Crain's Cleveland Business

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Web developers’ new tool built for multimedia wave

HTML5 is offering Northeast Ohio developers a betterway to incorporate animation and other multimedia intowebsites, which in turn will make those sitesmore mobile-friendly. PAGE 3

ALSO:■ Spire contractors under fire, too. PAGE 3

VOL. 33, NO. 11

Interest grows in redeveloped Parma GM plant

Mayor Jackson warns that Cleveland’s schools could become wards of the state

if Columbus doesn’t clear way for hisSchool Transformation Plan

MARC GOLUB

Joseph Greenberg last year bought the former Parma Gen-eral Motors complex.

By STAN [email protected]

Redevelopment efforts at Parma’s former General Motors transmission plantare shifting into drive.

Workers recently finished removingtons of equipment from the 525,000-square-foot plant, which under dimmer-than-normal auxiliary lighting resemblesa smooth-floored Mammoth Cave. Alsogone is a canopy as long as a football fieldthat sheltered workers bound to or from

parking lots across Chevrolet Boulevard.The canopy stretched over part of a sitethat rivals a small farm in size; that landonce was set aside for plant expansion,but now is earmarked for a business park.

Most importantly, the first tenant justtook up residence in what’s called ParmaBusiness Park II. Late last month, All ProFreight Systems of Avon leased 150,000square feet for a distribution center for acustomer, according to Chris Haas, All ProCEO.

The lease is a sign of strong interest in

the property, said Joseph Greenberg, thebroker as well as an owner of 54 ChevyLLC, which bought the complex last year.He sees the property as a site for today andtomorrow.

For today, the plant’s tall ceilings, over-head crane and indoor rail spur will suitcompanies that want space immediately,Mr. Greenberg said. Meanwhile, the vacantland will yield sites for businesses thatwant to build when demand for construc-tion rebounds.

Business groupsdon’t rally forright to workTepid response to issue may be due to wounds from collective bargaining fightBy JAY [email protected]

The idea of overturning a statelaw that forces workers to pay uniondues as a condition of employmentin a unionized workplace long hasbeen favored by business groups inOhio. But few groups nor Gov. JohnKasich are rushing to back an effortto get what often is called a right-to-work constitutional amendment onthe statewide ballot, even though arecent poll of Ohio voters suggests amajority would support it.

Call it the Issue 2 effect.Many business groups that in the

past have been early and active proponents of major state issues,

such as casino gambling, made cau-tious statements last week to Crain’sabout the proposed right-to-workamendment, despite the recentpassage of comparable legislationin nearby Indiana.

“We won’t even begin to take alook at it until it’s on the ballot andit’s scheduled for a vote,” said LindaWoggon, executive vice presidentfor governmental affairs at the OhioChamber of Commerce. “Then we’llrun it through our process.”

The right-to-work issue also isn’ton the radar of the Greater Cleve-land Partnership, said Joe Roman,CEO of the regional chamber ofcommerce group, which has more

See PARMA Page 17

See WORK Page 17

By JAY MILLER and TIMOTHY [email protected], [email protected]

If he doesn’t get the state legisla-tion he believes is needed to rebuild Cleveland’s schools,Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson

says the likelihood of passing a schoollevy this fall “is little or none, and theguarantee is (that the school district)will go into academic receivershipand financial bankruptcy.”

Mayor Jackson’s dire words comeas he awaits a decision by Gov. John

Kasich on what legislation the gover-nor will propose to clear the way forwhat is called the School Transforma-tion Plan. The mayor and schoolsCEO Eric Gordon have proposed theplan to bring about dramatic changein the Cleveland Metropolitan SchoolDistrict.

Mayor Jackson said in an interviewlast Thursday, March 8, with Crain’sthat he expects Cleveland’s teachersto support this plan, despite com-plaints from the Cleveland Teachers

See SCHOOLS Page 17

INSIDE

20120312-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 3/9/2012 3:31 PM Page 1

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22 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM MARCH 12 - 18, 2012

REGULAR FEATURES

Big Issue ..................................10Classified ................................18Editorial....................................10From the Publisher ..................10

Going Places ............................12Letters ....................................11List: Credit Unions ....................16Reporters’ Notebook ................19

COMING SOONCrain’s Who to Watch: Finance

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Publisher/editorial director:Brian D. Tucker ([email protected])Editor:Mark Dodosh ([email protected])Managing editor:Scott Suttell ([email protected])Sections editor: Amy Ann Stoessel ([email protected])Assistant editor: Joel Hammond ([email protected])SportsSenior reporter: Stan Bullard ([email protected])Real estate and constructionReporters: Jay Miller ([email protected])GovernmentChuck Soder ([email protected])TechnologyDan Shingler ([email protected])ManufacturingTim Magaw ([email protected])Health care & educationMichelle Park ([email protected])FinanceResearch editor: Deborah W. Hillyer ([email protected])

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We’re looking to profile some of the region’s finance and banking up-and-com-ers in “Who to Watch: Finance,” a specialsection slated for publication April 23.

If you think you know who will beamong those leading the Northeast Ohiofinance scene of the future, drop an email to AmyAnn Stoessel, [email protected], or call 216-771-5155. Please send in your suggestions byMarch 26.

There are no hard and fast require-ments for possible inclusion in this sec-tion, other than the candidate needs tohave exhibited the kind of potential thatmakes him or her someone to watch.

And mark your calendars and keepthinking about the region’s future leaders, as therewill be two more of these sections in 2012: “Who toWatch: Health Care,” July 16; and “Who to Watch:Law,” Nov. 26.

PSST ...Advertising and marketing executives are a chattybunch — especially about each other. A recent surveyby The Creative Group of 500 U.S. advertising andmarketing executives found nearly two-thirds of respondents said it’s “very common” or “somewhatcommon” for employees at their agency or firm to engage in office gossip. Most of them, though, saidthe lunchroom/hallway whispering is harmless. Here’show they characterized the general tone of gossipwhere they work:

Tone PercentageInoffensive and light-hearted 61%

Negative; not intentionally hurtful 20

Malicious or hurtful 2

Don’t know 17

SOURCE: WWW.CREATIVEGROUP.COM


MARCH 12 - 18, 2012 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 3

INSIGHT

THE WEEK IN QUOTES“Our membershipwould clearly line upin favor of right to worksince small businessowners clearly believethat it is a strong concept that shouldbe in the marketplace.”— Roger Geiger, vice presidentand executive director, NationalFederal of Independent Business/Ohio. Page One

“We individually wereworking on what wethought were the bestpractices, but whenwe put our heads together, we found abetter solution at a farlower cost.”— Thomas Selden, president andCEO of Southwest General HealthSystem, part of the CommunityHealth Collaborative. Page 8

“I am hearing moreand more from peoplewho are downsized ortired of the corporateworld who say,‘I wouldlove to start my owncompany.’ In one hourevery week we talkabout how to do that.”— Kip Marlow, host, “Entrepre-neurs Club Radio.” Page 13

“You didn’t developyour current timemanagement systemovernight. … You needto work at it.”— Larry N. Lamphier, businesscoach and founder of Winter-green Associates LLC,Painesville. Page 15

Developersspeak samelanguagewith HTML5 Change allows easieruse of multimedia,among other benefitsBy CHUCK [email protected]

Two years ago, David Skorepastarted telling his clients that a bigchange was coming.

Well, it’s here.Web developers from Northeast

Ohio to Silicon Valley are changingthe way they build websites becauseof HTML5 — a set of standards designed to make website developmenteasier in a mobile, multimedia world.

The transition is moving fast. Inearly 2011, Aztek Consulting Corp.rebuilt its own website with basicHTML5 features, said Mr. Skorepa,chief creative officer for the Cleve-land company. By fall of that year, itwas doing the same for clients.

Now, more than half the websiteson which Aztek works incorporateelements of HTML5 and relatedtechnologies, Mr. Skorepa said.

“It really is the way things are going,” he said.

HTML5 represents a structuralchange in how the web works. Theterm technically is used to describethe fifth generation of changes madeto Hypertext Markup Language, orHTML, the main tool used to orga-nize content on websites. However,it also is used as an umbrella term toinclude other recent changes madeto web standards, such as CascadingStyle Sheets, which are used to control colors, fonts and other visualelements of websites.

Among other things, the changesallow developers to incorporate ani-mation, video and other multimediaelements into websites without using software tools such as Flash,which has been criticized for usingtoo much processing power and exposing web users to viruses.

The late Steve Jobs cited thoseproblems and others in an April 2010letter describing why Apple doesn’tallow iPhones and iPads to accessFlash software.

New and improvedThe new standards also give web

See DEVELOPERS Page 6

Contractorfeels stingof Spire’smoney lagHughes-Roller supplier files suit;larger group considers next step

By JOEL [email protected]

Spire Institute’s failure to pay millions of dollars dueits contractors is putting a squeeze on Hughes-RollerBuilding Co. of Ashtabula, a lead contractor at the 160-acre sports complex in Harpersfield Township.

Hughes-Roller, which last Dec. 19 filed an $8.57 million mechanic’s lien against Spire, is the object of 21liens filed against it from last October through Feb. 27.Those liens total $6.13 million.

In addition, Hughes-Roller has been sued for$570,000 by aluminum contractor Corporate Glass ofErie, Pa., which took that action instead of filing a lien.

Crain’s reported last Monday, March 5, that contrac-tors had filed a half-dozen mechanic’s liens as of Feb.27 in the Ashtabula County Recorder’s Office againstSpire, which is part of the Geneva area Recreational,Educational and Athletic Trust.The liens totaled $11 million.

Other mechanic’s liensfiled in Ashtabula County arepiling up against various contractors that have been involved with work at Spire.Besides the liens againstHughes-Roller, liens also havebeen filed against CorporateGlass, Metcalf Glass of Ashtab-ula, J.W. Precision Interiorsand HAVE Inc., an Ashtabulamechanical contractor.

David Nolan, owner ofNolan Door in Austinburg, Ohio, has filed liens for$96,096 against Corporate Glass and $161,078 againstHughes-Roller. Mr. Nolan and Chris Osborne, a projectmanager at Corporate Glass, each said Hughes-Rolleroffered their companies a token payment after Jan. 1;for Corporate Glass, that offer was about $30,000 on anearly $600,000 bill.

Mr. Nolan’s company has six employees, and he saidthere was “unbelievable pressure” to finish Spire’saquatics center by last Sept. 13, despite repeated requests from Spire for changes such as moving doors.

“Doors are usually 7% of a job,” Mr. Nolan said. “Extrapolate what that means for the entire job, forheating and ventilation.”

Mr. Nolan, like other small contractors who spokewith Crain’s for its March 5 story, said the effects ofSpire’s nonpayment have been incredibly damaging.

“People have lost houses and equipment,” he said.

Crain’s is seeking nominations forthe women it will profile in its annualWomen of Note section, which isscheduled for the July 23 issue.

Nominations can be submittedthrough CrainsCleveland.com byclicking on Women of Note underthe Features tab of the toolbar.Nominations also can be sent viaemail to editor Mark Dodosh [email protected], or via regularmail at 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite310, Cleveland, 44113.

The deadline for submissions isMonday, March 19.

WOMEN OFNOTE

‘RESHORING’A SURE GOOD SIGNManufacturers increasingly bringing jobs back to U.S.

By DAN [email protected]

Businesses looking for low-cost markets in which to manufacturetheir products increasingly areturning to what’s emerging as a

surprisingly affordable option — theUnited States.

“The costs in China and other placeshave been rising so rapidly, it’s becomingmore obvious to companies they shouldbring a lot of the work back to the U.S.,”said Harry Mosher, a retired manufacturingexecutive, former Cleveland-area resi-dent and founder of the Chicago-basedReshoring Initiative. Mr. Mosher’s missionthese days is convincing companies tomove operations to the United States fromother countries.

Mr. Mosher, who runs a website calledReshoreNow.org, spouts off recent examples of U.S. companies that have“reshored” operations back to the UnitedStates. One of his favorites is California-

See RESHORING Page 11

See SPIRE Page 7

“People havelost housesand equipment.It’s very hurt-ful. It has thepotential ofputting us outof business.” – David Nolan,owner, Nolan Door


44 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM MARCH 12-18, 2012

What do You Value?

216.241.3272 or www.meadenmoore.com

Maybe it’s advice from accounting and tax professionals to help your business grow and thrive.

Creating Value.

We Value that too. Volume 33, Number 11 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for com-bined issues on the fourth week of May and fifth week of May, the fourth week of June and first week of July,the third week of December and fourth week of December at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland,OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio,and at additional mailing offices. Price per copy: $2.00. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Crain’sCleveland Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48207-2912. 1-877-824-9373. REPRINT INFORMATION: 800-290-5460 Ext. 136

Developer eyes new rentals in RiverBy STAN [email protected]

To create a site for a 275-unitapartment building to go up, anearly empty shopping center inRocky River may go down.

That’s if a Columbus-based realestate developer has its way.

Ryan Szymanski, senior vice pres-ident of development at EdwardsCommunities, said the apartmentowner and builder is going throughdue diligence to acquire part of theRockport Shopping Center to createa location for a four-story apart-ment building. He said Edwards hasa purchase contract with the center’sowner, Rockport Associates Co.,that is contingent on several factors.

“It would be a good market forupscale apartments,” Mr. Szymanskisaid last Thursday, March 8, in aphone interview. “It would add somenew multifamily in an area that hasnot had any for many, many years.”

Edwards builds upscale commu-nities, Mr. Szymanski said. The pro-posed building in Rocky River wouldhave a fitness center, movie theaterroom, pool and clubhouse. Rentsfor the one- and two-bedroom unitswould be competitive with those at

Crocker Park in Westlake and indowntown Cleveland, he said.

The unit count is not final andmay change as the project takesshape, so Mr. Szymanski declinedto estimate a development cost forthe building. However, using industryestimates, a project of 275 unitswould cost around $40 million.

Kory Koran, Rocky River’s directorof economic and community devel-opment, said the city is workingwith Edwards and the center’s own-ership to fashion a plan that wouldwork for all parties as well as neigh-boring residents.

