YOUNGSTOWN/WARREN REGIONAL CHAMBER Effort fosters manufacturing collaboration

A new program encourages companies to talk about how to bring high-tech equipment to the area.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
HOWLAND -- Dick Wilk is looking for partners to help his business grow.
Small suppliers like his company face a more difficult time reaching large customers.
"The General Motors of the world don't want to buy individual components. They want to buy finished products," said Wilk, president of Refractory Specialties Inc. of Sebring and Specialty Ceramics of Columbiana.
He came to an advanced manufacturing program Wednesday at the Avalon Inn to network with other small suppliers so they could offer such completed products.
Success for him
He called the program successful because he spoke with representatives of a Salem manufacturing company. One of Wilk's companies, Refractory Specialties, makes insulation products and is conducting research on insulation for fuel cells, which many see as the replacement for the internal combustion engine. His companies employ 150.
The Mahoning Valley desperately needs companies to build such relationships, said Barb Ewing, vice president for public policy for the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
Specifically, the chamber is trying to motivate these companies to talk about how to bring more advanced manufacturing to the Valley. About 75 people attended the kickoff program Wednesday. Included were presentations by officials from General Motors' plants in Lordstown and Delphi Packard Electric Systems, where hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in production equipment with advanced technology, which includes various types of computer-controlled machines.
"Advanced manufacturing is where we are going. It's where we'd like to go farther, faster and better," said Reid Dulberger, chamber executive vice president.
With industries competing in a global marketplace, this area cannot compete on cost because of cheap labor overseas, Dulberger said. Manufacturers must upgrade their equipment so they can offer other advantages to customers, he said.
The key to the effort of creating stronger local companies is identifying the strongest industries in the area and helping companies in those industries start talking with each other, Ewing said.
Strongest industries
Frank Akpadock, senior research economist at Youngstown State University, has identified these as the Valley's strongest industrial clusters: metal working, motor vehicles and equipment, biomedical, instruments and controls, information technology, and chemical and plastic products.
The chamber distributed surveys at the meeting, asking for opinions on how to bring more advanced manufacturing to the area and if participants would serve on committees that work to make that happen.
Ewing said companies must join together because some issues are larger than one company can handle. Companies, for example, may want to improve work-force training, she said.
Chamber officials will decide their next step after reviewing the surveys, she said. One possibility is the creation of discussion groups in certain industries, she said. These groups could include manufacturers, suppliers and companies that provide transportation. Representatives of those companies could talk about common issues and how they can make themselves stronger, she said.
shilling@vindy.com