Chinese investors plan to put $18 million into FMI Technologies Inc., a company in the Akron Global Business Accelerator.  The investment will enable FMI to manufacture high-tech medical imaging devices.  Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic expects the investment to result in 20 new engineering and technician jobs this year and at least 100 more by 2013.

Head over to Ohio.com for the full story and details.

Congratulations to FMI and AGBA!

I believe they call this “preaching to the choir”, but NEOinc was pleased to read (and have a member participate in) this recent article on Business News Daily.

Quoting Tracy Kitts, COO of the National Business Incubation Association, a couple key economic development metrics involving incubators were cited:

• Success rate of companies nurtured in an incubator is 87% versus 44% for those going it alone
• More importantly, 84% of companies graduating from an incubator stay in the community

Read the rest of the article over on Business News Daily for the full story and lots more metrics.

By Mark Niquette

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Ohio is launching a program with $40 million in federal and state stimulus funds to invest in advanced-energy projects, with the goal of creating more “green-collar” jobs in the state.

The Ohio Energy Gateway Fund, which Gov. Ted Strickland announced in his State of the State address in January, is ready to accept applications for funding, officials said last week.

The goal is to provide funding for at least 12 projects in the state related to advanced energy, said Mark Barbash, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Development. Continued

NorTech has released its annual Northeast Ohio High-Tech Economy Brief (pdf), which analyzes performance of the region’s technology economy. The Brief also compares Northeast Ohio to the remainder of Ohio, the Midwest and the U.S. from the perspective of employment, output, productivity and average wages in high-tech industries in 2008.

Rebecca O. Bagley, president and CEO of NorTech said of the report:

The data reinforce the importance of Northeast Ohio’s technology industries to our region’s economy and its workforce.  It also shows that Northeast Ohio is continuing to transition to a more diversified economy driven by growth in our high-tech industries. However, this type of transition takes time. As our economy begins to recover from the recent recession, now is the time for the public and private sectors to accelerate investments to keep momentum moving forward.

Download/View the Northeast Ohio High-Tech Economy Brief

Are you or is someone you know looking for funding to develop a new product?

If so, the Cuyahoga County New Product Development Loan Program, administered by MAGNET, has low interest loan funding available to help small businesses or entrepreneurs bring their ideas to reality.

A funding round is now open. Completed applications will be accepted until Tuesday, July 6, 2010.

The application process has recently changed.  Please visit http://www.magnetwork.org/programs/county_loan.htm for more specific program information and instructions on how to submit an application.

Funding is available to small businesses or entrepreneurs with prior year sales of less than $50 million who have an idea to develop a new product that will be manufactured in Cuyahoga County for at least 7 years.

The application process is competitive.  Applicants will have their submissions reviewed and approved by a committee consisting of local business leaders, venture capitalist, designers, and entrepreneurs.   Loans are made in phased increments ranging from $15,000 to $60,000 depending upon how much development has already been completed and what remains to be done.  Funds can be used for activities such as market research, patent services, industrial design, engineering and prototyping efforts.

The loans are 10 year loans.  They are interest and payment free for the first three years after disbursement.  The loan balance is then amortized over the remaining seven years of the loan (at an interest rate of 3.5%), during which time monthly payments of principal and interest are due.

Full details of the program are available at http://www.magnetwork.org/programs/county_loan.htm.  If you have further questions, please contact Barbara Paul at 216-432-5322 or barbara.paul@magnetwork.org.

The Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) is excited to announce the launch of its redesigned website at www.ybi.org.   The new site is more user friendly website and visitors can easily access information about YBI’s services, accomplishments and upcoming events.  Technology-based entrepreneurs and emerging companies can contact YBI on-line to submit questions, concepts and business proposals.  The site also has information on YBI’s portfolio companies as well as links to its resource partners.   To view the new site, please visit www.ybi.org

Chief Development Officer Julie Michael Smith states, “With the positive focus on Youngstown as one of the ten best cities to start a business by Entrepreneur magazine and favorable comments in a recent edition of Economist, YBI wanted to refresh its website with improved access for users and fresh content to help manage the number of new contacts we have been receiving.”

Just about every entrepreneur is looking for funding for their startup; this is particularly true for technology companies.  Republished here with permission from the author (The Tech Czar himself), is a great recap of economic incentives for the high tech sector.  From the city level to the state, whether it’s tax credits or loan funds, the information below is a wide-ranging snapshot of incentive options for your high-tech startup. A big thanks to Michael and LNE for pulling this together.

NEOinc would add to the list to include the Innovation Loan Fund at Lorain County Community College (grants up to 25K, loans up to 100K), and the Cuyahoga County New Product Development Fund, administered by MAGNET (loans up to 60K).

Without further ado – on to the incentives. Continued

In the latest round of awards, the Innovation Fund, administered by the Lorain County Community College Foundation, is investing $300,000 in six Northeast Ohio based technology start-up companies.  Funds from Ohio’s Third Frontier Program combined with matching local support and contributions from a variety of partners are used to make the Innovation Fund awards.  These partners and collaborators include: the Ohio Department of Development, the University of Akron, Youngstown State University, the Youngstown Business Incubator, the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise (GLIDE), JumpStart, Techlift and the Lorain County Commissioners.

The Innovation Fund advances the strategy to grow our own businesses and jobs in the region.  “In this our seventh round of funding, we continued to be impressed with depth and quality of entrepreneurial ideas that are emerging from our region,” noted Lorain County Community College President Dr. Roy A. Church.  “Including this round, the Fund has invested more than $2 million in 30 companies located in NE Ohio” Continued

National City Bank Foundation and Ruth H. Beecher Charitable Trust recently contributed funding to the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI).  NCB’s contribution of $8,000 will be used for investing in entrepreneurial resources to support emerging technology companies. The contribution of $4,000 by Beecher Trust is earmarked for facility renovations to accommodate new tenants.

Garry L. Mrozek, regional president of National City Bank and chairman of YBI’s Board of Directors, notes “Philanthropic support of economic development organizations is integral to the vitality of our community.  YBI helps technology companies reach their growth potential and create well-paying jobs for area residents.”

“YBI is appreciative of these contributions to support YBI’s mission of assisting technology-based entrepreneurs establish and accelerate their scalable, proprietary information technology applications,” states Julie Michael Smith, chief development officer of YBI.

In the past year, YBI has approved six new portfolio companies for occupancy in addition to providing entrepreneurial counseling to non tenant ventures.  In May, it opened INSPIRE Lab, a flexible development suite for very early stage companies and this fall, renovation of the adjacent Semple Building will be complete, offering commercial space for technology-related businesses.

Cleveland sports may not be working out the way we had hoped here in early June, but the economic development activities in our region certainly seem to be bearing fruit.

At the Team NEO Economic Development Impact Awards last week, ten awards were handed out recognizing various organizations and initiatives for their positive economic impact our our region.  Here’s a recap of the winners in the various categories:

• Asset Creation: Akron’s BioInnovation Institute
• Business Attraction: Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber
• Business Expansion: Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.Ashland Area Council for Economic Development, Ashland County, Jackson Twsp.
• Business Retention: City of Akron, Greater Akron Chamber, County of Summit, Summit County Port Authority
• Foreign Investment: Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County
• Fostering Entrepreneurship: Lorain County Community College Foundation
• Marketing Cleveland Plus: Cohen & Co.
• Minority Business Development: City of Lakewood & LakewoodAlive
• Public-Private Partnership: Maple Street Commerce LLC. City of North Canton, and Stark Development Board
• Workforce Development: Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Center of Cuyahoga Community College

Continued