Ohio Rings in the
New Millennium on a
High-tech Note

Consider for a moment these facts about Ohio. One: Pennsylvania-based H.J. Heinz Co.'s center of excellence for ketchup packaging and manufacturing is not in Pennsylvania, but rather it's in Fremont, Ohio. Two: Ohio's private research institution Battelle recently won the management contract for the Oak Ridge Laboratories in Tennessee, meaning it maintains operations and designs the research for the labs. Three: Ohio ranks No. 2 for automotive production in the United States -- second only to Michigan. Four: Ohio ranked No. 3 or higher in seven of Site Selection's state rankings for new and expanded facilities in 1999.

What does all this say about Ohio as a business location? It exemplifies two intrinsic qualities of the Ohio marketplace. First, it shows that the state provides excellent opportunities and incentives for companies to grow and expand. And secondly, it illustrates the fact that the state is fully capable of supporting a wide variety of industry, including everything from food processing to automotive manufacturing and high-tech operations.

The primary reason that such a wide variety of industries can grow and prosper in Ohio, says Michael Jackson, deputy director for marketing and special projects with the Ohio Dept. of Development, is because all of a company's needs can easily be met in Ohio. "The most significant thing I've ever heard from our focus groups of potential investors is that Ohio is a place where you can start a business and from day one, you will have all the suppliers you'll need in this market," Jackson explains. "It's such a self-contained economy that you can start here, you can grow from here, and you can do very well for yourself."

Diversification Goes High Tech
That self-containment is due to Ohio's wide-ranging industry base. Unlike many states, Jackson says, Ohio has a list of at least 20 industrial clusters, instead of maybe four or five. Included in some of those industry segments are automotive-related manufacturing, warehousing/distribution, farm production and food processing, as well as steel.

"Ohio is a very industrialized state, and that allows for a lot of diversity," says Don Schjeldahl, director of the Facilities Location Group with The Austin Co., a Cleveland-based consulting firm. "They've come from a long history of industrialization, and now you see all types of industry locating in the state -- manufacturing, service sector companies, high-tech, R&D and aerospace. It really covers the spectrum, and that also provides a very well-developed employment skill base."

Although Ohio intends to continue growing its core competency industries like automotive and logistics, it will become necessary for the state to diversify even further into the high-tech arenas. The reason, Jackson says, is because there will be a shift in the Ohio economy. Like most other states, he expects that Ohio will see a decline in manufacturing jobs in coming years, but those dwindling manufacturing jobs will be replaced by higher-paying, technology-oriented positions.