MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy And Growth Network

Resilient NEO, a partnership between MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, JumpStart, the Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), and Team NEO, seeks to improve the recovery and resilience of the Northeast Ohio economic ecosystem.

Over the next 18 months, Resilient NEO will enhance the overall innovation capacity of seven target counties in Northeast Ohio, covering dozens of Opportunity Zones and HubZones. Resilient NEO will build the region’s resilience by facilitating more connections between industries, thereby promoting innovation, and advancing “smart” manufacturing, creating the conditions to produce these new innovations at scale.

Additive manufacturing allows for rapid prototyping, faster iterations, and reshoring tooling. During the pandemic, there was no time to wait for imported molds and fixtures, so those necessary tools were successfully 3D-printed locally. Industry 4.0 technologies like robots and connected machines allow for rapid scaling up of manufacturing, running “lights out” where possible, and the data generated is helpful for increasing productivity and quality. Resilient NEO will identify the highest potential startups in these two areas, then provide a set of intensive services to accelerate development, offering technical assistance, business model support, valuable introductions, and more. Concurrently, Resilient NEO will help build a network of funders interested in investing in manufacturing innovation, so these promising innovators can have access to much needed capital. These activities will result in added connectivity among key industry partners.