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VOL. 39, NO. 49

DECEMBER 3 - 9, 2018

Source Lunch

Akron Our Neighborhood Watch series takes a trip to West Akron. Page 40

Robert Redmond, managing director, Mohr Partners Page 43

CLEVELAND BUSINESS

The List Nonprofits, ranked by 2018 expenses Page 38

MANUFACTURING

GM UNLOADS ON LORDSTOWN General Motors plans to end production at five North American plants, including one in Lordstown, and cut 15% of its salaried workforce. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Plant shutdown evokes other dark memories Region, though, is better positioned to bounce back By RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY rmccafferty@crain.com @ramccafferty

In many ways, General Motors’ announcement that it didn’t have any new products planned for its plant in Lordstown held echoes of layoffs past for the Mahoning Valley. But there are some key differences today. The region has other manufacturers that have been seeking skilled employees, manufacturers that might be able to hire those laid-off employees. There are established retraining programs. And some are hopeful that the region’s investment in new technologies might entice GM to give the plant another product after all. On Monday, Nov. 26, GM announced in a news release that Lordstown Assembly would be one of five plants “unallocated” in 2019. That means it won’t be given a product to

make. This is part of a wide-reaching company transformation that will see GM investing in “next-generation battery-electric architectures” and reducing salaried staff, the release said. Chairman and CEO Mary Barra in the release said this plan continues GM’s efforts to become “highly agile, resilient and profitable.” “We recognize the need to stay in front of changing market conditions and customer preferences to position our company for longterm success,” Barra continued. A GM spokesperson via email attributed the decision to discontinue the production of the Chevrolet Cruze, the car made in Lordstown, to “shifting consumer preference.” They did not comment further on why the Lordstown plant was one the company decided to not give product to in 2019 or whether there was a chance the plant would receive a new product in the future, two questions asked by Crain’s.

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SEE LORDSTOWN, PAGE 41

SUPPLY CHAIN

A diversified NEO economy will help suppliers weather the storm from GM By RACHEL ABBEY McCAFFERTY rmccafferty@crain.com @ramccafferty

ill Koehler, CEO of Team NEO, is concerned about the workers who could soon be losing their jobs due to General Motors’ decision to not give the Lordstown plant any new products next year. And he’s concerned about the suppliers that serve the Lordstown plant, and the workers there whose jobs also could be at risk. But when it comes to the region overall, he has fewer worries. The economy is diverse, he said, and the region’s manufacturers have “proven to be nimble over time.”

This is a significant loss, but Northeast Ohio’s manufacturers have experienced such loss before. “I don’t mean to be cavalier, but I do think being realistic about our economy and its diversity over time is an important aspect of this,” Koehler said. In general, automotive suppliers have diversified their customer bases over the years, which means the ripple effects of GM’s cutbacks, locally and otherwise, could be contained. Adding different platforms within automotive or expanding to markets like aerospace that are out of automotive altogether has been a way for companies to deal with the “peaks and valleys” of manufacturing, Koehler said. SEE SUPPLIERS, PAGE 41

INSIDE: Local news sheds light on the lives behind the headlines. Page 10

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Local firm is first of its ilk in state in 19 years By JEREMY NOBILE jnobile@crain.com @JeremyNobile

Ohio regulators haven’t helped set up an independent nondepository trust company for quite some time, which may have lengthened that process for the recently formed Western Reserve Trust Co. Western Reserve’s attorney, in fact, who helped it secure a charter after close to four years of planning, appears to have set up the last one in 1999 with Cincinnati’s Johnson Trust Co. The only similar company forming since then in this state would come from PNC Financial Services, which formed PNC Ohio Trust Co. a couple

years ago as a strategic move. But being tied to the national bank, that firm can’t claim the independent status of the privately owned Western Reserve operation. Several banks offer trust services today. On the other end of the spectrum are boutique offices that might manage a few relationships at most. So for Western Reserve’s trio of co-founders — CEO Dominic Perry, president William Karnatz and vice president Mark Swary — the fact very few firms operate in the middle ground between those large and small offices in Ohio meant there was an opportunity to fill the gap. “I always kind of felt like there was an opportunity to create a smaller, regulated entity,” said Karnatz, a lawyer who spent about 12 years with

eventual PNC acquiree National City Bank in its trust business before joining forces with Perry in 2007 for Perry & Karnatz, a boutique estate planning law firm. “You have really big banks and individual trustees. When you think of family wealth, people usually pick one of those two. There’s really nothing in the middle. In our view, there’s room for all three.” The firm, which employs 11, has just eight shareholders between its three co-founder/principals and five other independent investors. A fiduciary, Western Reserve’s focus is solely on administration. That means it doesn’t manage money, but instead outsources that to third parties with whom it works. Its role is carrying out the personal service side of the trust equation, seeing through

money plans for high-net-worth individuals. The minimum account at Western Reserve is $3 million. The firm reports about 50 relationships today (its founders declined to say how much in assets under advisement they have), pretty much all of which came from clients Perry, Karnatz and Swary worked with at previous gigs. Like his fellow principals, Swary also came from the legal sector. He previously worked at Hahn Loeser & Parks as co-chair of its estate planning, wealth transfer and preservation practice before Western Reserve. It was their respective work in the trust and estate-planning sectors that convinced the three there was a need for their services in the market. The fact they drew dozens of relationships from the start appears to reflect that.

