Grill and Balance Farms is in expansion mode. Founded in 2018 in a formerly vacant 30-story building, Balance Farms is an 8,600-sq.-ft. aquaponics facility that supplies the pan-Asian, vegetarian-leaning menu of the adjacent Balance Grill, both owned by University of Toledo graduates Prakash “P.K.” Karamchandani and HoChan Jang. With locations in Cleveland and Denver, Balance Grill recently opened in Dallas. The business remains committed to Toledo. “Like a lot of places in the Midwest, Toledo has all the classic infrastructure,” Karamchandani told Site Selection magazine. “Innovation moved from here to the coasts, but now the coasts are so expensive. Technology,” he says, “is allowing people to innovate in places like Toledo that have a lower cost of living and a better quality of life.” Meeting the Demand for Cold Storage An eye-opening report in September 2023 by one of the nation’s top commercial real estate service providers describes how Ohio is emerging as a leader in another one of the food industry’s fastest-growing segments: cold storage. The analysis by Rick Kingery, leader of the Food & Beverage Practice Group at Colliers, characterized Ohio as one of a trio of Midwest states that is “outperforming” in major food industry investments and thus emerging as a pivotal player in the food and beverage space, which brings with it a greater need within the cold storage sector. “The primary reason for this wave of investment focusing mainly on the Midwest region,” Kingery writes, “is its strategic positioning as a vital link connecting agricultural and animal production with the established distribution center networks.” Surging demand for cold storage Ohio is “outperforming” in cold storage. Photo from Getty ImagesOHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE 115 facilities is being driven by the rise of e-commerce and shifting consumer preferences brought on by COVID-19, such as a heightened demand for frozen foods and packaged dinners. With more than 1,400 food processors operating out of Ohio, cold storage facilities located there enjoy proximity to sources and one-day drive distribution to more than 60% of the U.S. and Canadian populations. Supported by a $2 million investment from JobsOhio as part of the Ohio Site Inventory Program, Cleveland Cold Storage is a newly opened, 156,000-sq.- ft. freezer facility serving the food storage needs of Northeast Ohio. It offers a full range of frozen storage, distribution and transportation services for local, regional, national and international processors, grocers and distributors. “Our goal,” said Nick Pacitti, head of sales for Cleveland Cold Storage, “was to focus on an individual cold chain corridor that could leverage the region’s food advantages, while keeping costs low and providing highly responsive services for customers and their customers.” Big Investments Deliver New Jobs As the Colliers report would indicate, Ohio has notched some impressive recent wins within the food and beverage sector. Pennsylvania-based Sheetz, which is expanding its network of higher end convenience stores into the Midwest, is investing a hefty $150 million in a food preparation and distribution hub in Findlay, the thriving town on I-75 about 45 minutes south of Toledo. The facility’s 750 projected jobs will offer average annual salaries and benefits of $60,000 according to Dan Scheaffer, director of the Findlay- Hancock County Alliance. “Sheetz is thankful for the cooperation and support of all the local, county and state leaders who have helped make this project possible,” said Travis Sheetz, president and CEO of the family-owned company. “We’re excited to bring new opportunities to the area as we continue to expand throughout the State of Ohio and into Michigan,” said Sheetz, “Findlay is located in the heart of this new growth area and will play a big role in the future of Sheetz.” Among more recent investments, International Foods announced plans in April for a $65 million food manufacturing facility that’s slated to bring 220 jobs to Cleveland. The Florida- based company produces Asian and Latin meals for institutional customers across the U.S. Cleveland Kitchen, which began as two brothers selling sauerkraut at a local market and has since become a national powerhouse in fermented foods such as kraut, kimchi and pickles, recently expanded in its hometown, more than doubling its workforce to 138. It was the first recipient of a new tax credit for companies that create at least 50 new jobs paying at least the city’s median income. Something else the pandemic did was to increase demand for snacks. With sales of its Totino’s pizza snacks surging, General Mills recently expanded its longtime facility in the town of Wellston in rural southeastern Ohio, completing a $100 million investment in what is considered to be one of the largest food manufacturing plants in the country. The company received a tax credit from the Ohio Department of Development and a $400,000 grant from JobsOhio to support building, machinery and equipment. “General Mills has been a proud and active member of the Wellston community for 18 years,” said Carolyn Mendel, plant manager of the Wellston General Mills. “We believe we have the best employees making food the world loves.” “ We believe we have the best employees making food the world loves. ” — Carolyn Mendel, Plant Manager, Wellston General Mills116 OHIO BUSINESS GROWTH GUIDE December 2022 study from Shale Crescent USA stated it plainly: “The low-cost gas and natural gas liquids fl owing from the U.S. shale gas revolution have the potential to turn the $53 billion U.S. plastics importing industry on its head.” Why? Because, the study showed, those energy resources — plus 35% lower average electricity rates and 28% lower average manufacturing lease rates — make it less expensive to produce plastics in Ohio than in China, a place that accounts for $25 billion of that import total. In 2021, Ohio’s shale gas production accounted for 96% of the state’s natural gas withdrawals, says the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “Overall, natural gas production in Ohio was 27 times greater in 2022 than in 2012, primarily because of production from shale formations.” “Ohio businesses and manufacturing facilities are located within a day’s drive of 60% of the U.S. population and over 70% of the end-to-end plastics industry supply chain,” the Shale Crescent USA study pointed out. “That same radius also captures over one-third of the U.S.’s natural gas production, creating substantial environmental advantages by eliminating the need for lengthy, fragile transcontinental supply chains and their associated greenhouse gas emissions. This gives Ohio-based plastics manufacturers a tremendous ESG advantage over Chinese competitors and gives their U.S.- ENERGY by ADAM BRUNS Based in Akron (pictured), the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub was selected by the U.S. Economic Development Administration as one of 31 Regional Innovation and Technology Hubs nationwide. Photo by Sean Pavone: Getty Images OHIO A THE ROAD TO CLEAN ENERGY GOES THROUGHNext >