The city, the developer and thebuilding’s current owner are exchangingsite plans to work out somethingacceptable to all three, Mr. Koran said.Several years ago, he said, the suburbchanged its zoning code to allowmultifamily development in districtszoned for shopping center use.

Rockport Associates is owned byprincipals of the Beachwood-basedreal estate owner and developerWald & Fisher. Eric Wald of Wald &Fisher declined comment.

Mr. Koran, eager to discuss theproject, said the city suggested thesite to Edwards.

“This area has been a sore point

for the city for seven years,” he said.The grocery-anchored shopping

center lost its supermarket whenGiant Eagle moved to a location farther west on Center Ridge Road.A former movie theater-turned-retailspace was demolished several yearsago. Also, a Target store vacated alarge, newer building on the westside of the plaza after it became theanchor for the redevelopment ofWestgate Mall in Fairview Park asan open-air shopping center.

The apartment plan would useabout six acres of the site. The emptyTarget building and a freestandingPanera Bread in front of the buildingwould remain. Mr. Szymanski saidif the city approves its plans and Edwards proceeds, constructionwould not begin before 2013 becausethe handful of remaining tenantswould need to move.

Edwards has properties in theToledo area but nothing in theCleveland market among its 3,600-suite portfolio. An affiliate, EdwardsStudent Housing Management Co.,is building a 571-bed student housingcomplex in Kent that is set to be fin-ished in August. The student housingarm has a total of 10,000 beds in 10college communities nationwide. ■

Region gains from interest in ‘wet’ gasesBy DAN [email protected]

Northeast Ohio’s economy ispoised to get a shot in the arm fromlow natural gas prices, and it willhappen faster than most observersthought just a few weeks ago, whenoptimism already was high.

Thanks to the drop in natural gasprices, industrial companies herewill have access to cheaper energyand, in some cases, cheaper rawmaterials than their internationalcompetitors. Even your local Mc-Donald’s stands to benefit as itcooks your fries.

“In general, the cat bird’s seat is agood place to put us right now — wehave the potential for our industry inOhio to be extremely globally com-petitive again,” said Jack Pounds,president of the Ohio ChemistryTechnology Council in Columbus.

Thanks to natural gas found inshale formations in Ohio, Pennsyl-vania and other states, the cost ofnatural gas has dropped to wellheadprices of $2.50 or less per thousandcubic feet, or mcf. That’s the lowestprice since 2002, and it marks a decline of more than 25% this yearalone. As recently as 2005, naturalgas was selling for more than $10per mcf at the wellhead, accordingto the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The decline is of importance toOhio because of the economics ofthe shale gas drilling that is startingto take place in Ohio. Unlike the“dry” gas found in the Marcellus shaledeposits beneath Pennsylvania andsome of Ohio’s eastern counties, the“wet” gas that’s found under rough-ly half of Ohio, in the deeper Uticashale, is mixed with crude oil and

other valuable liquids. Now that the price of natural gas

has collapsed, drillers are more interested than ever in those otherliquids. That means they’ll step updrilling in Ohio and it also meansthe chemicals from those liquids —vital to the state’s plastic and chem-ical industries — will be more plen-tiful and less expensive.

They want a crackerAndrew Thomas, a former geo-

physicist and lawyer for oil and gascompanies in New Orleans and nowa researcher at Cleveland State Uni-versity, said low natural gas pricesand lease clauses that require com-panies to drill within five years ofleasing property from landownerswill cause drilling here to speed upfrom a handful of wells dug in 2011to more than 1,000 per year by 2014.

“Then, I think, (the Utica shale)will sustain that activity for 20years,” Mr. Thomas predicts.

Down around New Philadelphia,attorney Brad Hillyer, a longtimeexpert on mineral rights, said he’salready seeing the first waves of activity as drillers come after theUtica shale’s precious liquids.

“That stuff is bringing in $85 abarrel now,” Mr. Hillyer said. “I getvisits daily from pipeline companiesthat are trying to run pipelines acrossGuernsey County, trying to get pipe-lines to the refineries up in Canton.”

Three small “cracker” plants, whichwould refine industrial chemicalsfrom shale gas liquids, are plannedfor the area, Mr. Hillyer said. Theywould be in addition to a multibil-lion-dollar cracker Shell Oil Co.wants to build in Ohio, Pennsylvaniaor West Virginia to process thosechemicals in large quantities.

The smaller cracker plants he hasheard of represent investments ofabout $50 million each, Mr. Hillyer said.

Into the fryerCloser to Cleveland, the effects of

this activity likely will be felt mostdramatically by the chemical industry.Mr. Pounds of the Ohio ChemistryTechnology Council said chemicalcompanies use raw materials derivedfrom natural gas and its associatedliquids as well as use power fromnatural gas for their own productionprocesses.

If Shell builds its cracker, Ohio’schemical industry will increase itsoutput by about 20% within threeyears, Mr. Pounds predicts. That increase would translate into nearly $5billion a year of additional businessfor Ohio’s chemical industry, whichcurrently makes about $28 billion ofproduct annually, he said.

“With a cracker in the area producing about a million tons of ethylene a year, we would have thelowest raw material costs of anyplace in the world other than SaudiArabia or Canada,” Mr. Pounds said.

Mike Brakey, an energy consultantin Shaker Heights, said he’s advisingany client who can to switch from us-ing electricity to using natural gas.

One businessman who took Mr.Brakey’s advice was Dave Stiles,owner of Mimax One in BroadviewHeights, which is the operating com-pany for Mr. Stiles’ five McDonald’srestaurants in the area.

Mr. Stiles is converting his electricfryers over to gas-powered versions,he said, because the savings are too greatto ignore — even though a new naturalgas fryer costs more than $15,000.

They use a lot of energy, though,so the conversion is still worth it, Mr.Stiles said.

“It’s a big investment, but it takesthree times the cost to run an electricfryer versus a gas fryer now,” Mr.Stiles said. “I’ll be able to pay for the thing in a year or two” from thesavings. ■


20120312-NEWS--5-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 3/8/2012 10:25 AM Page 1


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developers an easier way to buildwebsites that adjust to fit any screen.Developers today often build sepa-rate websites to make sure contentlooks good on desktop computers,smart phones and tablet computers.

HTML5 standards have yet to be approved formally by the WorldWide Web Consortium, which defines the various standards devel-opers should follow when buildingwebsites. Even so, new versions ofmost web browsers have been designed to work with many of thechanges, Mr. Skorepa said.

Adoption will speed up once theconsortium makes its final decisions,he added.

But it isn’t like other local webdevelopers are waiting around. Forinstance, Briteskies LLC of Inde-pendence started building sites using HTML5 during the second half of 2011, and it has launchedthree more since the start of 2012, according to Michael Moores, directorof delivery for the information tech-nology services firm. Briteskies alsois incorporating HTML5 tools as itoverhauls its own site.

Mr. Moores ticked off a long listof capabilities the new standardsprovide today, but noted that thereare more tools developers will startto use once browsers support them.

For instance, developers eventu-

ally should be able to use HTML5tools to build online applicationsthat, for the most part, can continuefunctioning even if Internet accessis cut off, he said.

“I think this really does have ahuge impact,” he said.

HTML5, version NE OhioHTML5 is working its way into

local software products, too. Lastweek, OverDrive Inc. of Valley Viewannounced that it had acquiredBooki.sh, an Australian companythat uses HTML5-based softwarethat allows users to read e-booksvia a web browser.

Now, libraries and schools will beable to access OverDrive’s catalog ofe-books and digital content withoutdownloading anything. That’s a bigdeal, considering that people usinglibrary and school computers oftenaren’t allowed to download soft-ware, said David Burleigh, directorof marketing for OverDrive.

“It’s just giving people morechoices,” Mr. Burleigh said.

Software Answers Inc. will benefitin a different way from HTML5. TheBrecksville company this fall aimsto start releasing HTML5 versionsof its ProgressBook education software products. The main goal ofthe conversion is to ensure the soft-ware works well on any device, saidTony Mujic, ProgressBook product

manager.“I don’t have to make an iPhone

app. I don’t have to make an Androidapp,” Mr. Mujic said.

Some companies have been hesitant to incorporate HTML5 features into their sites becausesome of their customers use olderbrowsers that aren’t compatible.Even so, several developers whospoke with Crain’s said they canbuild sites that recognize when usershave older browsers and present thoseusers with versions that excludeHTML5 features. They also notedthat it is not hard to train web developers to learn HTML5.

The move to the new standards is “inevitable,” said Tom Nolan, director of digital production atmarketing firm Marcus ThomasLLC of Warrensville Heights.

Marcus Thomas in late Februarylaunched an HTML5 version of itsown site and is building HTML5sites for clients, Mr. Nolan said. ItsDigiKnow division used HTML5when building the website for Sher-win-Williams Co.’s Pratt & LambertPaints brand.

Now the biggest challenge is con-vincing clients to take the plunge,according to Aztek’s Mr. Skorepaand other web developers.

“We’re starting, by default, to tryto convince people it’s OK,” Mr.Skorepa said. ■

Developers: Clients need convincingcontinued from PAGE 3

Maritime asbestos keeps law firms busy Idle for years, 3,500cases now on the move

By MICHELLE [email protected]

A judge’s decision to move along3,500 asbestos lawsuits — some ofwhich have languished for morethan 20 years — has created a swiftcurrent of cases that’s keeping anumber of Northeast Ohio law firmsbusy.

“There’s just a lot to do all at once,”said Julia R. Brouhard, an attorneywith Ray, Robinson, Carle & DaviesPLL, a Cleveland firm with a primaryfocus on maritime law.

“For years, these things have beensitting out there in limbo,” she said.“Our clients would say every once ina while, ‘What’s going on with thesecases?,’ and we would say, ‘Nothing.Don’t worry about it.’ Now, we’reneeding to say, ‘You know those cases? Now you need to worry aboutthem.’”

The cases are maritime asbestosclaims, brought by seamen who saythey were made sick by asbestos onthe ships on which they worked.

The first deadline to meet was inJanuary, the month U.S. DistrictCourt Judge Eduardo C. Robreno inPhiladelphia deemed that discoverywould begin for the first cases to behandled.

Months before, in summer 2011,more than 30,000 of the cases weredismissed, leaving about 3,500 activecases. Those 3,500 are being handledin seven staggered groups of roughly500 at a time; discovery for the finalgroup begins in January 2013.

Law firms nationwide are workingthe cases. Locally, Ray Robinson,Gallagher Sharp and ThompsonHine LLP are among those repre-senting defendants, including ship

owners, many of which must decidewhether they want to continuefighting the legal battle or settlewithout knowing what the seamenwere exposed to, if they were exposedat all, Ms. Brouhard said.

Cases that aren’t settled will beremanded to trial in the U.S. DistrictCourt, Northern District of Ohio,where they originated.

“I think it’s going to take years,”Ms. Brouhard said of closing thecases. “If there’s an onslaught ofcases that comes back to Cleveland,there are (only) so many federalcourt judges, and they can handleso many cases. It’s going to take along time.”

Beginning of the end?With 500 cases beginning discovery

every couple months, there’s a“great deal of work that’s going onright now,” said Kevin C. Alexander-sen, who chairs Gallagher Sharp’smass torts department.

“We’ve got people collectingmedical records, security records,seaman records, Coast Guard records,trying to compile information andconfirm diseases,” Mr. Alexander-sen said. “Normally, you might dothat on one or two. When you’re doing it 500 at a time, you’re allocatingyour resources accordingly.”

Mr. Alexandersen’s firm is repre-senting five defendants in about 400of the first 500 cases. He said he believes the cases may prove to bethe last massive action of this type.

“This litigation is tailing off,” hesaid of asbestos-related claims, notinghow many potential plaintiffs havedied and how new regulations havemitigated more recent exposure. “Idoubt you’ll ever see a tort of thismass of asbestos litigation again.”

The maritime asbestos lawsuitsbegan popping up in the mid-1980sand at one time numbered morethan 40,000, according to Ms.

Brouhard. In many cases, a plaintiffseaman sued many defendants because he worked on many shipsequipped with many products.

In the early 1990s, the cases wereconsolidated into what is calledmultidistrict litigation, which is usedwhen a group of federal cases hassimilar issues. It was agreed that thecases would be gathered in Philadel-phia for the purpose of discovery.

Several years later, a judge enteredan order placing all the maritimecases on an administrative dismissaldocket. Nothing much happenedagain until 2011.

Dredging workIn many cases, the asbestos expo-

sure is alleged to have occurreddecades ago, Ray Robinson’s Ms.Brouhard noted, some as long agoas the 1940s. The passage of timemakes retrieving documents relatedto employment and illness nearlyimpossible, she said.

“It’s very difficult just to try todredge up all this information,” saidMs. Brouhard, who estimated herlaw firm is defending 30 or so clientsin as many as 300 of the cases.

Veritext, a national firm with anoffice in Cleveland, is providingcase management and documentretrieval services to defense attorneysduring discovery. The company hiredthree full-time people in late 2011 inanticipation of the increased work-load, said Irene Rennillo, a consultantand specialist in records at Veritext.

“When you have a case of thisvolume, the management of it isvery crucial,” Ms. Rennillo said.“You’re scheduling depositions in multiple locations for multiplepeople all at the same time.”

Ray Robinson doesn’t need toadd staff now, but Ms. Brouhardsaid it’s possible it may hire one ormore paralegals to assist with theenormous paper load involved. ■



“It’s very hurtful. It has the potentialof putting us out of business.”

Figuring out the next stepInstead of filing a lien, Corporate

Glass sued Hughes-Roller. Mr. Osborne said until Spire’s troublesbecame public, Ashtabula-areacontractors were hesitant to cast anegative light on the project, whichhas buoyed the Ashtabula area withhigh-profile sports events since itopened in 2010.

“We chose to do the lawsuit because we thought it gave us a better chance of getting the moneyowed to us from the contractor thandoing the lien,” Mr. Osborne said.

Mr. Nolan said his door companyis reluctant to file suit because thatstep only would delay the process ofrepayment.

Now, those owed money for theirwork are trying to figure out theirnext step. According to Mr. Osborne,there was a meeting last Tuesday,March 6, at Hughes-Roller of sub-contractors that had worked on theSpire job.