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Having those customers from the get-go is also something that comforted state regulators as Western Reserve sought its charter, said Thomas Blank, Western Reserve’s lawyer and chair of the financial practices group at Toledo law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick. Blank, who’s long been affiliated with the Association of Trust Organizations, has helped establish several of Ohio’s trust groups since the late 1980s. With roughly 450 similar firms nationwide, Western Reserve is certainly not unique, but it stands out for being the first of its kind to form in Ohio in such a long time. Besides that PNC operation, state regulators apparently hadn’t chartered a new trust here since 1999. “It’s not that they weren’t cooperative at the state level,” Blank said, “but no one had experience in doing this for many years.” There wasn’t a huge market for them. Plus, operating in the wake of the financial crisis, regulators were simply leerier of this kind of business and were “stingy” in awarding charters to them in the first place, Blank said. There were maybe five charters awarded in the past seven years, he surmised. That includes ones from groups like PNC. There’s also a minimum capital requirement of $3 million that can be a high hurdle for other aspiring trust companies forming from the ground up. There are several other onerous requirements beyond a strong capital standing, including having required cybersecurity protocols in place. Rules vary by state. Interestingly, although Ohio can be a tougher state to get one of these formed, it tends to be a friendlier place to operate them. The situation stems from a 2007 modernization of trust codes in Ohio that established the current dynamic. “Ohio has had that now for over 10 years, and I think banks have maybe taken advantage of that a little bit, but there never has really been a nichey trust company that could also take advantage of it because of the barrier to entry,” Karnatz said. Once over those barriers to entry, though, Ohio laws are favorable to the trust business because of rules governing such things as dynasty trusts. Others created the bifurcation of responsibilities that lets the trustee delegate money management duties to another party and not be held liable for portfolio performance. “That is a real advantage in Ohio and something that will benefit us for sure, we think,” Karnatz said. Although banks have increasingly added trust services in the wake of the last recession — as a way to build up the balance sheet with fee income as growth in the overall banking sector stalled out — the founders say there are no short-term intentions to build up the practice and sell it off. After all, part of their proposition is being able to manage a family’s wealth for future generations. But to Perry et al., the fact the space for independent nondepository trust banks isn’t an overly crowded one — especially for registered, independent types — seemingly bodes well for their growth. “We’ve been very low-key,” Swary said. “We’re getting our sea legs, integrating people who want this. Strategically, we’ll take a look (at adding more relationships) once we have people on board and on our systems. We will selectively look at what’s out there. But the community is learning about us now and we’re getting a lot of inquiries.”

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With the second of the three sections of the $306 million Opportunity Corridor now complete, the city of Cleveland is looking to hire a consultant to help it market and sell the land adjacent to the 2.5 miles of road under construction between Interstate 490 on the west and University Circle on the east to developers. Mayor Frank Jackson and the road’s supporters see it as a catalyst that could revive a portion of the city’s impoverished southeast side that is called the “Forgotten Triangle.” Skeptics have downplayed the road’s ability to spark redevelopment, with its harshest critics dismissing it as having value only as a faster way for West Siders to get to the Cleveland Clinic. It’s not clear what it will take to win the bid. Some development industry observers characterized the city’s request for proposals (RFP) as vague and incomplete. One said it was a year too late, another that it was a year too early. It could take as much as two decades, observers have indicated, to develop what could be as much as 1,000 acres that the city could assemble on both sides of the roadway. The RFP seeks a proposal from a consulting team that will provide a suite of services likely requiring specialists from more than one firm. The RFP asks that the winning team take on a variety of tasks that range from a branding or public relations campaign to raising awareness of the availability of ready-to-develop land to creating a plan for a business park and then attracting developers and

potential tenants to consider the site. Responses to the RFP were due to the city by Nov. 16. A spokesman said last week that the city had received nine responses, although he declined to name the respondents. Calls to commercial real estate firms likely to lead a corridor consulting team were rebuffed, with firm representatives declining to speak about the RFP or even say whether they responded with proposals. Off the record, several executives said the city had asked firms to not discuss the RFP with reporters. “If anyone talks to you, that means they didn’t compete,” said one. Construction of the road, which began in 2015, is not due to be completed until 2021. A ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Nov. 29, marked the formal completion of Section 2 of the project, a half mile of road between East 105th and East 93rd streets. A new bridge takes East 105th over Norfolk Southern Railway tracks. Work is about to begin on Section 3, which runs from East 93rd to East 55th Street, where it links to the east end of I-490. While building the roadway has been the responsibility of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the city is responsible for developing the land along the corridor. It sees the new thoroughfare as the spine of a new neighborhood of commercial and residential development. ODOT used eminent domain to acquire the land it needed for the roadway itself, which included some land fronting the road that can be developed. But supporters and critics alike are concerned about the ability of the city to assemble developable parcels in a timely fashion, since holdout homeowners unwilling to sell could stall land assembly. Michael Cantor, a principal and

