| "We view our Chamber membership as something that pays for itself. It is a great resource that we utilize to help our business grow and prosper. As a community, we should feel fortunate that we have such a vibrant Chamber assisting businesses"
--Steve Marks
CEO, Main Street Gourmet
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Dan Colontone, President
Welcome to the first issue of e-directions, the Greater Akron Chamber's newsletter. This monthly publication will focus on success stories of local businesses and what the Chamber is doing to support economic development. We have exciting new efforts to share in the months ahead, so look for great news in the near future.
If you know someone who would benefit from this newsletter, please forward it to them. By working together, we all benefit.
Sincerely,  |
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Celebrating Akron Leadership
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On a single night each year, you have the opportunity to learn about your regional economy and the specific challenges ahead for your company and your customers.
The Greater Akron Chamber's Annual Dinner does more than gather our city's business and civic leaders. It's a chance to talk, to relate with other business owners. It's a chance to hear about how other companies found solutions for success.
The Annual Dinner celebrates the fact that we led our companies through another year and continue to strive toward greatness, just as Joseph S. Kanfer, this year's recipient of the H. Peter Burg Award, did with GOJO and the invention of PURELL Instant Hand Sanitizer.
Akron's most energetic pubic-private event reminds us of how staying in business means constant reinvention. The year is 2011; how will you reinvent your company and yourself?
If you have not reserved your seat yet, register online, by e-mail or by phone at 330-237-1250.
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German Manufacturer Selects Akron
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Through the efforts of a regional partnership that included Mayor Don Plusquellic and the Greater Akron Chamber, Röchling Automotive USA selected Akron as the location for a $15 million, 75,000 square foot facility to be built in the Massillon Road Industrial Park.
Röchling manufactures automotive parts through the injection molding process. Their new facility will initially employ 123 skilled workers, including machinists, with an annual payroll of approximately $5 million.
The specific conditions Akron offered include:
- 12 acres of city-owned property
- Tax increment financing for 8 years
- A rebate equal to one percent of the total annual payroll for the first 5 years of operation
- First right of refusal on an adjacent five acre lot.
Röchling marks the 30th company from Europe, Asia or Israel that has come to Akron because it recognized our region's experienced workforce, technical and manufacturing expertise and quality of life.
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Governor Kasich Relates Plans to Chamber Members
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During a visit with members of the Greater Akron Chamber last month, Governor John Kasich shared his platform, especially as it relates to economic development in the Greater Akron Region.
Chamber members in attendance heard firsthand Kasich's plans for reversing the state's budget shortfall, as well as his areas of prime concern, which include a declining population, number of jobs and confidence about the state's future.
Kasich hopes to create an atmosphere for Ohio that is "entrepreneurial, risk-taking and investment oriented." To get there, Kasich related his confidence in JobsOhio, his new economic development organization tasked with retaining companies and attracting new ones. He also called on state universities to find ways of using research dollars to create commercial products that can generate a profit.
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