Mr. Osborne, whose company’slawyer was present, said the subjectof a foreclosure action against Spireand a subsequent sheriff’s sale arepotential options if the nonpaymentcontinues. The contractors involvedin the foreclosure then would usethe property as a way to recouptheir losses.

If they’re owed $15 million collec-tively, and the property is sold forthat amount or more, they’d be paidin full, said Tim McGarry, a construc-tion law attorney at Nicola, Gud-branson & Cooper. If not, and theproperty sold for, say, $10 million,each contractor would receive two-thirds of the money they’re owed,Mr. McGarry said. One of NicolaGudbranson’s clients, Air ControlProducts of Broadview Heights, hasa lien filed against Spire.

Stuart Cordell, a lawyer for Spire’sdevelopment group and a partner atWarren & Young PLL of Ashtabula,told Crain’s two weeks ago that thedevelopers had been turned downby banks in their quest to obtain morefinancing, and now are identifyingpotential institutional investors. Hereiterated last week that no financingagreement is in place, and he wouldnot speculate on when one would be.

Mr. Cordell also said he’s awarethat a lawsuit has been discussed.

“It’s one option, and the directionthey go is up to them,” Mr. Cordellsaid. “What we are focused on isfinding financing to alleviate theproblem. If lawsuits get filed, it will beunfortunate, but we’ll deal withthem.”

Meanwhile, the contractors continue to scratch forward.

“We’re paying our vendors out ofour own pocket, and we’re one ofthe lucky ones able to do that,” saidMr. Osborne of Corporate Glass. ■

GMAC jobs could land downtown

continued from PAGE 3

Spire: Contractors hesitantto cast project in bad light

By STAN [email protected]

Add workers for GMAC Insurance,a better-known brand than that ofits AmTrust Financial Services Inc.parent, to the list of prospective occupants of the 800 Superior Ave.building in downtown Cleveland.

A total of six floors at the 23-storyoffice building would be dedicatedto auto insurer GMAC, while five floorsare earmarked for AmTrust Financial,according to a construction budgetthat AmTrust filed with CuyahogaCounty for a renovation of the building.An AmTrust affiliate bought thebuilding last Aug. 29 for $7.5 million.

The document, which Crain’s obtained in response to a federalFreedom of Information request, isin AmTrust’s application for a $3million county loan. The loan wouldbe part of a $23 million financingpackage that state, county and cityofficials assembled to aid AmTrust’sdowntown project. AmTrust plans toinvest $20 million into rehabilitatingthe building, which dates to 1969,for its own use and for rental tenants.

AmTrust, through sister companyAmerican Capital Acquisition Corp.,acquired GMAC Insurance PersonalLines of Winston-Salem, N.C., in

March 2010. At that time, AmericanCapital said it would keep GMAC’soperations there.

AmTrust officials have said mostof the 1,000 jobs it plans to locate indowntown Cleveland would benewly created thanks to anticipatedbusiness growth over the next threeyears. An exception would be the200 jobs the company plans tomove from its Seven Hills office.

AmTrust’s local spokeswoman,Nancy Lesic, declined commentabout GMAC’s potential presenceat 800 Superior.

However, in responding to anearlier email from Crain’s askingabout the possible relocation byAmTrust of jobs to Cleveland fromoutside the region, Ms. Lesic stated,“The job number is based on antic-ipated growth, and may include someconsolidation from facilities in 22other states. Plans have yet to be finalized and determined. Until theyare, we can’t be more specific andwe don’t want to unnecessarily alarmemployees based on speculation.”

Laura Jones, a spokeswoman forthe new economic developmentnonprofit JobsOhio, said AmTrusthas told the state that Ohio is incompetition with other states forthe AmTrust jobs. She said JobsOhio

does not identify competing statesbecause it needs an element of con-fidentiality to be effective.

Nathan Kelly, Cuyahoga County’sdeputy chief of staff for develop-ment, declined to discuss the GMACdetails in the loan application. Hesaid he is excited AmTrust plans toexpand in Cleveland.

GMAC, the former insurance affiliate of General Motors Co., hasa history dating back to 1929. It pro-vides property and casualty insur-ance, including auto coverage andspecialty insurance for recreationalvehicles and motorcycles.

American Capital and AmTrusttold Bloomberg news at the time ofthe 2010 deal that buying the insur-ance unit for an undisclosed sumfrom GMAC would double AmTrust’sfield sales force by adding 10,000agents who also would sell otherAmTrust products.

AmTrust and American Capitalremain on an acquisition binge.Since AmTrust announced its planslast December to set up the down-town office, it bought another com-pany, Builders & Trademen’s Insur-ance Services Inc. of Rocklin, Calif.,which provides bonding and insur-ance for construction companies in12 western states. ■

New Magnet support grouptargeting entrepreneursBy DAN [email protected]

Some newly minted college graduates and perhaps studentsreaching the end of their academiccareers soon will have a place tohang out, network with one another,get on the Internet and, with someluck, form some of Northeast Ohio’snext successful businesses.

And it all can happen at a specialincubator built and maintained justfor them.

The manufacturing support groupMagnet is starting the project thisspring. Dubbed “The Beta Space,”its purpose is to help would-be entrepreneurs by allowing them tonetwork more easily with each other,as well as with seasoned businessprofessionals, said David Crain, director of entrepreneurial servicesfor Magnet.

The Beta Space will be aimed atyoung entrepreneurs who have anidea for a business that involvesmanufacturing or engineering, Mr.Crain said. Because they’ll be atMagnet’s main site near downtownCleveland, they’ll have access to engi-neers, designers and other productdevelopment specialists that Magnetalready uses as consultants to areamanufacturers, Mr. Crain said.

“They’ll be in a facility where allwe do is help people make stuff, andthey’ll have access to all of that,” hesaid.

In addition, Magnet is signing up service providers — lawyers, accountants and experts in marketingand finance — who will staff a group

of three offices at The Beta Space ona rotating schedule. They’ll providefree services and general counselingnot only to the young entrepreneurs,but also to other manufacturing-related businesses in the area, Mr.Crain said.

“I’m signing up service providersthat will be in one to four days amonth,” Mr. Crain said.

The entire project is financedwith about $20,000 in local contri-butions, including a $10,000 grantfrom the Burton D. Morgan Foun-dation, Mr. Crain said. That moneywill outfit the approximately 2,000-square-foot room with office furni-ture, desks, Internet, phone con-nections and most of what theentrepreneurs will need to work,aside from their own computers.

Mr. Crain said he already hassigned up his first couple entrepre-neurs and is building out the spacewith plans to open it in late April orearly May.

The Hudson-based MorganFoundation, named after the late local entrepreneurial advocate BurtMorgan, “believes networking andbuilding connections are importantelements of successful entrepre-neurial activity and that the betaspace is designed to achieve thatgoal,” foundation president DeborahHoover said.

“We’re particularly interested inensuring that young entrepreneurshave the opportunity to connectand we’re working to promote theavailability of the space among thecollegiate programs that we sup-port,” she said. ■



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RECEIVERSHIP SALE

Cedar Brook Financial acquires againPepper Pike firm’s CEOsays scale is necessary

By MICHELLE [email protected]

A March merger is deal No. 2 inthree months for Pepper Pike wealthmanager Cedar Brook FinancialPartners, whose leader says it remainshungry for expansion that broadensits expertise.

Effective March 1, Buzek WealthAdvisors in Strongsville merged withCedar Brook. Buzek, which has beenin business for more than 20 yearsand has assumed the Cedar Brookname, adds three professionals and$75 million to $80 million in assetsunder management to the largerfirm.

Prior to the Buzek deal, CedarBrook in December acquired TheProfessional Advisor Group, whichgave the firm offices in BloomfieldHills, Mich., and Naples, Fla., andalso added nine employees.

Terms of the deals were not dis-closed. They are the first such dealsfor Cedar Brook since its founding in2005.

“We’ve grown and built scale sinceour inception,” said Azim Nakhooda,managing principal and CEO. “We

now have the strength and positioningto go out.

“Unfortunately, there’s been a lotof consolidation, a lot of change,”he said of the wealth managementfield. “A lot of firms just aren’t thereanymore, just not as strong, not asbig. Unless you’re a firm that’s scaledenough to offer comprehensive advice, I think it’s a tough climate tobe competitive in.”

Cedar Brook’s assets under man-agement as of Dec. 31, 2010 — $1.54billion — earned it the No. 7 spot inCrain’s most recent list of invest-ment advisers published last April.

Through the two deals, CedarBrook has increased its assets undermanagement moderately to roughly$1.6 billion, Mr. Nakhooda said. Itsstaff rose 23% to 64 employees.

Cedar Brook’s acquisition of TheProfessional Advisor Group added aFlorida office, which is compellingbecause of the “huge connectionbetween wealth in Northeast Ohioand retirement in Naples,” Mr.Nakhooda said.

The deal also gave Cedar Brookmore expertise in high-end charitableplanning and in working with med-ical professionals, which is particu-larly important given how so muchwealth in Cleveland is centered aroundhealth care, Mr. Nakhooda said.

The merger with Buzek affords an

expanded presence in Cedar Brook’sbackyard.

“We’d been seeking a West Sidepresence for years,” Mr. Nakhoodasaid. “We wanted to do it with peoplewho were already there. We didn’tjust want to hang a sign.”

The Buzek deal also brings toCedar Brook more tax planning expertise, Mr. Nakhooda said.

Buzek’s principal owner andfounder, Ken Buzek, said the twofirms’ client-centric philosophies arealigned closely, and that Cedar Brookhas expertise into which Buzek’s professionals now can tap. For example, Cedar Brook has a directorof financial planning and a directorof company retirement plans, avail-able for assisting others in providingthe right options for clients.

“I think this is a stronger businessmodel, merging the two firms,” Mr.Buzek said. “We’ll be able to do abetter job for our clients and con-tinue to grow.”

Cedar Brook is involved in othermerger and acquisition talks, saidMr. Nakhooda, who anticipates otherdeals closing in 2012. The firm hasan appetite for deals that expand itsexpertise, particularly in retirementplans, employee benefits and cor-porate service, where the firm workswith corporate clients, such as smallbusinesses and hospitals, he said. ■

Independent hospitals see benefitsCollaborative also gives them some needed strength

By TIMOTHY [email protected]

A cadre of independent hospitalsand physicians in Northeast Ohio istrying to show that while being partof a mammoth health care systemcan have its perks, remaining unat-tached still can be a sustainable wayto do business.

That’s why EMH Healthcare inElyria, Southwest General HealthSystem in Middleburg Heights andParma Community General Hospitaljoined forces last summer to formthe Community Health Collabora-tive — an arrangement that has allowed the hospitals to remain independent but also to show morecollective muscle.

“Any of these hospitals could takethe route of being consumed by oneof the larger organizations,” saidEMH president and CEO Dr. DonaldSheldon. “But rather than take thatroute, each of the hospitals waslooking for a strategy that would allow them to be independent butget some of the positive things asso-ciated with critical mass.”

The hospitals already have reapedbenefits by simply acting like a bighealth system without merging withone of the region’s health care juggernauts, such as the ClevelandClinic or University Hospitals, according to Frank Lordeman, whowas hired last year to be presidentand CEO of the collaborative, whichis organized as a for-profit company.

The operations of the collaborative,including Mr. Lordeman’s salary,are paid for equally by the threehospitals.

“This preserves independenceand their economic strength andadds to their sustainability,” saidMr. Lordeman, a longtime health

care executive and former chief operating officer at the ClevelandClinic. “This really allows them todo bigger things than they couldhave accomplished independently.”

The collaborative could becomeeven larger, according to Mr. Lorde-man, who said the group is in “various stages of discussions” withother smaller, independent providers,such as Firelands Regional MedicalCenter in Sandusky, Lake Health in Lake County and Fisher-Titus Medical Center in Norwalk.

Of the Community Health Collab-orative’s efforts thus far, the group’sleaders cite its involvement in Clin-iSync — the state’s health informa-tion exchange, which transmits patient data among care providers— as one of its chief accomplishments.

Southwest General president andCEO Thomas Selden said by bringingthe hospitals’ chief information officers together to come up withthe best way of installing the com-puter infrastructure needed to support the system, the hospitalssaved a combined $8 million over afive-year period in capital expensesand ongoing maintenance costs.

“We individually were workingon what we thought were the bestpractices, but when we put ourheads together, we found a bettersolution at a far lower cost,” said Mr.Selden, whose hospital also has acontractual relationship with Univer-sity Hospitals, though it primarilyrevolves around clinical endeavors.

Mr. Selden said the collaborativenow is exploring how the group bestcan exploit its group purchasingpower.

Southwest General, for example,spends about $50 million a yearthrough its group purchasing orga-nization on medical supplies and

other items. Even a 1% savings onthose expenditures, or about $500,000,would make the collaborative aworthwhile endeavor, Mr. Seldensaid.

By banding together with the other hospitals, the group couldmove up to a better buying tier, thusreceiving better deals on supplies.

Don’t forget the docsLarge health systems around

the country in recent years have acquired thousands of independentphysician practices, but some doctors have remained steadfast intheir quest to remain independent.

The Community Health Collabo-rative has aligned with a group of independent physicians — the Community Medical Group — to giveboth groups even more leverage inthe region.

The group over the last year hasrecruited about 475 of the region’sindependent physicians, who, likethe hospitals, can band together forcertain cost savings normally reservedfor big health systems. For one, thegroup collectively can purchase malpractice insurance, health insur-ance, billing services and office supplies.

“The days of trying to do this onyour own are quickly going away,”said Dr. John Gerace, a Westlake-based physician and chairman of thegoverning board of physicians of themedical group. “We can’t wait for thatto happen and have to respond now.”

Joan Mason, the group’s presidentand CEO, said the medical group isin the process of recruiting morephysicians. The group has used traditional marketing tools such asits website, open meetings andnewsletters to get the word out, butMs. Mason added that the “mostpowerful recruitment tool we’ve hadto date has been the physicians” already on board. ■



till, after all these years, I justcan’t figure out how I feel aboutDennis Kucinich.

Like most people around here,my most recent image of Dennis was his far-less-than-gracious speech to his supporters after getting thumped in lastweek’s Democratic congressional primaryby Toledo’s favorite daughter,Marcy Kaptur.