managing director of Allegro Real Estate Brokers & Advisors, said his firm responded to the city RFP with a letter saying people at the firm and the engineering, marketing and advertising firms needed to round out a consulting team were too busy to complete a full response, though he said his firm, which has done earlier work assessing the corridor’s real estate, might be interested. One consultant, who declined to speak on the record, called the RFP vague and “a piece of shit.” The winner, this consultant said, will be set up for failure. “They don’t control all of the sites, it’s going to take a long time, the Opportunity Corridor construction isn’t even done,” he said. “There are so many other things the city could be doing for economic development. I was on one call (with city officials prior to the deadline) and I told my guys, ‘Stop wasting your time. It’s too early. There is still space in Midtown.’ ” At the other end are strong supporters. “I’m a fan,” said David Wagner, a principal and managing director of Hanna Commercial Real Estate. “It could be one of the most transformative transportation projects in Northeast Ohio because you’re going to connect (Interstate) 77 to (Interstate) 90. Three (RTA) train lines all connect in this neighborhood and there is a lot of empty, underutilized land.” Wagner declined to discuss the project or the RFP beyond that statement, which indicates Hanna Commercial responded to the city’s request. For more than a decade, the road has been a priority for Jackson because it would open for redevelopment large, development-ready tracts of land, much of it already zoned for commercial and industrial uses.

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Medicaid shortfall drives community benefit By LYDIA COUTRÉ lcoutre@crain.com @LydiaCoutre

Hospitals in Northeast Ohio continue to have to cover the growing gap between the cost of caring for Medicaid patients and the reimbursement they receive from the government. Medicaid shortfall is one of several metrics reported in hospitals’ community benefit reports, an annual tool in which hospitals report to the Internal Revenue Service their value to the communities they serve. Over the past few years, Medicaid shortfall has been a growing slice of the pie in hospitals’ reported community benefit, slowly overtaking the other metrics, including education, research, financial assistance/charity care and subsidized health services. “I think, across the state of Ohio, you have a lot of hospitals that are really focused on how do we try to more effectively manage this Medicaid population,” said Steve Glass, the Clinic’s chief financial officer. “And when I say manage, it’s how do we provide the right outcomes without these patients always ending up in the EDs, which is a very costly place, and it’s not the best place for the patient to end up as well.” Although the hospitals earlier this year avoided a proposed 5% cut to the state Medicaid reimbursement rate, inflation and other rate adjustments continue to widen the gap between the cost of providing care and what hospitals are paid for it. According to reports released in recent weeks from the hospitals, the growing Medicaid shortfall costs, alongside increases in other slices of the pie, contributed to growth in the community benefits of the Clinic, Summa and UH between 2016 and 2017. UH’s overall community benefit grew by 7%, to $325 million. The Clinic’s grew by 5%, to $906.5 million. Summa reported a growth of 26%, to $126.8 million. Also for 2017, Akron Children’s Hospital posted a $133 million community benefit, Southwest General reported $19 million in community benefit and Lake Health reported $7.9 million. Because it is a public health system, MetroHealth is not required to report its community benefit totals, as the other nonprofit health systems are. The benefit hospitals provide may not be “crystal clear” to everyone in the community, said Phil Mazanec, interim president and CEO of the Center for Health Affairs, a nonprofit advocate for Northeast Ohio hospitals. People see buildings and employees, but not necessarily everything hospitals do. The community benefit reports act as a tool, he said, for hospitals to demonstrate their purpose and investment in the community. Cleveland Clinic saw increases in all but one of its metrics. “I think, as a not-for-profit community-based organization, it’s important that we’re transparent with what the value is that this health system delivers to the community and the significant resources that the health system is able to provide to the community that are not funded through other means, particularly when you continue to look at the growth in the financial assistance

Correction

and the growth in the Medicaid component,” Glass said. The Clinic continues to focus on research and education as key parts of the system’s mission, he added. Both investments grew year over year. The Clinic’s outreach programs investment dropped by about 5% between 2016 and 2017, which Glass attributes to added programs and services that ran in 2016 around disaster management in preparation for big events the city hosted that year. At University Hospitals, in addition to Medicaid shortfall, the system saw increases in its investments in research and education. “It’s good news for the community because University Hospitals continues to invest in our community investment,” said Heidi Gartland, vice

president of government and community relations for UH. “And that is something that, as a community benefit organization, is really important that we strategically focus our resources in areas that our needs assessments show are a great need.” UH saw a decrease in both charity care and in its community health improvement metrics. Gartland attributes the drop in the latter to a refocusing of how the system invests its dollars. In previous years, a lot of the community health improvement dollars were in grants given to other organizations, a practice in which UH, in a way, loses its connection to the actual impact of those dollars, Gartland said. Instead, the system invested those dollars in other areas, including education and research.

