Research in New Technologies is Bringing New Business to Ohio
Op-ed column written by UDRI Director John Leland, in response to the April 17 Dayton Daily News business story, “Nanotechnology group plans $5.25 million project.”
The recent announcement by Renegade Materials that it plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Springboro is not only a success story for the region, it is a victory for Ohio and its Third Frontier Project. Third Frontier was established and operates on a simple theory: investing in research and development for high-tech manufacturing will reinforce Ohio’s eroding manufacturing base, stem the flow of good minds and businesses out of the state, and bring new business and jobs to Ohio. Renegade’s decision to build in Ohio serves to confirm that theory.
A start-up nanotechnology company created by Blue Ash-based Maverick Corp. and Canyon Composites in Anaheim, Calif., Renegade could easily have followed the high-tech wagon train West along a path worn smooth by Midwest start-ups seeking the resources they needed to succeed. In 1998, for example, cutting-edge materials nanotechnology developed at the University of Dayton Research Institute was commercialized in Fountain Valley, California. The researcher who licensed the technology felt the Silicon Valley offered the technological resources and amenities that could help his business grow. But Renegade – with one foot already planted in California – opted to break new ground in the Buckeye State. Why? In 2002, the Ohio Department of Development initiated a program designed to secure Ohio’s economic development future via the Third Frontier – a 10-year, $1.6 billion initiative to attract high-wage, high-tech jobs to Ohio by expanding the state’s research capabilities and promoting innovation, new company formation and existing company growth.
Success stories came early – and in 2004, when another materials nanotechnology developed at UDRI was commercialized, the entrepreneur who licensed the technology chose to stay in Ohio. Akron-based NanoSperse benefited from Third Frontier funding and area expertise to help scale-up its technology, and it receives support from and in turn supports Ohio business by purchasing materials and manufacturing resources in Beavercreek and Cedarville.
Since its inception, Third Frontier has invested more than $600 million and leveraged and garnered co-investments of more than $1.5 billion in the areas of biosciences, advanced energy, power and propulsion, advanced materials and other high-tech fields – resulting in the creation and retention of nearly 3,500 jobs and the creation and attraction of more than 250 new companies. In that time, Ohio’s foothold in new technologies has grown exponentially: New awards have led to new technologies, to new products and to new and existing business growth.
Awards to the University of Dayton Research Institute and other Ohio universities have proved critical to the success of Third Frontier, as they have enabled and continue to yield the development of new materials, devices and products. Earlier this year, for example, UDRI opened the world’s first product demonstration center for polymer nanotechnology in collaboration with the National Composite Center, giving manufacturers of polymer products – Ohio’s number one industry – the opportunity to explore the use of nanomaterials in their products without the major upfront risk and investment. Equally importantly, however, funds awarded to Ohio universities are being used to provide invaluable hands-on training to students in new and quickly evolving sciences. And as Third Frontier continues to succeed, Ohio’s graduating students will be better able to find high-wage jobs in Ohio.
There is still much work to be done but today, because of Third Frontier, the resources needed to help Renegade succeed are available in Ohio. Renegade opted to avail itself to “capture all the nanotech work that is being done in the state,” and because they believe that work “will continue to leapfrog,” according to Bob Gray, president of Maverick and co-owner of Renegade.
We applaud the state for its vision in launching Third Frontier; we welcome Renegade and those who will follow; we look forward to watching – and participating in – Ohio’s evolution to a world-class center for research and innovation.
May 8, 2007
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