He criticized her and hercampaign staff for their negativeattack ads, but his campaignran its own share of similar TVcommercials. It did him no goodto whine about such tactics because all campaigns, especiallythe close ones, seem to get tothe gutter sooner or later.

He knows that. He’s a veteranpolitician, decades removed from hisdays as our city’s “boy mayor.” Theyoung Dennis was a masterful populist, butwith an ego that got in his way. He fireda safety service director who was gettingmore publicity than him. He attackedthe city’s business establishment. Hefought to keep the municipal electric

utility going, despite the costs.He barely survived a recall election

and then was voted out of office in favorof a moderate Republican and fellow native son, George Voinovich, who servedthe city well as mayor, and then Ohio asboth governor and U.S. senator.

Dennis was a political cat with ninelives, though, and battled hisway back, first into the stateLegislature and then on to Con-gress. His constituent servicewas known to be gold-standard,but he couldn’t resist thoseQuixotic presidential campaigns.Perhaps the biggest disappoint-ment was when, after pledgingto his constituents after the firstfailed presidential run that hewouldn’t do that again — well,

he did it again.So I know that Dennis, despite being 65,

will surface again in the public light oncehis current term in Congress has ended.The only question remaining is — where?

****MAYOR FRANK JACKSON DELIVERED

his annual State of the City speech last week

before a crowd at Public Hall, and re-minded everyone about the successes ofhis administration, thanked his employeesfor their wage sacrifices and the civic andbusiness leaders for their support.

It was the usual speech, and one thatagain mirrored the man, who is a low-keypublic servant who seems to prefer agood day in the office to a bright day inthe limelight. He reminded folks of thecity’s successes, and promised that therewould be more.

The only topic I wondered about washis prediction that we still would be thecenter of manufacturing of Great Lakeswind turbines that will help reinforce hisimage of this city as a center of sustain-ability. It seems the economics don’tquite add up as the price of natural gasplummets, but I hope he’s right.

He ended with a short discussion ofhis visionary plan for reinventing thepublic schools, a proposal that alreadyhas earned the applause of our Republi-can governor. He knows that if he getsthat right, his city will become a nationalmodel for urban education.

I wish him well. We all should. ■


LeverageT

he Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitalshave earned their reputations as excellentcenters of medicine. However, it hasn’t beenuntil recent years that both institutions have

focused on leveraging the expertise within theirwalls in ways that impact far more than the region.

Now, it appears there is no stopping them — andeven members of the community are getting in onthe leveraging act.

Consider the Feb. 28 announcement by UH of a$250 million effort aimed at bolstering the develop-ment of new drugs. The initiative, dubbed the Harrington Project for Discovery & Development, is expected to help bridge the so-called “valley ofdeath” — the point in the development of a newdrug where it isn’t far enough along to attract outside investment to fuel the long path towardcommercialization.

The cornerstone of the Harrington Project is a $50million gift to UH from Ron G. Harrington and hisfamily. Mr. Harrington, whose family built and soldEdgepark Medical Supplies in Twinsburg, under-stands how this gift — the largest in UH’s history —holds the potential for leveraging medical discoveriesby advancing them to clinical trials and beyond.

“This is going to mean a lot of potential jobs, a lotof potential new business ventures, and it will bringphysician-scientists into the Cleveland communitylike nothing has before,” Mr. Harrington said.

The morning after UH’s big announcement,Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove revealed in hisannual “State of the Clinic” address that the medicalpowerhouse plans to leverage its good name by acquiring health care institutions outside the region.Doing so would allow the Clinic to expand its servicelines and better recruit top-tier talent.

“I think it’s something we have to consider becausehealth care is consolidating all across the country …All of this drives efficiency,” Dr. Cosgrove told Crain’s.

It’s good for Cleveland and Northeast Ohio that UHand the Clinic want to leverage their strengths in themedical arena. Their plans stand to enhance theirstanding and the region’s status as a health care mecca.

Dennis!

Dennis Kucinich’s own words nailed down akey reason why he suffered a big loss lastTuesday to Marcy Kaptur as the two HouseDemocrats vied to represent their party in

this fall’s contest for Ohio’s redrawn 9th congressionaldistrict.

In a less-than-gracious concession speech, Rep.Kucinich complained of Rep. Kaptur’s campaigntactics, then said, “I am concerned about this community and the kind of representation it will receive, because we’ve established a set of standardshere of the kind of representation that people have aright to expect.” Yes, Rep. Kucinich, people do havea right to expect a certain kind of representation —and they weren’t getting it when you spent monthsaway from Washington not once, but twice runningfruitless, self-indulgent campaigns for president.Many figured out that you are about you, not them.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

BRIANTUCKER

The many faces of Dennis Kucinich

PUBLISHER/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR:Brian D.Tucker ([email protected])

EDITOR:Mark Dodosh ([email protected])

MANAGING EDITOR:Scott Suttell ([email protected])

OPINION

ANURAG SAXENA LakewoodIt’ll be interesting to see howmuch the tax base increases. Ifpeople who go to the casinoare from Northeast Ohio, thenit’s money that’s going fromone pocket to another versus if people are coming from different parts of the countryand coming to the casino.

THE BIG ISSUE

STATE SEN. NINA TURNERClevelandI hope that downtown regainsits life and vibrancy, that people will come downtown indroves. ... The elements ofcrime are always a concern,but our law enforcement offi-cials will be downtown in force.It might be one of the safestplaces in the city.

DAVE JARVEYClevelandThe casino will create morebusiness coming through andcreate more jobs. Hopefully,crime won’t increase but (thecasino will bring) more goodthan bad.

MICHELLE SEIFERTChardonI think it will help (downtown).People are going to comedowntown and go to the casino and the restaurants.I’m sure you’re going to havepeople with gambling issues,and theft might go up.

How do you think the new casino will change the atmosphere downtown, if at all?

S



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LETTERS

Taking issue with gun glamorization■ I was struck by the placementand joyful image of a gun dealer onPage One of your Feb. 27 issue. Ifeel that such a subject and storycould be better found in a less-con-spicuous section of your weeklyand a less-provocative photo used.

The tragic irony of your publishingdate and the murders that same dayby a murder-terrorist (yes, terror-ism/terrorist on a smaller scale)brandishing and using a gun tocommit murder at Chardon HighSchool are coincidental. What is not is the urban terrorism found inour region that increasingly is encroaching in our suburban-ruralareas.

Our society loves our guns, as illustrated by your story, whichadds to the perception (reality) and,unfortunately, contributes to theacceptance, if not glamour, of guns.

Is this part of the “brand” that ourregion accepts as part of its marketingstrategy? I hope not.

I hope we, regionally, repudiatethe violence that we seem to havebeen numbed to as a society.

We shouldn’t “stick our heads inthe sand.” However, there aremethods and devices we can use to minimize potential, negative perceptions. I hope that with thepassage of a week the reflection ofthe editorial staff has modified theirprospective, professional decisions.

John ThomasKent

No good on guns■ Your Feb. 27 cover story on theBurton gun seller with the frontpage picture of the owner holdingup an oversized handgun was in

poor taste, in my opinion.The fact that it arrived at my

office the day of the Chardon HighSchool shootings just turned mystomach.

Dennis FosterWestlake

Remembering Shatten■ I just re-read Brian Tucker’s Feb. 13 commentary about RichardShatten. He did a great job remindingus about Richard’s gifts, vision andenergy.

I also miss Richard greatly. Hewas a major influence on me anddid much to provoke me to speakup and step up.

Robert C. SmithPresident and CEOSpero-Smith Investment Advisers

based Wham-O, maker of one of themost iconic of American toys, theFrisbee.

Two years ago, Wham-O movedhalf its Frisbee production to Californiafrom China, along with the productionof some other plastic toys to Mich-igan. The changes created only acouple dozen jobs in the United States,but Mr. Mosher likes the examplebecause it shows that almost anythingcan be made profitably in this coun-try.

“There’s nothing much simpler tomake than a Frisbee and there’s noplace in the U.S. more expensivethan California or Michigan,” hesaid. “So if you can bring Frisbeesback from China to California andMichigan, you can bring anythingback to Kansas.”

Closer to home, Ford Motor Co.announced last October that itwould be moving production of its F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucksto Avon Lake from Escobedo, Mexico.Likewise, Horton Archery in Kent announced last September that ithad completed the move of all itsproduction to Kent from China.

So long, ChinaPerhaps the largest local example

of reshoring is in North Canton,where Suarez Corp. moved the entireproduction of its main product,EdenPure portable heaters, fromChina to its home turf, creating morethan 400 jobs at the peak of its pro-duction season last fall.

“We were producing it all overseas— large volumes overseas,” saidMichael Giorgio, Suarez’s generalmanager and chief financial officer.“But it made sense to move it herefrom an economic and strategicstandpoint.”

Labor costs were going up in China,Mr. Giorgio said, and upgrades to theproduct were difficult to make whenengineering was on the other side of the globe from the company’smanufacturing operations.

There’s another reason the movemade sense, one that came into playin a big way this winter: Suarez nowdoesn’t need to order all its heaterssix weeks or more in advance, but instead can make them to meet demand. Had the company still beenmaking heaters in China, Mr. Giorgiosaid, Suarez would have ordered


Reshoring: China presence presents inefficiencies

FILE PHOTO/MARC GOLUB

Mike Gammella, the president of United Auto Workers Local 1250, is hopefulFord Motor Co. continues to reshore jobs. That would help Ford’s Brook Parkoperations.

enough heaters to see it through atypical U.S. winter, only to have theweather dash its hopes.

“We would still be sitting on asubstantial amount of inventory.but, as it was, we were able to pro-duce to order,” Mr. Giorgio said.

Suarez also uses local suppliersfor much of its materials and com-ponents, and Mr. Giorgio figures his company’s production supports at least another 125 jobs at those suppliers.

“It takes four pallets of parts tomake one pallet of heaters, so youcan imagine what the supply chainwas doing,” said Mr. Giorgio, whonoted that the company made morethan 400,000 heaters in 2011.

Trickle-down theorySome companies that never

manufactured products overseasare benefitting by being in the supply chains of companies that arereshoring. Among them is Fanta/

Napco/Udylite of Cleveland, whichmakes large metal finishing lines forbig manufacturers. The companyFeb. 1 announced it was expandingby adding centrifugal dryers, alsoused in finishing parts, to its productline.

The metal finishing systems costfrom a few hundred thousand dollarsto more than $1 million, and eachone is made to order for a customereither building or investing in aplant, said president Frank Fanta.His company is growing, in part, because big customers such as General Electric have moved pro-duction back to the United Statesand installed new production linesthat include Mr. Fanta’s systems, hesaid.

“People don’t realize the trickledown when a Caterpillar or a GEcomes back,” Mr. Fanta said. “It’snot just their workers — it tricklesdown through the whole supplychain.”

That’s a big reason the ReshoringInitiative’s Mr. Mosher and othershope the trend not only continues,but also picks up speed. Mr. Mosheris traveling the country preaching thereshoring gospel; his stop includeone in Cleveland set for March 15,when he speaks at an event held byMagnet, the local manufacturing advocacy and consulting group.

Meanwhile, in Brook Park, UnitedAuto Workers Local 1250 presidentMike Gammella said he hopes Fordcontinues to reshore. Convincing thecompany to bring more work back tohis plant from overseas is a majorgoal for his union here, he said.

“We want them to bring morework back, like machining camshafts and stuff,” Mr. Gammella said.“There’s no reason any more that wecan’t do that work here instead ofsome other country.”

A Ford spokeswoman declined tocomment on that matter specifically,but noted that Ford has made somesignificant announcements that indicate it’s not done reshoring yet.

Last October, the companypromised its labor unions in theirmost recent contract that Fordwould perform more work in theUnited States — including adding12,000 hourly U.S. jobs and investing$16 billion in its U.S. product devel-opment and manufacturing opera-tions by 2015. ■

CompaniesincreasingD&O liabilitycoveragesBy MIKE TSIKOUDAKISBusiness Insurance

More companies are increasingthe amount of director and officersliability coverage they purchase,while pricing for private companiesbuying the coverage may be showingsigns of a hardening market, accordingto a survey released last week byTowers Watson & Co.

The report, “Directors and OfficersLiability: 2011 Survey of InsurancePurchasing Trends,” surveyed 401organizations that buy D&O liabilityinsurance. The group includes public,private and nonprofit companies.

One-quarter of public companiesand 14% of private/nonprofit orga-nizations said they increased theirD&O program’s total limits in 2011versus 2010, according to the benefitconsultant’s survey.

“Particularly in the public space, it just shows the level of concernthey have in terms of the broadrange of potential constituents thatcan bring a claim,” said LarryRacioppo, executive liability practiceleader at Towers Watson in Stamford,Conn.

“We’ve seen that it’s no longer thetraditional shareholder class actionclaim. It’s much broader than that,”Mr. Racioppo said.

Sixty-two percent of public companies and 35% of private com-panies were able to achieve a pricingdecline, according to the survey. Butmore private organizations experi-enced increased premiums — 18%compared with 14% of public com-panies.

While the public sector still maybe showing signs of competitiveness,“we’re seeing that real hardening,certainly in the private side,” Mr.Racioppo said. ■

Mike Tsikoudakis is an associate editor with Business Insurance, asister publication of Crain’s Cleve-land Business.


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DISTRIBUTIONAPPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECH-NOLOGIES: Christopher D. Harristo director, business development.KAPPUS CO.: Mike Romanchek,to director, sales and marketing.

EDUCATIONKENT STATE UNIVERSITY: ToddDiacon to senior vice president, academic affairs and provost.

FINANCEDOLLAR BANK: John Solich to vicepresident, business banking. OHIO COMMERCE BANK: CierraR. Freeman to credit analyst.

FINANCIAL SERVICECARNEGIE INVESTMENT COUNSEL:Patrick J. Kennedy to portfoliomanager. FAIRPORT ASSET MANAGEMENT:Aaron S. Nuti to staff consultant. SCOTT SNOW (FINANCIAL ADVISORS)LLC: Philip S. Postma to financialadviser. SKODA MINOTTI: Nick Ward andJonathan Emerson to staff accoun-tants.