The drop in charity care at UH can be attributed in part to more people being covered by Medicaid expansion and shifting those expenses to the Medicaid shortfall. “Charity care, while we’ll give it any time in any way for a person who’s unable to pay, we think the best investment of a dollar is somebody who we can help them get insurance, because it gives them access to more than just coming to … the place where they have a crisis,” Gartland said. “They end up coming to the hospital, as opposed to getting prescriptions filled or getting a primary care visit done or, you know, physical therapy or other things that might augment their health care more holistically.” At Summa, charity care grew year over year, as did every category in its

community benefit report. In recent years, Medicaid expansion in the state helped shift some of the dollars from charity care (net costs associated with providing care, not including bad debt) to Medicaid shortfall. But charity care continues to grow at some hospitals. The Center for Health Affairs attributes this to several factors: the growing number of high-deductible plans that require more from the pockets of those covered; patients who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford a marketplace plan; and patients who fall off Medicaid coverage. Summa CEO Dr. Cliff Deveny also noted that more people accessing care can drive these numbers up, including more preventive care and better-managed chronic diseases.

Thursday, November 29, 2018 Cleveland Renaissance Hotel

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The plan to make Cleveland a center of the budding blockchain technology kicks off Monday, Dec. 3, with a two-day event being called the Blockland Solutions Conference. The event, which is expected to attract 1,000 attendees, has been promoted by auto dealer and technology entrepreneur Bernie Moreno and others as the kickoff of a plan for Blockland Cleveland, an initiative to “put the region at the forefront of blockchain thought leadership” and to prove that the region can offer technology companies a good home. “It’s the next generation of the internet,” Moreno told itla.net, the website of the International Legal Technology Association, in August. “We have an amazing opportunity to take advantage of this coming wave of innovation.” Blockchain is a decentralized digital technology that, its developers and proponents claim, cannot be edited or deleted by anyone but its owner, but that can be available to a large group of people or organizations. Blockchain was developed originally as the accounting system for Bitcoin, a “virtual currency” that allows individual users to manage the exchange of funds just as in a transaction directly with a bank or other middleman. Skeptics cite concerns that the technology’s slow speed, storage requirements and heavy use of energy will slow its acceptance and use. But those issues, its supporters contend, will be outweighed by its potential to create more secure and transparent transactions. Though it’s several years away from mainstream adoption, Moreno

The Blockland Solutions Conference runs Dec. 3-4 at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. Find speaker details and registration information at blocklandcleveland.com. (Contributed image)

and others, both here and worldwide, believe blockchain technology will find its first uses in business and government for securely storing such things as driver’s license registrations and medical records. Moreno has gathered a “governing body” that includes more than 20 prominent Clevelanders to guide the development of this effort, and most are participating in the conference. They come from the region’s businesses, law firms and nonprofits, including Case Western Reserve University, Destination Cleveland and JumpStart Inc. A key part of the plan to create a blockchain hub in Cleveland is a $150 million Blockland Cleveland incubator, a privately financed business Moreno has said he will build to be a place where would-be blockchain entrepreneurs could come to develop new businesses, making Cleveland an international center for

the blockchain technology. He said the plan is to include a K-8 school on the incubator campus and make the campus accessible to others, including internships for high-schoolers. “We want to make certain that when we do it right here in Cleveland, that we integrate technology into the fabric of the community,” Moreno said in August, when he announced his plan. “It’s a full-blown community effort of the willing.” Jon Pinney, managing partner of the Kohrman, Jackson and Krantz law firm and an early recruit to Blockland Cleveland, is leading the effort to find a suitable location and design for the incubator. Attendees of the conference, 86% of them from Northeast Ohio, according to a conference data sheet, will have the opportunity to hear from 151 speakers at more than 50 sessions, including keynote speeches,

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PA G E 7

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panel discussions and case studies on the impact blockchain may have on a variety of industries. Among the speakers is Joseph Lubin, a blockchain pioneer and co-founder of the blockchain computing platform Ethereum. Perhaps more importantly, though, Moreno and others see this as a shot in the arm for employment in the region. When he kicked off Blockland Cleveland in August, he said he’d like to see the region graduate 1,000 blockchain coders in 2019 (see sidebar). Preconference workshops begin on Saturday, Dec. 1, with sessions to provide software developers an overview of blockchain technology and give them experience learning to code on several blockchain platforms. The promoters have lined up 38 sponsors, many of them local. Lead sponsors are KeyBank and Hyland Software Inc. Other local sponsors, or firms with local offices, include Ashland University; Baker & Hostetler LLP; Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP; CardinalCommerce; Case Western Reserve University; the city of Cleveland; Cleveland Clinic; the Cleveland Foundation; Cleveland State University; Cohen & Co.; Cuyahoga Community College; Cuyahoga County; Deloitte; FirstEnergy Corp.; Hardy Wealth Partners/ UBS Financial Services; the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society; IBM Corp.; Jones Day; KPMG; McDonald Hopkins Co. LPA; Medical Mutual of Ohio; the

