Businesses pledge $1M to build center for green technology

YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown company and a Salt Lake City manufacturer hope that the clean-technology incubator they plan to build will “create jobs that are attractive to young people” and “have the impact of steel mills 150 years ago.”

M7 Technologies, of Youngstown, and Applied Systems and Technology Transfer (AST2), of Salt Lake City, have pledged $1 million toward the creation of the Ohio Clean Technologies Group, an incubator to “commercialize green technology,” said Mike Garvey, owner of M7 Technologies.

The two companies will construct a building at the existing M7 Technologies site, 1019 Ohio Works Drive, that will serve as a showcase for the technologies they hope to promote, said Jack Scott, president of AST2.

The building will incorporate green and clean technologies, such as solar power, wind power and new-foam insulation, he said.

The partners announced the group’s formation at a news conference on the results of a trip that area business, education and community leaders took to Israel to develop business connections.

“It will allow people to come in to see these [technologies] are real,” Scott said.

The total value of the incubator building would be between $3 million and $5 million, Scott said.They want to break ground in the next few months.

To bring production of these technologies here, Scott said the group is seeking venture capital or a partner to invest $30 million to $50 million.

The group will try to attract advanced technologies and find places in the area where they can be produced, Garvey said, such as a shuttered industrial site.

The group will focus on three key areas of technology: environmental, renewable energy and clean water, Scott said. An example of environmental technology would be those that reduce carbon emissions, Scott said.

The business partners developed the idea for the group over dinner during the trip to Israel, Garvey said.

Meetings with Israeli businesses during the trip could result in some investment in the group, Scott said.

The trip included delegates from local government, businesses, education and community organizations. It was sponsored by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation.

Area leaders took part in 57 meetings across seven days, said Eric Planey, vice president for International Business Attraction for the chamber.

“In particular, it gave us keen insight on green technology ... and how they’ve worked through the problems toward solutions,” said Warren Mayor Mike O’Brien.

Warren is getting a green-technologies incubator off the ground, O’Brien said, and the trip provided a model from which it can gain some ideas.

Scott said the proposed green- technology incubator in Warren is for entry-level technology, whereas the Ohio Clean Technologies Group will handle technology that is more advanced and ready to be marketed.

“I see this as a phased approach,” he said.

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams said that the trip validated the area’s investment in economic development and proved that the Mahoning Valley has “the talent, skill and technological know-how to compete in the global marketplace.”

“I got to see first hand that the intellect we have here is attractive to Israel,” he said.

rrouan@vindy.com