INSURANCEBRUNSWICK COS.: Rick Axel tocommercial account executive;Gabrielle Meles to professional liability account coordinator.HYLANT GROUP: Brad Croce tovice president, client executive; Janice Gallagher to vice president,client services property/casualty;Linda Langman to client service executive; Emily Weeks to seniorclient service manager; AndreaStegmaier to client service specialist;Terri Ferricci and Marissa Ramseyto client service assistants.

LEGALBAKER & HOSTETLER LLP:Michael K. Gall, David E. Kitchen,Patrick T. Lewis and David F.Proano to partners.HAHN LOESER & PARKS LLP:Kelly A. Kosek, John Paul Lucci,Shannon V. McCue, ChristopherW. Peer and Aaron M. VanderKaayto partners. TUCKER ELLIS & WEST: BrianO’Neill to partner and co-chair, business department.

MANUFACTURINGAMERICAN ROLL FORM PRODUCTS:Melrex Ordillas to process engineer;

Allen Pesec to quality assurancemanager. EATON CORP.: Shelley McGrail todirector of talent management; Carrie Ortsey to director of organi-zational effectiveness; DeborahSevers to senior vice president,global ethics and compliance.

RETAILSTERLING JEWELERS INC.: EdHrabak to executive vice president,COO; Stuart Lee to senior vice president, merchandising; DawnMcGuire to vice president, merchan-dising.

SERVICEBRAVO WELLNESS: Amy Petrus todirector of human resources. THE PATTIE GROUP: John Millerto project director.

STAFFING/EXECUTIVESEARCHDIRECT RECRUITERS INC.: GaryGardiner to HVAC team leader.

TECHNOLOGYACCENTURE: Jim Dickey to chiefoperating officer, North America.AZTEK: Jordan Burnside to director,web marketing. BOUNDARY SYSTEMS INC.: JeffHarding to executive account manager;

Jeff Walker to senior technical specialist; Kyle Burgess to accountmanager; Nici Crosby to marketingcoordinator and education programmanager; Kelly Sachs to insidesales manager.DAKOTA SOFTWARE CORP.: BobKimball to marketing manager.

UTILITYFIRSTENERGY: Carl J. Bridenbaughto vice president, transmission.

BOARDSLIFEBANC: Mariann Pacak (St.Elizabeth Health Center) to president;John Geller to president-elect; Donna Luebke to secretary; CherylBaily to treasurer.

AWARDSAMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY,DIVISION OF POLYMERIC MATE-RIALS — SCIENCE AND ENGI-NEERING: Stephen Z.D. Cheng(University of Akron) was named aPMSE fellow.AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY: Piet de Boer(Case Western Reserve UniversitySchool of Medicine) was named a fellow.HANDSON NORTHEAST OHIO:Chris Richardt received the Volunteerof the Year Award; J.R. Fairman,

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As Monsters’ momentumbuilds, ticket prices riseBy JOEL [email protected]

The Lake Erie Monsters have arrived.

How do we know? Because they’reraising ticket prices, even if it willtake some doing for customers tosee those increases.

The Monsters, in their fifth season and making a push for theirsecond straight playoff berth, willraise some ticket prices “nominally,”according to Mike Ostrowski, theteam’s senior vice president andcheap operating officer — to $8from $7 and to $25 from $23, for instance.

But like their Quicken Loans Arenaco-tenant, the Cleveland Cavaliers,the Monsters still are rewardingcustomer longevity and loyalty, asthose full-season ticket buyers whouse Dan Gilbert’s FlashSeats servicewill see the least bump.

The Cavaliers operate similarly:Crain’s reported last December thatthe team, in its first season withouta LeBron James ticket bump, lowered prices in a range of the “lowsingle digits into the low double digits,” according to a team

spokesman. (The Cavaliers requiredseason ticket holders to renew forthe 2010-11 season before Mr.James announced his decision toleave.)

But similar to the Monsters, theCavaliers’ price decrease dependedupon many factors, including long-evity, renewal timing and paymentplan.

The Monsters, on the strength ofsome large weekend crowds of late,have moved to third in the 30-teamleague in attendance, averaging7,595 through 29 games as of lastTuesday night, March 6. The teamdrew a combined 19,455 March 3and 4, the first game of which wasBrowns Night and the second ofwhich featured a “Pucks and Paws”promotion, where more than 500dogs entered The Q.

The Monsters have been buoyedby big crowds on Saturdays, onwhich the team has averaged 11,404fans in seven games. That figure includes 17,109 fans on Jan. 21.

The Monsters ranked sixth (6,568per game) last season — whichequates to a 15.6% attendance jump this season — and in 2009-10(6,484). ■


SMALL BUSINESSI N S I D E

MARCH 12 - 18, 2012 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 13

14 TAX TIPS:CORPORATE TAXSYSTEM FACES

OVERHAUL.

IN BRIEF■■ A HOME AWAY FROM HOME:Office Space Coworking, an opera-tion that provides small, home-basedbusinesses a work location, has relo-cated to the Everett Building, 39 E.Market St., in downtown Akron. OfficeSpace Coworking offers members private offices or less formal communityspaces. Memberships, which aremonth to month, also include access to high-speed Internet, whiteboards,printers, scanning equipment and shipping and mailing services. “OfficeSpace Coworking is a refuge from theisolation of working at home and the restrictions of working in busy coffeeshops,” said owner Bill Forsyth III.“Members get all the tools and commu-nity of a modern office without thestuffy, corporate environment.” OfficeSpace Coworking also has a location inCuyahoga Falls.

■■ BY THE BOOK: Amy A. Cristhas opened a bookbinding and art conservation studio in the GordonSquare Arts District of Cleveland’sDetroit Shoreway neighborhood. Services offered includeconservation treat-ments of workson paper,books and photographs; museum-style matting and framing; building custom boxes andprotective enclosures; and creatingone-of-a-kind books and albums. Ms.Crist is a Brecksville native whose studio is outfitted with a combination ofstate-of-the-art and traditional equipment,including a 100-year-old, 800-pound,cast-iron board sheer with a 55-inchblade.

■■ BEER HERE: The Cleveland AleHouse has opened in the Lauren HillPlaza, North Olmsted, in the former

Slam Jams site. The refurbished 7,000-square-foot space featuresCleveland memorabiliafrom sports teams, politicalfigures and musicians.Owned by brothers Sean,Kevin and Scott Hanna,along with Sean’s wife, Tricia, the Cleveland AleHouse has a menu thatfeatures pub fare with an

upscale twist under the direction of chef Matt Auck,

formerly with the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins. The beerlist includes a rotating selection of 12draft beers and more than 80 domesticand imported craft bottled beers, andthere is a fully stocked bar of wine andliquor.

■■ GRAND OPENINGS: To submit anew business for listing in an upcomingsmall business section, send the following by email to Amy Ann Stoessel at [email protected]:business name, address; city and ZIP;website; brief description of business;business phone number; business faxnumber; business email address; anddate that business opened.

A SHOW FOR STARTERS

MARC GOLUB PHOTOS

Kip Marlow, on air at WELW-AM 1330’s studio with his “Entrepreneurs Club Radio” show and guest Richard Sippola of Chautauqua Consulting Inc.

Radio program offers advice, experiences for next group of entrepreneurs

By JUDY [email protected]

Kip Marlow is one of thosebaby boomers who justcouldn’t stay retired.

While his peers have beentraveling, gardening or playing golf, theWilloughby Hills resident has turnedhis own entrepreneurial experienceinto a weekly radio program focusedon what it takes to transform an ideainto a revenue stream.

The unique format of “Entrepre-neurs Club Radio” offers “real-worldadvice and guidance from real-worldentrepreneurs,” Mr. Marlow said. “I amhearing more and more from peoplewho are downsized or tired of the corpo-rate world who say, ‘I would love to startmy own company.’ In one hour everyweek we talk about how to do that.”

In his role as host, Mr. Marlow prodsentrepreneurs to share their own experi-ences and probes his guests about thefundamentals of creating a successfulbusiness venture.

The program broadcasts locally onWELW-AM 1330, Mondays at 4 p.m., butsoon it will get national exposurethrough a syndication agreement withDallas-based Broadcast Affiliate Sales.

The contract will make “EntrepreneursClub Radio” available to 2,000 indepen-dent radio stations across the country.

“There are national syndicated

programs that include 10 minutes of topical coverage of things like the economyor investing as part of a two-hour program,”Mr. Marlow said, but nothing to hisknowledge that dedicates an hour specif-ically to running and managing a startupfrom the mouths of those who have doneit.

It takes one to know oneMr. Marlow is no stranger to the

entrepreneurial spirit. In the mid-1970s,Mr. Marlow founded Marlow SurgicalTechnologies, a medical device companythat held 13 patents and marketed surgicalinstruments throughout the world.

Cooper Companies Inc. acquired Marlow

Mr. Marlow says of his radio show, “I enjoy doing it because hopefully it helps someone.”

See SHOW Page 15



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SMALL BUSINESS

Obama urges simplercorporate tax systemJoint proposal with Treasury Department wouldlower rate and eliminate loopholes, subsidies

In budget and corporate tax reform proposals, PresidentBarack Obama is pushing forlower tax rates and new incen-

tives to spur job growth. But he alsowants to tie off some loopholes andcut through complexity to broadenthe tax base and make the systemmore efficient.

The White House and the Treasury Department recently issued a joint proposed frameworkfor overhauling the system of busi-ness tax to make it more competitiveand more effective.

With incentives and exceptionslayered into the tax code over manyyears, the system has come to distort basic business decisionsabout what to produce, in what toinvest, how to finance a businessand what business form to use, thereport says. “The system is also toocomplicated, especially for America’ssmall businesses,” the proposalsays.

The reform proposal says the corporate tax rate should be loweredto 28%, putting it more in line withother countries, while also elimi-nating dozens of different loopholesand subsidies.

It also proposes refocusing themanufacturing deduction and using the savings to reduce the effective rate on manufacturing tono more than 25%, while encouragingmore research and developmentand the production of clean energy.

In his fiscal year 2013 budgetproposal, President Obama outlinesa number of tax changes alongthese lines.

A centerpiece to the budget proposal includes a tax credit to support investments in communitiesthat have had major job losses,along with a temporary 10% taxcredit for new jobs and wage increases for qualified employers.The credit would be equal to 10% ofthe increase in an employer’s 2012eligible wages over what it paid in2011.

Another key proposal includes ageneral business credit against income tax to reward companiesthat “insource,” or bring into theUnited States, business that cur-rently resides overseas.

The credit would be equal to 20%of the eligible expenses paid or incurred in connection with themove to insource the activity. At thesame time, it would disallow de-ductions for expenses to offshoreany existing U.S. business.

To rev up manufacturing, thebudget proposes a deduction fordomestic production activities, giving taxpayers a break based onactivities that lead to domesticmanufacturing activity.

Qualifying activity would includeany tangible personal property,computer software, sound recordingsand certain films, electricity, naturalgas, water, construction, engineeringand architectural services. It wouldeliminate the production deductionfor oil, gas and coal, and expand thededuction for high-tech manufac-

PETERDEMARCO

TAX TIPS

turing.The president wants to extend

some provisions of the 2010 TaxAct, most notably the bonus depreciation and research tax credits.

The 100% bonus depreciationprovision contained in the act extended through the end of 2011, but the president hopes to see it extended through the end of 2012and into 2013 for certain long-livedproperty and transportation prop-erty.

The 20% tax credit for qualifiedresearch expenditures also extendedthrough 2011, and that too shouldbe extended and made permanent,the proposal contends.

The budget proposes to repealthe last-in, first-out method of accounting for inventory, which isbased on the assumption that theoldest, lowest-price inventory remains on the shelf while the mostrecently purchased (and presum-ably higher-priced) inventory ismoved out.

The LIFO method produces a tax benefit because it expenses ahigher cost for inventory, and it hasbeen on the president’s radar forseveral years. The lower-of-cost-or-market method also would berepealed.

Finally, the president is calling onCongress to authorize the InternalRevenue Service to help smallercompanies put to rest problemswith misclassifying workers. TheIRS devotes a great deal of time and energy to assuring companiesproperly classify workers as employees rather than contractorsto assure their wages are properlytaxed.

The White House believes theproblem can be remedied by allowing the IRS to require reclassi-fication of workers whose reclassifi-cation has been prohibited undercurrent law.

As these are proposals to behashed out during an election year,it’s impossible to predict how manyof these ideas will gain traction inCongress and become law in thecoming months.

But it’s worth noting that Congresshas heard the outcry in recent yearsthat the current tax system is burdensome for U.S. companies,making it difficult for them to com-pete globally. ■

Mr. DeMarco is vice president anddirector of tax services for the re-gional accounting and business con-sulting firm of Meaden & Moore,headquartered in Cleveland.

Marketer says brand starts withinStudiothink acquiresfirm, adds focus onwork force culture

By AMY ANN STOESSEL [email protected]

Christine Lobas and RonKaminski want to changethe way people think. Or atleast the way the employees

think within the organizations oftheir clients.

Ms. Lobas is the founder of theCleveland-based marketing agencyStudiothink, which recently ac-quired Mr. Kaminski’s business,Corporate Quest, a leadership andculture development firm with locations in Cleveland and Char-lotte, N.C.

As part of the deal, Studiothink isthe only remaining brand. Ms.Lobas is majority owner and man-aging partner, while Mr. Kaminskiand Mark Stornes, a longtime Studiothink shareholder who hasassumed the chief financial officerrole, are equity partners.

The idea behind the pairing ofthe two firms is simple: Brand management must be done fromthe inside out. Employees have tobuy in to the same messages thatare being delivered to potentialclients or customers, and the workforce has to be the No. 1 brandevangelist, Ms. Lobas and Mr.Kaminski said.

To that end, the pair has createda product called CultureShoc, whichfocuses on helping a company or

organization align its external andinternal brands. The process includesteam-building exercises, leadershipdevelopment, meeting facilitationand individual coaching.

Ms. Lobas said she stresses that abrand is more than a slogan or logo;it is the conversation people arehaving about an organization. Withthe addition of Mr. Kaminski’s firm,Studiothink’s rebranding processnow can include a focus on an organization’s culture.