Wanted: 1,000 blockchain coders

“It’s the next generation of the internet. We have an amazing opportunity to take advantage of this coming wave of innovation.” — Bernie Moreno, auto dealer and technology entrepreneur

MetroHealth System/MCPc; Oswald Cos.; Ownum; PNC Bank; Progressive Insurance; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Skoda Minotti; and Vantage Agora. Some of the sponsors and other firms have signed on as exhibitors at the conference, and another 34 blockchain and other tech startups will line a “Startup Alley.”

YOUR GUIDE TO YEAR-END

GIVING

Just because Bernie Moreno might be able to build an incubator to nurture blockchain businesses doesn’t mean those startups will come to Cleveland unless the region can train or attract a workforce to populate those fledgling companies. In announcing his plan, the auto dealer and technology entrepreneur said he intends to see a workforce of 1,000 blockchain professionals working in Cleveland by the end of 2019. Conversations with local education and human resource professionals didn’t find uniform confidence that the workforce Moreno is predicting can be produced, although there is some optimism that the goal could be achieved, with some efforts predating Moreno’s announcement already underway. “Anything is possible,” said Kelly Keefe, president of ERC, a Highland Heights-based nonprofit provider of human resources training and research, “but a strategy needs to be created and put in place and needs to include the universities, government and the private sector.” A study released in July 2017 by the Regional Information Technology Engagement (RITE) Board, a nonprofit based at Lorain County Community College that works to reduce the gap between supply and demand for information workers in North-

east Ohio, reported that the region needed to expand the pipeline of trained IT workers to meet demand forecasts, even before Moreno set his workforce goal. According the report, “The findings of this research suggest that we may be falling farther behind changes in demand for IT professionals to fill entry-level positions” with “dramatic gaps” between numbers of potential hires employers pursue and the number of people completing postsecondary school programs. “Employers, across the board with the exception of (Hyland Software Inc.) and the ones with great brand recognition, are seeing an insufficient flow,” said Courtney DeOreo, director of the RITE Board, in an email. “There remain significant concerns about skills, as (employers) say they want well-rounded candidates.” As a start, Cuyahoga Community College already has a blockchain training program. William Gary, TriC’s executive vice president of workforce, community and economic development, said the program is the second in the country created in collaboration with IBM Corp. “Blockchain curriculum has already been developed and we’re embedding it in our suite of technology courseware,” Gary said. “We are doing 100 folks through these pro-

From fundraisers and volunteer work to estate planning opportunities, there is no shortage of ways to get involved in Northeast Ohio’s nonprofit causes.

VISIT

CrainsCleveland.com/Giving18 to learn how you can give back to each of these organizations today.

grams, and they are employed even before they are through with our program.” Case Western Reserve University’s lifelong learning program is also planning a blockchain coding program that will begin in January. Julie Maurer, a human resources consultant and founder of Silverline Consulting of Akron, has written about the challenge of filling tech jobs nationally, citing an estimate that by 2020 there will be one million more tech jobs than graduating students. While she said she isn’t yet fully up to speed on blockchain technology, Maurer believes Northeast Ohio can meet the demand for blockchain software developers and coders that Moreno anticipates. Surveying her LinkedIn Groups, Maurer estimates there are more than 12,000 people who are either currently, or were at some point in their past, in a software developer role in Cleveland. “It would be a big challenge, but it’s doable if the story (the promoters) can tell is impressive enough,” she said. “There are plenty of boot camps, plenty of graduates coming out of Cleveland, plenty of people who go to school outside of Cleveland who have a reason to come back. We can make them and we can convert them and we can attract some portion in.” — Jay Miller

2018

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Digital transformation spurs data-powered business insight

By Judy Stringer ig data and data analytics hold the promise that today’s businesses will evolve from being organizations that collect and store information to those that use data-driven insights to improve products and services and to generate efficiencies. The journey, however, is not a straight or simple path. And, companies — both big and small — really are just beginning to understand the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, said Jagdip Singh, AT&T professor of marketing at Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management and co-director of its master of science in business analytics program. Yes, businesses recognize data-crunching tools and technologies can drive faster, better decision-making, Singh said. Often the question is how to start. “It is not simply a matter of buying new technology,” Singh said. “It is integrating. It is assimilating … And, not all analytics technology applies to everyone, but in every business these technologies are going

picture of customer satisfacto disrupt the way we learn, intion and re-write the script for teract and operate today.” effective “service recovery.” Big data, for example, al“To date, service recovery ready is playing an important had been studied qualitatively role in understanding custombut not quantitatively because er preferences. Singh said that we did not have the data,” companies have traditionally Carlisle he said, “and what we have relied on customer and frontfound is that some of the conline employee surveys to unclusions based on that qualitaderstand the interactions that tive data are wrong.” occur when there is a problem Whether the issue was a with a product or service that missed flight or lost luggage, needs to be addressed. From customers did not want the this limited data set emerged agent to waste time with apoltraining programs that preogies or empathetic gestures, Krishnan pared front-line employees to and they wanted more control apologize, take responsibility over the remedy. and then develop what they “Choice made quite a big considered the best course of difference in terms of customaction to remedy the issue. er satisfaction,” according to With contemporary maSingh. “So the agent’s goal chine learning and data proshould be not to just provide cessing software, however, the solution that they think is Singh and his students were Singh best suited but to work creable to take a deep dive into large volumes of unstructured data — atively and on the spot to generate soluin this case, 110 videotapes of the inter- tions that are quite viable – not another actions between airline agents and dis- full-price ticket, for example – and also gruntled flyers — to develop a clearer give the customer multiple options.” Singh and his team have now moved on to study how companies can effectively use Twitter in service recovery. “Twitter data is unlike other forms of solving customer problems,” he said, because customers can report an issue, such as an impending missed connection, and expect a remedy in real-time. “There are companies that have customer service teams dedicated to Twitter and even they do not do well,” Singh said. “We are trying to figure out customer expectations when it comes to this communication medium.” And, of course, customer satisfaction analysis is only one way organizations can use data and analytics to inform

Calfee congratulates its nominated clients and all other Weatherhead 100 nominees and honorees for 2018!

strategic and operational decisions. Students in Weatherhead’s finance and banking program are exposed to the data mining and predictive modeling applications used by today’s financial professionals, according to department chair and professor CNV Krishnan. While the finance industry is no newcomer to quantitative analysis, the ability to cull, store, access, manage and evaluate larger and more complex data sets is driving new processes and procedures among bankers, analysts and advisers, he said. “We can now look, for example, at the text in 50 years of balance sheets and use programming and analytics software to track keywords that management has spoken about over time to identify keywords that are driving stock returns and things like that,” Krishnan said. “Then the analyst can use that information to make recommendations to their clients.” The impact can also be seen in auditing and accounting, said Weatherhead assistant professor Melissa Carlisle. With new data collection techniques and software, auditors analyze both structured and unstructured data to identify potential abnormalities, like unauthorized disbursements, or troubling patterns. They can comb through consumer and market statistics to compare revenue projections to actual revenue. “Auditors can shift their focus from detecting errors to concentrating on areas that present a high level of risk.” Carlisle said her department — like its Weatherhead counterparts — has heightened its focused on big data and preparing students for a data-powered marketplace. “Today’s business professionals need to be able to transform data into useful information and understand what the data is really telling them.”

AWARD CATEGORIES The law firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP congratulates all Weatherhead 100 award winners and nominees! We are proud to support the Northeast Ohio business community as the spirit of entrepreneurship, leadership and commitment to growth expands in our region and beyond. Cleveland | Columbus | Cincinnati Washington, D.C. | Calfee.com ©2018 Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP. All Rights Reserved. 1405 East Sixth Street, Cleveland, OH 44114

Weatherhead 100 The 100 fastest growing companies in Northeast Ohio are based on revenue from 2013 through 2017. Companies on the list must have had sales of at least $100,000 in 2013, plus a minimum of 16 full-time employees and more than $1 million in sales in 2017.

Upstart These companies have met all Weatherhead 100 qualifications, employed 15 or fewer employees and/or had less than $5 million in net sales in 2017.

Centurion

These companies have met all Weatherhead 100 qualifications and had net sales of $100 million or more in 2017.

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Congratulations to the employees of Ardleigh Minerals, without whom this continued recognition would not have been possible. Ernest Q. Petrey Jr. President & Chief Executive Officer

Roger Zona

TPI Efficiency puts its energy into saving customers money

Weatherhead 100 Awards 1989 1990 1991 2001 2008 2012 2013 2015 2018

By Vince Guerrieri

Zona notes that most customers have only seven to 10 contracts a year, but hen Roger Zona founded TPI deals with hundreds, giving them TPI Efficiency in 2009, the expertise on the best course of action. energy market was vastly They also regularly read legislation to understand the credits and rebates a different than it is today. Then, deregulation was just in its business can get. “The maturity of the market has early stages, which Zona likened to a “land grab,” with opportunities for easy brought in more products, and there are a lot more to evaluate,” he says. efficiencies for companies that “The legislation is always may have only heard of enchanging, too.” ergy deregulation in the There’s a saying context of the colossal among football and failure of Enron. basketball coaches: “We were helping You take what the them pick up the easy defense gives you. WEATHERHEAD pennies,” Zona says. That’s no different 100 “At the time, you could for Zona, who says throw a dart at a board and the company is acting you could get anyone that within state, federal — and was better than what you had. “Now, the businesses and buyers sometimes local — regulations, as we work with are familiar with well as the client’s own parameters. “We’re forced to work within the deregulation, and we’re helping them navigate more complex products. rules of what the government decides We have to make apples-to-apples to offer,” Zona says. “If, say, Ohio comparisons and make sure they’re changes its mind and says they want to build more solar, then we’ll help our the best and most accurate.” TPI’s first job with a client is to “stop clients take advantage of that. Some of the bleeding,” Zona says, reducing our most favorable states for solar are expenses wherever possible and then determining the best long-term plan. TPI continued on next page