“They’re engaging us in a time ofchange in most cases,” said Mr.Kaminski, who now serves as president of the Galleria-housedfirm’s culture development group.

Such was the case with SiemensEnergy Inc., which recently consoli-dated product lines and work forcesat its Charlotte, N.C., campus.

Mark Pringle, who is vice presidentat Siemens’ Charlotte Energy Hub,said the employee count at the location expanded from 750 to1,450, and it eventually could peakat 1,800.

Siemens worked last year withStudiothink and Corporate Quest tofacilitate the transition, creatingand building upon the theme of“Better Together.”

“I think we helped create the culture of the new organization,”

noted Mr. Pringle, who said part ofthe process was getting to the rootof “who are we, and what do wewant to be.”

The “Better Together” mantramay have even rubbed off on Ms.Lobas and Mr. Kaminski, who saidthe work on the Siemens projecthelped convince them to join asone company.

Looking to stand out

The ever-changing landscape forNortheast Ohio’s advertising andmarketing sector — from the shut-down of Liggett Stashower to thepartnership between Adcom Groupand Landau Public Relations — isnot lost on Ms. Lobas and Mr.Kaminski.

They see their concentration onthe culture segment as a way tostand out from the crowd and differentiate the firm.

“We help make the passionateengagement more possible,” Ms.Lobas said. “Nobody is putting ittogether in a way that moves thebar.”

Ultimately, Ms. Lobas anticipatesStudiothink will grow due to the acquisition, adding up to three employees this year. The combinedfirm currently has a staff of 13, andit will maintain a North Carolinapresence.

And while she anticipates an 80-20 division this year betweenbranding and culture development,respectively, Ms. Lobas hopes toeventually eliminate the line between the two in terms of the services the firm offers.

“You should not be dividingbrand and culture,” she said. ■

Lobas Kaminski



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The Middlefield Banking Company

Surgical in 1997 in a cash and stockswap valued at $6.6 million. Mr.Marlow stayed on with the newowner for several years before ahectic travel schedule persuadedhim to retire.

He didn’t keep a low profile forlong. Mr. Marlow began consultingin 2005 and soon took the helm ofthe Entrepreneurs Club of America,a networking group for establishedentrepreneurs and would-be com-pany founders. It was there that heand Gary Schoeniger conceived ofthe radio project.

“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be greatif I had a show where I interviewedentrepreneur guests and got themto share their stories?’” Mr. Marlowsaid. “I realized a lot more peoplecould learn the life’s lessons of anentrepreneur (in a radio format).”

Mr. Marlow and Mr. Schoeniger,founder and CEO of The Entrepre-neurial Learning Initiative (ELI),launched Entrepreneurs Radio Clubin January 2010. Mr. Schoenigerleft a few months later to concen-trate on ELI, a source for onlinecourse content about entrepre-neurialism for organizations andschools, but he frequents the showas a guest.

“Kip really understands that entrepreneurs will lead us into thefuture,” Mr. Schoeniger said, “because he is one and has seenwhat an entrepreneur can do.”

Now in its third year, “Entrepre-neurs Club Radio” has attractedsuch guests as Pandora Mediafounder Tim Westergren, Shearer’sFoods Founder Bob Shearer andbusiness blogger Anita Campbell.

Future guests include Gail Good-

man, CEO of Constant Contact, andEric Reis, author of the best-sellingbusiness book, “The Lean Startup,”appeared in February. Mr. Reisalso is founder of IMVU, or the Instant Messaging Virtual Universe,a website on which people interactvia 3-D avatars.

“What is so neat is that you don’thave to be an entrepreneur to listenand learn,” said Mr. Shearer, whodidn’t hesitate when Mr. Marlowreached out. “I enjoy doing it becausehopefully it helps someone. … Weknow what (entrepreneurs) are going through because we’ve beenthere.”

A crazy bunchAs the program moves to a

national stage, Mr. Marlow isproud to play a role in demystifyingthe entrepreneurial process. Hesaid most guests will credit theirmanagement team or employees.

“That’s nice, but it’s more thanjust surrounding yourself with greatpeople,” he said. In his own experi-ence and in dozens of discussionswith others, Mr. Marlow said thecommon thread of an effective entrepreneur is the ability to inno-vate and overcome.

“Entrepreneurship is a mindset,a can-do, never-give-up, reach-your-goals-or-fail-trying mentality,” hesaid. “Entrepreneurs are a bit crazy,think outside the box and eventu-ally try to change the world.”

The weekly, one-hour Entrepre-neurs Club Radio program isstreamed live at www.welw.comduring its Monday 4 p.m. broadcast.

Edited podcasts of guest interviews also are available atwww.teca.com. ■


Show: Unique mindset required

SMALL BUSINESS

GETTINGAHEAD Your monthly guide to getting to the next level in your career.

FOLLOW THE LEADER: A Q&A

BUILDING YOUR NETWORKGet involved and stay informed

by building your network onlineand in person.

■ For those in the 20-to-35 agerange living or working in Lorain County,the Young Professionals Committee ofBig Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain

County offers a chance to network,meet new people and get involved inother social issues within the commu-nity.

Contact: Marcus Madison, resource development director andcommunications officer, 440-277-6541

Web: www.bigloraincounty.org/YoungProfess.html

■ A little shameless self-promotion:Stay up to date on business happen-ings (and networking opportunities) bychecking out Crain’s calendar ofevents at www.crainscleveland.com/section/events.

Time management: Prioritizingto-do list can help limit stressBy AMY ANN [email protected]

Sometimes it seems theresimply are not enoughhours in the day.

Time management canbe an acquired skill, but expertssay with enough planning andthought it’s possible to inject a bitof sanity into the 1,440 minutesthat make up one’s day.

Ultimately, it’s a matter ofstrategizing and priority settingthat can put an end to the tug-of-war that can develop betweencompeting interests for one’s time.

Artist Barbara Bloom, owner ofParma-based Images In Bloom,knows that push-and-pull feelingwell, experiencing it late last yearas she and her husband transi-tioned into having a home-basedbusiness.

“When you work full-time forsomeone else, you have a routine… when you’re home that changesto a casual feel,” she said.

Images In Bloom took root afterthe Blooms each were downsizedfrom their jobs. Ms. Bloom spe-cializes in hand-dyed silk scarvesand other handmade goods, including handbags created out ofplastic grocery bags. Mr. Bloommakes soap products, all of whichare sold online, at local specialtyshops and at craft shows.

Ms. Bloom, who has a master’s

degree in public administration,said she has started to try to planout the week a little more, list allthe things that need to be doneand prioritize them. She also triesto schedule out tasks for certaintimes of the week.

“If you don’t have those goals,often those goals keep movingout,” she said.

Painesville-based businesscoach Larry N. Lamphier agreeswith the concept of prioritizing. Infact, he subscribes to the teachingsof Stephen R. Covey, author of“The 7 Habits of Highly EffectivePeople,” who uses the concept of a time-management matrix.

The matrix has four quadrants,with urgent and not urgentcolumns intersecting with impor-tant and not important rows.

Basically, Mr. Lamphier explained, every task in one’s dayfalls into one of these quadrants —important/urgent; important/noturgent; not important/urgent; ornot important/not urgent. Timemanagement is a matter of figuringout what activities fall into whatquadrants and setting aside blocksof time for each category.

As part of the process, it is essential to determine time-wasters and to identify one’s“rocks,” Mr. Lamphier said, thoseactivities — personal or profes-sional — that are most importantand non-negotiable.

“The biggest challenge peopleare having today is getting rid oftheir smart phones,” Mr. Lamphiersaid “It’s effecting people emo-tionally. … It forces people into areactionary mode.”

Erin M. Nunn, director of careerservices and internships at LakeErie College, stressed that timemanagement ultimately comesdown to a lot of organization andplanning ahead.

She suggests taking a week totrack exactly how one’s time isspent, and utilizing tools likemonthly calendars and reminderson smart phones.

“Sometimes people just getcaught up in their day,” she said.

Of course, both Ms. Nunn andMr. Lamphier acknowledged thatthe process of time management isa task that might eat up some timeitself.

“You didn’t develop your currenttime management systemovernight,” Mr. Lamphier said.“You need to work at it.”

And that’s exactly what Ms.Bloom is continuing to do as herbusiness continues to develop.“Probably my biggest wish is every day I could be a little moreconsistent,” she said.

But, as a business owner, she’salso come to realize that flexibilityis just as important: “Don’t be sodoggedly determined to stick to yourgoals that you miss opportunities.” ■

CRAIG BOISEDeanCleveland-Marshall College of Law

When CraigBoise took overas dean of theCleveland-

Marshall College of Law, he saw itas a chance to be back in Clevelandfull time.

While not a native Clevelander,Dean Boise has worked here since1999 in a number of positions, including at Case Western ReserveUniversity School of Law and thelaw firm Thompson Hine LLP.

Most recently, however, he hadbeen working at DePaul University,commuting for two years betweenChicago for work and back toCleveland, where his family contin-ued to live.

In his post since July, Dean Boisedescribes the current landscape forlaw graduates as “bleak.”

But there’s an upside: Itmeans a person reallyneeds to have a strongpassion and desire to be alawyer when choosing thefield.

“I think that’s actuallygood for the profession,”he said.

■ Last book read? “The End ofLawyers?” by Richard Susskind.

■ Favorite TV show? “MadMen.”

■ Who do you admire and why?I admire the many hundreds ofCleveland-Marshall College of Lawgrads who overcame great obsta-cles to pursue their dreams of obtaining a law degree while working full-time jobs, raising children, running businesses or inbetween deployments in thearmed forces. Their stories inspireme and make me proud to be asso-ciated with Cleveland-MarshallCollege of Law.

■ What most surprises youabout the path your career hastaken? How unpredictable all ofthis was at the start. From farmkid, to classical piano major, to police officer, to tax lawyer, to lawprofessor and finally, law schooldean.

■ What skill do you wish youhad? I would love to have a bettermemory — particularly for names!

■ If you weren’t in your currentoccupation, what would you bedoing? I’d probably own a littlebeach bar somewhere in theCaribbean.

■ Career advice you wishsomeone would have given you?There’s no hurry — take your timefiguring out what you want to bewhen you grow up. Turns outthat’s what I did, but it would havebeen nice not to have been worriedabout it along the way!

■ Favorite nonwork activity?That’s a toss-up between sailingand riding my Harley.



CREDIT UNIONSRANKED BY DEC. 31, 2011 ASSETS

Assets (millions)

Rank

NameAddressPhone/Website Dec. 31, 2011 Dec. 31, 2010 % change

Loans(millions)

Dec. 31, 2011

Shares & deposits(millions)

Dec. 31, 2011Number ofmembers Membership groups

Top executiveTitle

1Seven Seventeen Credit Union3181 Larchmont Ave. NE, Warren 44483(330) 372-8100/www.sscu.net

$775.7 $759.1 2.2% $497.0 677.0 71,644Live, work, worship, attend school inTrumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Portageor central Stark County communities

Gary SoukenikCEO

2Century Federal Credit Union1240 E. Ninth St., Room 719, Cleveland 44199(216) 535-3200/www.cenfedcu.org

$315.0 $312.7 0.7% $197.9 285.6 25,986Open to federal government agencies andany Northeast Ohio business, association,municipality or educational institution

Tony Conigliopresident, CEO

3Firestone Federal Credit Union31 Hanna Parkway, Akron 44319(234) 352-1100/www.fofcu.com

$233.4 $242.2 -3.6% NA NA 12,637 Bridgestone/Firestone employees Wayne A. Chapmanpresident, CEO

4GenFed Financial Credit Union85 Massillon Road, Akron 44312(330) 784-5451/www.genfed.com

$182.5 $174.8 4.4% $119.4 151.1 19,583Lorain, Erie, Summit and Medina counties;Ford, ASW, Reiter Dairy, Quality Mold,Rubbermaid, other local companies

Joyce R. Jonespresident, CEO

5Firefighters Community Credit Union2300 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland 44114(216) 621-4644/www.ffcommunity.com

$178.1 $177.0 0.6% $126.0 156.0 25,005 Open to everyone in Cuyahoga and Lakecounties

Ben Laurendeaupresident, CEO

6BFG Federal Credit Union445 S. Main St., Akron 44311(330) 374-2990/www.bfgfcu.org

$161.8 $168.2 -3.8% $99.3 0.1 28,711Individuals who live, work, worship,volunteer or attend school in SummitCounty

Michael J. Owenspresident, CEO

7Cardinal Community Credit Union8500 Westport Drive, Mentor 44060(440) 266-2200/www.cardinalcu.com

$156.2 $153.7 1.6% $94.3 137.2 17,812All who work, live, attend school or worshipin Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabulacounties

Christine Blakepresident, CEO

8Ohio Catholic Federal Credit Union13623 Rockside Road, Garfield Heights 44125(216) 663-6800/www.ohiocatholicfcu.com

$155.9 $150.6 3.5% $98.6 141.8 18,310Any person connected with the CatholicDiocese of Cleveland and/or Diocesanparishes, schools, or organizations

Randall A. TrimmCEO

9CSE Federal Credit Union (1)1380 Market Ave. North, Canton 44714(330) 452-9801/www.csefcu.com

$149.4 $130.5 14.5% $110.3 134.5 29,443 Open to persons who live, work, worship orattend school in Stark County

R. Stanley BarnesCEO

10Lormet Community Federal Credit Union(1)2051 Cooper Foster Park Road, Amherst 44001(440) 960-6600/www.lormet.com

$145.7 $144.3 1.0% $65.7 127.8 20,797 Lorain County residents Daniel R. Cwalinapresident, CEO

11Associated School Employees Credit Union1690 S. Canfield Niles Road, Youngstown 44515(330) 792-4000/www.asecu.com

$144.5 $144.2 0.2% $66.4 129.3 20,484 Lives, works, worships or attends school inMahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties

Michael Kurishpresident, CEO

12VacationLand Federal Credit Union2409 East Perkins Ave., Sandusky 44870(419) 625-9025/www.vlfcu.org

$139.3 $137.8 1.1% $90.5 124.1 15,608 Lives, works, worships or attends school inErie County