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TPI continued from previous page

New York or Maryland, and it’s not because they’re sunny. If the client or the local utility are setting up the technology, we’re going to do that and help clients find their way. “We’re not changing the way our client does business; we’re making sure it’s as cost-effective and operationally efficient as possible.” Among TPI’s clients is Orlando Baking Company, which relies on the company for its electric services — and is thinking of contracting with it for natural gas, as well. Like a lot of companies, Orlando, which uses about 800,000 kilowatts a month for its 200,000-square-foot facility on Cleveland’s East Side, is being squeezed by the closure of coal plants, but they were able to lock in a three-year electricity rate. “I was able to save on our current rate and on several years ahead,” says John A. Orlando, executive vice president for Orlando Baking Company. “The fixed cost helps us a lot.” TPI started with just Zona, but now employs 45 people. In addition to its office in the Flats — Zona, who lives downtown, was committed to staying in the central city — TPI opened an office in May 2017 in the Columbus Arena District. “Columbus was a natural first step,” he says. In October 2017, TPI opened an-

other office on Federal Hill in Baltimore, a walkable neighborhood not far from downtown, comparable to Ohio City. Zona chose Baltimore because it was relatively easy to get there — and from there to other large cities such as Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. It also was at the southernmost part of the deregulated energy market. “It was a good entrance point into the mid-Atlantic and Northeast region,” Zona says. The cities also were chosen because they fit well into the corporate culture. “You can tell you’re in a TPI office wherever you go,” he says. “All the spaces feel good and have a cultural fit. If I had opened offices in Boston or New Jersey, they would have stuck out pretty bad.” But there are opportunities — and plans — for growth, Zona says. He’d like to see the company expand its East Coast presence further in the next year or so, and possibly venture west to Nevada, which also is debating deregulation. “My goal was never to create a good job for myself,” he says. “I wanted to create a company. We’re helping every client we touch. Our mission is to help them effectively spend every dollar. We’re going to continue to expand. We don’t want to be farther than 150 miles from a customer’s office.”

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

Providence Healthcare is about ‘humans caring for humans’ By Barry Goodrich

ucceeding in the health care management industry is no small task. Complex and constantly changing health care regulations from federal, state and local regulatory agencies in-tended to ensure safe and quality care actually can have a reverse effect — regulatory compliance CENTURION often takes time away from patient care. “It’s a challenging environment to operate in,” says Providence Healthcare Management founder and CEO Eli Gunzburg. “Our industry has completely transformed.” Health care is one of the top three most regulated industries in the country along with finance and nuclear. “Sometimes the intent of those regulations is good but they don’t quite hit it on the head,” says Gunzburg, a Case Western Reserve University alum who founded Providence Healthcare Mancare facilities in Ohio and Kentucky agement in 2008. Today, Providence Healthcare pro- with each facility managed by an onvides consulting services to 31 health site team. “We grew very fast over the past 10 years but we’re becoming a little bit more selective,” says Gunzburg. “We’re now rebuilding our foundation with a team of consummate professionals who are here for the greater good.” Providence Healthcare found its second wind after rapid expansion that also brought along some growing pains. “We have historically taken over some troubled facilities,” said Gunzburg. “Some of those buildings had a stigma attached to them. To make them work, we imbue our culture.” That culture is based on 29 defining fundamentals, many of which emphasize a humanistic approach toward both residents and care staff. Those fundamentals include blameless problem-solving, listening generously, leaving your ego at the door, embracing change and growth, being a lifelong learner and having fun. “This is about humans caring for humans,” says Gunzburg. “We all should have a mutual level of respect for one another. That’s something that meets Cohen & Company applauds our clients — the needs of every single team member and resident.” and all of this year’s Weatherhead 100 award In an industry with an employee winners — for continually finding opportunities turnover rate exceeding 50%, hiring to innovate and build on our region’s success. and retaining the right staff is crucial. “The thing I’m most passionate about is reducing that turnover,” says RANDY MYEROFF, CEO Gunzburg. “We’re looking to have a substantial impact on that through our ROB MACKINLAY, President, Private Client Services cultural roadmap.” Taking a genuine interest in each resident is one of the firm’s most import216.579.1040 | cohencpa.com ant fundamentals. “Understanding their world and seeing that world from their perspective is very important,” says