Kevin J. RalofskyCEO

13School Employees Lorain County Credit Union Inc.340 Griswold Road, Elyria 44035(440) 324-3400/www.selccu.org

$136.3 $133.9 1.8% $62.9 125.1 11,637Employees and students of educationalentities in Lorain County, othermiscellaneous employer groups

Brent T. Binkleypresident, CEO

14Ohio Educational Credit Union2554 E. 22nd St., Cleveland 44115(216) 621-6296/www.ohioedcu.com

$118.0 $114.8 2.9% $82.9 106.9 20,473 Employees, students and alumni of publicand private schools and colleges in Ohio

Jerome R. ValcoCEO

15Towpath Credit Union(2)2969 Smith Road, Akron 44310(330) 664-4700/www.towpathcu.com

$114.0 $72.2 57.9% $51.3 99.3 21,000Lives, works, worships or attends school inAkron, Fairlawn, Cuyahoga Falls, Bath andtownships of Copley and Richfield

Rose Bartolomuccipresident, CEO

16PSE Credit Union Inc.5225 Regency Drive, Parma 44129(440) 843-8300/www.psecreditunion.org

$112.4 $106.3 5.7% $51.0 99.2 22,151Anyone who lives, works, worships orattends school in Cuyahoga or Medinacounties

Janice L. Thomaspresident, CEO

17Stark Federal Credit Union(1)4100 Dressler Road NW, Canton 44718(330) 493-8325/www.starkcu.org

$100.7 $95.4 5.7% $33.5 89.4 13,774 Anyone who lives, works, worships orattends school in Stark or Carroll counties

Nino J. Gemmapresident, CEO

18Golden Circle Credit Union(1)4118 Lincolnway E., Massillon 44646(330) 479-3130/http://goldencirclecu.com

$96.6 $94.9 1.9% $33.2 80.9 13,969 Live in Stark County Jeffrey J. McClainCEO

19Best Reward Credit Union5681 Smith Road, Brook Park 44142(216) 367-8000/www.bestrewardcu.coop

$95.4 $95.1 0.3% $34.1 75.6 13,160Live, work, worship or attend school inCuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Medina, Summit,Lorain and Portage counties

John J. Shirillapresident, CEO

20Cleveland Selfreliance Federal Credit Union6108 State Road, Parma 44134(440) 884-9111/www.clevelandselfreliance.com

$86.8 $81.9 6.0% $43.7 73.1 4,427 Ukrainian American community Orest Liscyneskytreasurer, manager

21Lakeview Federal Credit Union2909 State Road, Ashtabula 44004(440) 998-2707 /www.lakeviewfcu.com

$79.2 $75.8 4.5% $47.0 69.4 8,376 Live, work or worship in Ashtabula County Sherry S. CornellCEO

22Buckeye State Credit Union155 E. Voris St., Akron 44311(330) 253-9197/www.buckeyecu.org

$77.4 $77.9 -0.7% $44.0 68.9 17,894 Community membership in Shaker Heightsand Summit, Stark, and Lake counties

N. Sue PrestonCEO

23Taleris Credit Union Inc.1250 E. Granger Road, Cleveland 44131(216) 739-2300/www.taleriscu.org

$69.7 $71.5 -2.5% $35.7 56.7 10,222Individuals who live, work, worship orattend school in Cuyahoga County andselect groups and organizations

Robin D. Thomaspresident, CEO

24Unity Catholic Federal Credit Union5839 Ridge Road , Parma 44129(440) 886-2558/www.unitycatholiccu.org

$68.3 $65.6 4.2% $28.9 61.9 11,205Parishioners, families, students, employeesand organizations within the CatholicDiocese of Cleveland

Tamlyn M. Straight-SchervishCEO

25Community First2043 E. Prospect Road, Ashtabula 44004(440) 997-5919/www.hereforeveryoneonline.com

$67.8 $64.4 5.3% $23.6 56.7 6,387 Live, work, worship in Ashtabula County Mike RiestererCEO

26Medina County Federal Credit Union1353 Reimer Road, Wadsworth 44281(330) 334-1023/www.mcfcu.com

$61.8 $56.0 10.5% $25.3 54.6 7,664 Open to anyone who lives, works, worshipsor educates in Medina County

Bud Herrlechairman

27Community One Credit Union of Ohio6583 Frank Ave. NW, North Canton 44720(330) 305-3050/www.c1cu.com

$61.1 $60.3 1.3% $26.7 56.4 5,639 Serving Stark County Evelyn L. Canterburypresident, CEO

28Eaton Family Credit Union333 Babbitt Road, Euclid 44123(216) 920-2000/www.eatonfamilycu.com

$52.1 $48.2 8.0% $35.3 47.2 12,177 Eaton Corp., City of Euclid, Lake County,family of existing members

Michael LosneckCEO

29Community Star Credit Union832 Cleveland St., Elyria 44035(440) 365-7342/www.commstar.org

$50.8 $47.4 7.2% $31.8 46.1 8,864 Membership is open to the public Ernie Jacksonpresident, CEO

30Emerald Group Credit Union Inc.13201 Granger Road, Garfield Heights 44125(216) 581-5581/www.emeraldgcu.com

$48.7 $46.8 4.0% $32.1 44.0 8,330 Individuals who live, work, worship orattend school in Cuyahoga County

John R. MartinCEO

Information is supplied by the companies unless footnoted. Crain's Cleveland Business does not independently verify the information and there is no guarantee these listings arecomplete or accurate. We welcome all responses to our lists and will include omitted information or clarifications in coming issues. Individual lists and The Book of Lists areavailable to purchase at www.crainscleveland.com. (1) Information is from the National Credit Union Administration, www.ncua.gov. (2) Towpath Credit Union and TelecommunityCredit Union merged June 1, 2011.

RESEARCHED BY Deborah W. Hillyer


than 16,000 members.“We haven’t even discussed it

yet,” Mr. Roman said. “We’ve notentertained that idea at all yet.”

Both groups were active in thefight to restrict the collective bargaining rights of public employeeunions under Senate Bill 5. However,that measure — passed last springby the Republican-controlled Legis-lature — subsequently was rejectedlast November by 61% of the votersin a referendum known as Issue 2.

The business groups may be taking their cue from Gov. Kasich.The Republican governor has saidas recently as January that he wasn’tready to jump back into a statewidebattle after the resounding repeal ofSB 5. And an email last week fromhis office only confirmed that reluc-tance.

“Re-creating a jobs-friendly envi-ronment is essential to getting Ohioback on track,” said Gov. Kasich’sspokeswoman, Connie Wehrkamp,in a statement issued last Thursday,March 8, when his office was askedby Crain’s about the governor’s position on the proposed right-to-work amendment.

“We’ve successfully cut taxes,torn down regulatory barriers to jobcreation and replaced our antiquatedeconomic development agency witha new, more effective private sectorcorporation,” Ms. Wehrkamp wrote.“These strategies and others areshowing good results, and our focusright now is to keep pursuing them,but we’re open to additional strate-gies as needed.”

Indiana breaks the moldThe right-to-work amendment a

group called Ohioans for WorkplaceFreedom is floating actually expands on certain restrictions onunions that were a part of SB 5. Theamendment would prohibit collec-tive bargaining agreements betweenunions and public or private employers that require employees tojoin a union or, alternatively, to paythe equivalent of dues to the unionas a condition of their employment.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels lastmonth signed legislation that madehis state the 23rd in the country —but the first in the Rust Belt — to allow workers in unionized opera-tions to decide for themselveswhether to pay union dues. Gov.Daniels and others argued thatpassing the legislation would makethe state more attractive than itsneighbors to companies looking tolocate new operations.

The only business group backingthe proposed Ohio amendment so far is the Associated Builders and Contractors of Ohio, which hasthree state chapters. Most ABCmembers are non-union, or meritshop, construction contractors. Itsstatewide director of governmentaffairs, Bryan Williams, a former legislator, has been active in shapingthe amendment.

“Our members know that statesthat have workplace freedom havebetter economies,” Mr. Williams said.“Our group wants a strong businessenvironment, because when thereis a strong business environment,there is a demand for commercialconstruction.”

Looking for tractionOhioans for Workplace Freedom

got off to a slow start, after the OhioBallot Board initially rejected thewording of its amendment last November. It won board approvallast month to start gathering the386,000 valid signatures it will need,but the group isn’t sure whether itwill have enough signatures to geton the ballot this November. If itmisses the deadline to make thisNovember’s ballot, it will shoot for2013.

The same conservative and TeaParty groups backing this proposedamendment were behind last November’s successful state Issue 3that sought to rein in the federalhealth care plan in Ohio.

The effort is buoyed by a recentpoll by the Quinnipiac UniversityPolling Institute. The Hamden, Conn.,group last month found 54% of Ohiovoters responding would favor pas-sage of a right-to-work amendment.

Chris Littleton, spokesman forOhioans for Workplace Freedom,said he is gathering financial sup-port from business groups to mounta successful signature-gatheringcampaign, though he wouldn’tidentify the group’s supporters.

“There is a lot of quiet supportersand donations,” he said. “But Iwouldn’t want to speak for thosegroups and publicly announce theirsupport.”

Mr. Littleton said the group won’tfile its first campaign finance reportuntil July.

‘Freeloading concept’One group most likely to support

the effort is the National Federal ofIndependent Business’ Ohio chapter,a statewide advocacy group forsmall business owners.

Roger Geiger, vice president andexecutive director of NFIB/Ohio,said his group “has a longstandingposition that supports the concept”of a right-to-work law.

“Our membership would clearlyline up in favor of right to worksince small business owners clearlybelieve that it is a strong conceptthat should be in the marketplace,”Mr. Geiger said. “But we haven’tmade a formal proposal to our lead-ership council.”

The Construction Employers Association, however, opposes anyversion of a right-to-work amend-ment, said Tim Linville, executivevice president of the group that represents 500 union constructioncontractors in Northeast Ohio.

Mr. Linville said he is concernedin particular about the impact ofright-to-work laws on constructionworker pension funds, which are organized by trade union classifica-tion and are run by boards of con-struction employers and union offi-cials. In right-to-work states, he said,workers who don’t pay dues “arestill entitled to the union contractand all the benefits it has in it, including the pension fund.”

“We don’t believe in gettingsomething for nothing,” Mr. Linvillesaid. “Basically, right to work is afreeloading concept.” ■

“Our members know that states that haveworkplace freedom have better economies.” – Bryan Williams, director ofgovernment affairs, AssociatedBuilders and Contractors of Ohio


Union that it was left out of theplanning process and that the planthreatens security they have won atthe bargaining table. The transfor-mation plan would let the districtuse measures other than senioritywhen it lays off teachers.

In the interview after his State ofthe City address, Mayor Jacksonhad to be coaxed to acknowledgethat if the Legislature doesn’t goalong with the Cleveland plan, andcity voters do not approve a schoollevy, the district and the $65 milliondeficit it faces would become theresponsibility of the Ohio Depart-ment of Education.

And if that happens, the mayorsaid, the teachers’ union could losemore than it would under his plan.

“You can call it a hammer,” hesaid when that term was used by areporter. “I call it a fact. In order forus to have any chance or likelihoodof passing a levy, we have todemonstrate to the public they willget a different outcome than they aregetting now and that there is account-ability for what they pay for.”

State lawmakers must sign off onthe plan because it proposes changesto Ohio law that would apply onlyto Cleveland. For instance, state lawrequires that teachers with less seniority be laid off before teacheswith more seniority, a particularsore point for Mayor Jackson andMr. Gordon.

Under one umbrellaThe School Transformation Plan

proposed by Mayor Jackson andMr. Gordon seeks to change theschool district in major ways.

Most significantly, it would takewhat is called a “portfolio approach”to school management. This rela-tively new educational strategy, being implemented in Denver, Indianapolis and several other cities,gives school principals greater responsibility over budgeting andhiring. It also would allow privatecharter schools, with district administration approval, to receivepublic money for their programs.

Mr. Gordon said bringing charterschools under the district’s levy isan important step forward.

“Part of what we have to ask our-selves is, at the end of the day, are we

going to fight about who owns theschools or are we going to startfighting about how good thoseschools can be?” he said.

And, he noted, the change wouldgive parents of children in charterschools a reason to vote for a levy.

The plan also creates somethingcalled the Transformation Alliance,a group composed of parents, edu-cators, business people and othercivic leaders who would evaluatedistrict schools — as well as publicand private charter schools — oncommon performance standards. Itwould recommend which schoolsshould be supported and whichshould be closed or cut off frompublic money. The central officethen could direct resources to the bestschools and could close failing ones.

The plan would override the current collective bargaining agree-ment with the Cleveland TeachersUnion and would give the districtflexibility over teacher pay and assignments.

Terry Ryan, a vice president of theThomas B. Fordham Institute, aneducation nonprofit based in Dayton and Washington, D.C., saidhe believes Cleveland is “embarkingon the boldest citywide school reform effort that the state of Ohiohas ever seen.”

“Their success or failure will res-onate throughout the state and likelybeyond,” Mr. Ryan said.

The Fordham group, whichsponsors charter schools in Ohio, isbacked by the Bill and MelindaGates Foundation and the WaltonFamily Foundation. It has questionedthe lack of flexibility in teacher labor contracts.

Watchdog, or added hoops?The still-amorphous Transfor-

mation Alliance is expected to be awatchdog of sorts for charter schoolgrowth. It also would be tasked withrecommending to the state Depart-ment of Education whether a newcharter school should open withincity limits — an authority thatGreater Cleveland Partnershippresident Joe Roman called a “veryimportant lever” to ensure that onlyquality schools operate in the city.

“The alliance is a place where thebusiness community and otherscan directly engage,” said Mr. Roman,

whose business organization hasthrown its full weight behind the plan.

Moreover, the alliance wouldmount an aggressive marketingcampaign during open enrollmentseason to inform the communityabout the best-performing schools,both charter and public, in the city.

“The business community is verysupportive, and the business com-munity has a strong interest in aneducated work force,” said AlanRosskamm, former CEO of Jo-AnnStores Inc. and now CEO of Break-through Schools, which operatescharter schools in Cleveland.

However, officials at both Constellation Schools and WhiteHat Management, which also runcharter schools in Cleveland, argueMayor Jackson’s proposal could inject another layer of bureaucracyto what they consider an alreadylengthy list of regulations imposedon charter schools.

“There is a fairly rigorous systemand audit and control process inplace” said White Hat president andCEO Tom Barrett. “If this is betteror different, I’m all for it, but I don’tthink we need multiple ways ofmanaging the process.”

Constellation Schools presidentRick Lukich said the alliance, if implemented, could reduce choicefor parents. He went as far as callingMayor Jackson’s proposal “an exper-iment on the children of Cleveland.”

Mr. Lukich called the district’sassertion that it would share poten-tial levy dollars with charter schoolsa “red herring,” adding that he finds ithard to believe the financially strappeddistrict would forfeit potential revenue to the charter schools.

However, Breakthrough Schools,which has four schools sponsoredby the Cleveland school district, issalivating at the prospect of receiv-ing levy revenue. It’s something thegroup has wanted for some time tohelp offset financial gaps it current-ly makes up with fundraising, saidJohn Zitzner, president of Friendsof Breakthrough, the fundraisingand advocacy arm of the charterschool network.

“We don’t see this as an anti-charter thing at all,” he said. “It cansound like that to some people, butwe believe it’s a way to prevent badschools from opening.” ■

“We’ve had good interest frommanufacturers so far,” Mr. Green-berg said of the space, which carriesan asking rent of $3 a square foot.

Mr. Greenberg estimates it maytake about two years to fill the formerGM plant. Its relative youth — dating from 1970 — and appealingfeatures will help the leasing effort.

“The building breaks up well,”Mr. Greenberg said. “It can servetenants from 50,000 to 250,000square feet equally well.”

Recently vacated auto plants aremeeting the wrecking ball on anepic scale, as seen at the formerChrysler stamping plant in Twins-burg and the Ford Motor Co.foundry in Brook Park. However,Mr. Greenberg said the good condi-tion of the Parma building and thestrength of the industrial marketaround Cleveland Hopkins Interna-tional Airport argued for keepingthe structure intact.

“There is an infrastructure herethat manufacturers otherwisewould have to install,” he said,pointing to power lines above andsections of the floor containing rub-ber blocks below him.

Love that industrial spaceThe resilience of the region’s

manufacturing base is on Mr.Greenberg’s side.

Terry Coyne, executive vice pres-ident of Grubb & Ellis Co., said theindustrial market is not just warm;it’s blazing.

“Stuff is going off the market sofast it’s unbelievable,” Mr. Coynesaid. He estimates a 12% vacancy ratein the region’s industrial market andnotes vacancy in the southwest/air-port market in Cleveland droppedto 12% from 14% in a single year.

George Pofok, senior vice presi-dent at the Cresco real estate brokerage in Independence, saiddemand for 100,000-square-foot

blocks of space is on the upswing,adding, “I’ve had clients looking forbuildings with cranes for more thana year.” New development is moreproblematic, he said, as businessesfocus on buying bargain propertiesshed in the recession.

Also excited by the opportunitythe property presents — and gladParma retained the GM stampingplant that remains in operationnext door — is Parma Mayor TimothyDeGeeter.

“We’re focused on this property,”the mayor said, as it provides an opportunity for the city to land jobsand the region to keep them. MayorDeGeeter said the city is seeking a$750,000 state grant for road construc-tion to serve the new business park.

Mr. Greenberg estimates theproperty can yield as many as sevenstructures and 500,000 square feetof business space. He estimates itmay take as long as 10 years to de-velop the business park. ■

Schools: Critics fear bureaucracy Work: Supporters saylaw entices businesses

Parma: Industrial demand on the rise






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Rocky Mountain firmhigh on West Tech Lofts ■ Monarch Investment and ManagementGroup, an apartment owner and managerbased in Franktown, Colo., is the new ownerof West Tech Lofts, 2201 W. 93rd St. in Cleve-land.

Through MIM XXXVI West Tech LoftsLLC, Monarch on Jan. 31 paid $6.56 millionfor the 189-unit property, according toCuyahoga County land records. The sellerwas RRE HUD MMF 2007, an affiliate of Resource Real Estate Inc. of Philadelphiathat had paid $4.5 million for it in 2009.

Brian Polley, Monarch’s regional managerfor northern Ohio and southern Michigan,said his company was able to secure theapartment property at a price that allows itto hold the lofts profitably for a long time.

The lofts are 96% occupied. The purchasealso gives Monarch its first property inCleveland; it joins six other complexes inOhio that it already owns.

The character of the 1912-vintage formerhigh school also attracted the owner of morethan 8,000 apartments.

“It’s a unique property,” Mr. Polley said.“We think we can make it better.” — StanBullard

Barking up the right tree■ Pat Covey now has climbed to the secondbranch from the top.

Mr. Covey, 48, who has worked for TheDavey Tree Expert Co. based in Kent formore than 20 years, has been named chief

operating officer for U.S.operations, making himthe company’s No. 2 executive.

In the new role, whichhe assumed last month,Mr. Covey oversees thecompany’s more than7,000 U.S. employees andall four of its divisions.

Those divisions include its residential/commercial group and its utility services division, which performs utility line clearancework.

Davey Tree’s chairman, president andCEO Karl Warnke, 60, was chief operatingofficer before climbing to the top. Asked ifhe aspires to the highest role, Mr. Coveyreplied, “I’m going to do the best possiblejob that I can do in this position, and thenwe’ll see where the chips fall.”

Mr. Warnke became CEO in January 2007and said intends to remain in the post forawhile. He said Mr. Covey was promotedbecause of his skill set and experience.

“He’s engaging, he is well accepted by thepeople in the company here,” Mr. Warnkesaid. “He has earned their respect, and Ithink that is absolutely critical.” — MichellePark

Going publicwithout the IPO■ A small information technology servicesfirm in Brecksville has gone public througha reverse merger with a shell company incorporated in Florida.

In an all-stock transaction, Infiniti SystemsGroup Inc. on Jan. 31 acquired 60% owner-ship in League Now Holdings Corp. (OTCBulletin Board: LNWZ). The main purposeof the merger is to give the company accessto Wall Street investors, as League Now hasno operations, CEO John Bianco said.

Infiniti will need money because it’s looking to buy other IT companies, Mr.Bianco said. Infiniti announced Feb. 29 thatit has agreed to buy IDK Health LLC, aNortheast Ohio company that has devel-oped a software system designed to helphealth care providers process medicalclaims.

IDK stopped developing the technology afew years ago and has no employees, Mr.Bianco said. IDK’s owner, Joe Turi, will joinInfiniti. Mr. Bianco declined to say muchelse about the company.

Mr. Bianco said Infiniti, with 20 employeesand about $4 million in annual revenue, islooking at buying three other companies: A local software development firm, a New York-based IT staffing business and a Texas company that provides IT security to government agencies. He did not identifyany of them.

Broadening Infiniti’s lineup of productsand services would help it compete withlarger companies, Mr. Bianco said. He addedthat he sometimes longs for the resourceshe had when he was an executive for Systemation, a Beachwood IT consultingfirm that was sold to Cap Gemini of Francein 1989.

“Having that bandwidth in the company… made it so much easier to deliver solu-tions,” he said. — Chuck Soder

MILESTONE

THE COMPANY: Russell Real EstateServices, StrongsvilleTHE OCCASION: Its 50th anniversary

Appropriately enough, this full-service realestate company was born in the basement ofa family home.

Newman “Russ” Russell and his brother-in-law, Roy Waddell, started the business at homein Brook Park in June 1962. Shortly there-after, they opened a more formal office, onWest 120th Street at Lorain Avenue in Cleveland.

Russell now has seven offices in NortheastOhio — the Strongsville corporate office, plusoperations in Amherst, Brecksville, Medina,North Ridgeville, Sandusky and Westlake —as well as several satellite locations.

The company that began in a basementnow has nearly 500 professional agents.

Russell services real estate needs in notjust the Cleveland and Akron areas, but inPennsylvania, Toledo and the Lake Erie Islands.It’s still family-owned and operated, as Ronand Debbie Russell took over the business inthe late-1990s. A third generation of Russellfamily ownership is in the offing, as theirsons, Jeff and Kevin, both are licensed andworking in the business.

“Fifty years is a special accomplishmentin today’s real estate world,” Ron Russellsaid. “As other companies are closing theirdoors … or merging, Russell just keeps ongetting bigger and better.”

For information, visit www.RussellRealty.com.

REPORTERS’ NOTEBOOKBEHIND THE NEWS WITH CRAIN’S WRITERS

THEINSIDER

THEWEEK MARCH 5 - 11

The big story: Leading e-book distributorOverDrive Inc., now based in Valley View, brokeground on a new headquarters in Garfield Heights.OverDrive said it has begun construction of a95,000-square-foot building on a 12-acre cam-pus to accommodate more than 300 employees.The company said its need for a new headquarters,which it is calling its Blue Sky Campus, is “a result of domestic and international growth inthe e-book industry.”

Shopping spree: Westgate Shopping Centerin Fairview Park has changed hands. Inland RealEstate Corp. said it has acquired Westgate and

a shopping center in the Cincinnatimarket for a total of $109.4 million, excluding closingcosts and adjust-ments. Inland, a realestate investmenttrust, said it boughtWestgate on March

6 for $73.4 million. Westgate is a former enclosedmall that was transformed into an outdoor shopping center. It totals about 474,000 squarefeet of leasable space.

On second thought …: FirstEnergy Corp. isre-evaluating its plan to shut its Eastlake powerplant. Instead of closing the Lake County plant,the company is considering replacing its coal-fired turbines with four combustion turbinesthat could be fired by natural gas or oil. The electriccompany’s FirstEnergy Generation Corp. sub-sidiary filed an application for a feasibility studywith PJM Interconnection, its regional transmis-sion organization, to install turbines that woulddeliver about 800 megawatts of what the industrycalls peaking power. Such power comes onlineonly at times of high electricity demand.

Rad move: Radisphere National RadiologyGroup Inc. moved its Beachwood office fromCommerce Park to Park East Drive. The 70 people the company employs in Beachwood willoccupy most of the third floor at 3700 Park East,which was occupied by Rosetta MarketingGroup until the interactive marketing firm consolidated its Northeast Ohio operations indowntown Cleveland. The 17,000-square-footspace is roughly 50% larger than the company’sprevious office at 23625 Commerce Park.

Wear in the world: Lincoln Electric HoldingsInc. acquired Weartech International Inc., a privately held producer of cobalt-based hardfacing and wear-resistant welding consumables.The maker of welding equipment did not saywhat it paid for Weartech, which is headquar-tered in Anaheim, Calif., and has manufacturingplants in Anaheim and Port Talbot, Wales. Weartech has annual sales of $40 million andemploys a total of 140 people at both locations.

Data-driven: Laird PLC of London acquiredSummit Data Communications Inc. of Akron ina deal initially valued at $22 million. Summit,which develops and sells non-cellular wirelesscommunications equipment, will remain in theAkron Global Business Accelerator for now. Thecompany expects to move to another locationwithin the city as the business grows.

Off the wall: Omnova Solutions in Fairlawnsold another piece of its commercial wallcoveringbusiness. Omnova sold its U.K.-based Muraspecbusiness to affiliates of a2e Venture CatalystsLtd. and its principal, Amin Amiri, of Manches-ter, England. Muraspec has about $40 million insales. The announcement of the Muraspec dealfollows the sale last December of certain assetsof Omnova’s North American commercial wall-covering business to J. Josephson.


BEST OF THE BLOGSExcerpts from recent blog entries onCrainsCleveland.com.

Panther Expedited on prowlfor a buyer, Reuters says■ Reuters reported that logistics firm Panther Expedited Services Inc. of Seville,in Medina County, is trying to sell itself,three months after scrapping its IPO plans.

“Panther, owned by private equity firmFenway Partners, is being advised by J.P.Morgan, which was one of the several underwriters for the initial public offering,”the news service reported, citing two peoplefamiliar with the matter. The sources didnot want to be identified, as the sale processwas private.

One source told Reuters that XPO Logisticsof Buchanan, Mich., and several private equity firms are eyeing Panther.

A Panther spokesman declined to commentto Reuters.

Panther filed for an IPO of up to $110 million in 2010 but called it offlast November.

The company provides expedited transport servicesvia ground, air and oceanshipping. Its annual revenuewas $142 million, accordingto a summary about the com-pany on Fenway’s website. NewYork-based Fenway, with $2.1 billion in capital under manage-ment, invested in Panther in 2005.Its total investment in the company is $76million.

Study shows airport jobshave soared in last decade■ A study released by the Airports CouncilInternational-North America contends that490 commercial airports in the UnitedStates — including seven in Ohio — are

responsible for 10.5 million jobs and generate$1.2 trillion in total economic impact.

“The Economic Impact of CommercialAirports in 2010” quantifies the economiccontributions of the 490 airports, which itdubs “Airports Inc.”

The Airports Council reported that U.S.airports have increased their total numberof jobs by 56% since the group’s last studyof airports’ total economic impact, in 2001.

The report finds the seven Ohio airportsare responsible for 136,000 jobs, $4.7 billionin payroll and $13.6 billion in total economicoutput.

We must reallylike it in NE Ohio■ Clevelanders, what do you have againstvacations?

The Los Angeles Times took note of a re-cent LivingSocial.com survey of 4,000 Amer-icans about their vacation habits, in terms

of how many vacation days they takeand how many foreign coun-tries they have visited.

“Which city’s residentsused the fewest days of vacay?Cleveland,” The Times said.

Cleveland residents “werealso the least likely of the re-sponding residents of the 20

cities to travel outside the coun-try for vacation,” the paper re-ported. “Can it be that the peo-ple who live in the city at the

mouth of the Cuyahoga River are just thatmuch more industrious than the rest of us?More satisfied with their lot in life?”

Maire Griffin, a spokeswoman for LivingSocial.com, told The Times that Cleve-landers likely are more comfortable with“nesting” than people in other parts of thecountry, which prompted the story’s writerto quip, “Clearly it’s time for me to visitCleveland and discover its charms.”

Debbie and Ron Russell

We Clevelanders cannest with the best of’em.

STAN BULLARD

Covey


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