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Eli Gunzburg

Aaron Fox, the firm’s financial operations specialist. “We want each resident to have an individualized experience.” “We’re interacting with people who are in a vulnerable state,” says Gunzburg. “We’re not moving heaven and earth … but we are listening to them.” “Our direct care staff has the most impact on our residents and they treat those residents like family members,” adds Fox. One of the more famous patients at Providence Healthcare Management’s Stanford, Ky., facility was Helen Van Winkle, also known as Baddie Winkle. The 90-year-old is a social media sensation with 3.8 million Instagram followers, 2.5 million Facebook friends and 500,000 Twitter followers. Van Winkle, who models for clothing companies, spent three weeks in rehab in Stanford following hip replacement surgery. “They had the best rehab staff,” says Van Winkle. “They started me out slow but they put me through it every day. They had everything to do with my recovery.” Van Winkle, whose fame began when her great-granddaughter posted a photo of her online four years ago, was impressed by not only the physical therapy that led to her quick recovery but the level of personal attention she received from the staff. “I never got bored … we were joking all the time. I interacted with a lot of the other patients in rehab.” Despite those historically high turnover rates in the industry, Gunzburg is well aware that quality health care is dependent on compassionate, welltrained staff that often spend long PROVIDENCE continued on next page

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Doing good work at core of telos institute’s strategy By Vince Guerrieri

work. The advocacy we get from our customers is what’s grown the business.” Rick says telos emphasizes n his previous job in the financial services industry, Rick Simmons relationships, not transactions, and used to be the guy who closed notes he’s developed trust with customers over years at a time. the deal. “Our first entry into a company “I was walking into a lot of rooms with business leaders, and I saw might be a small piece of work: gaps on how to see strategically and Coaching, helping a leader transition,” embrace changes,” Simmons says. “I he says. “We’ll often get a win and the felt like I needed to come into the leader will say I want to spread room differently. this across the team. Then “When I sat down at we’re on year two. Then the end of a decade, the leadership team and thought about says, ‘Hey, we want to what I wanted our spread this across the contribution to be, I whole company.’” wanted it to be more That’s what hapUPSTART lasting and meaningful pened with Smuck Smuckthan making a wealthy er’s, a fifth-generation family make more money company based in Orrville, with their exit from the business.” probably best known for its fruit So in 2006, Rick and his wife Amy spreads. CEO Mark Smucker said he founded the telos institute, a consulting and other top managers were doing firm devoted to training, developing some soul-searching about the corpoand coaching leaders. Rick is the rate culture and started working with company’s CEO, and Amy is the chief telos, first with Smucker’s human reknowledge officer. sources reps and a member of the op“My early work was in training, erations team, and it went so well, the and oftentimes, training is all about, top 50 managers at the company then ‘Here’s the subject matter. Go do it and started receiving telos instruction. everything will be good,’” she says. “In “A lot of the content in that some cases that’s the solution. Many, program isn’t about performance or many more times it’s quite different than performance improvement,” Smucker that. Each circumstance is different, says. “It’s about mindfulness: How to each person is different. There has to be manage your interactions with people a better way of doing this.” you deal with daily, how to read microAnd it appears to have worked emotions, how to use your empathy so far. Last year, telos worked with to deal with subordinates. It’s largely clients on five different continents, rooted in emotional intelligence.” everything from emerging startups to That’s part of the goal of telos, mega-corporations. They’re able to do which Simmons says is to “train that, Rick says, because the company understands there are some universal people as human beings and not just as core principles, but doesn’t yield to receptacles of knowledge.” Leadership that one-size-fits-all process they’d can be a lonely journey, Simmons says, and telos develops and supports seen in previous jobs. “We’ve positioned ourselves as a people to work in what Simmons leading global consulting firm,” he says. calls a VUCA environment: volatile, “Two or three years in, an accountant uncertain, complex and ambiguous. To Rick, there’s a three-step process. asked how we’d scale our growth. I The first is developing strategy. “Where summed it up in three words: Do good do you want to play and how do you work. The lion’s share of the growth want to win?” From there, the company of the business is rooted in doing good

Rick and Amy Simmons

develops its leadership — and it is the company that does it, Rick emphasizes. “We’re not coming in with all the answers,” he says. “We’re coming in to help the customer find its way.” From there, the company reacts to the change that invariably ensues — hopefully for the better. Smucker says one of the things telos does is allows leaders and employees to figure out what they do best, which allows them to perform better and raise the company’s fortunes as well.

“We are performance driven,” he says. “We are a public company, so we have to perform. Often it feels like the results-driven mentality is at odds with this concept of empathy or mindfulness. What we found, quite frankly, is those two things aren’t at odds.” The company’s expanded to 11 different areas, with more than 50 people working for it, from independent contractors to about 10 full-time employees. Rick says they develop a critical mass of clients in

an area before opening an office, and he’s got his sights set on many more locations — but not at the expense of the service he provides. “We relish the opportunity to take this human element — that’s the space we play in — and do it around the world,” Rick says. “But fundamentally, it’s more important to engage in quality of work than quantity of work. If we got to the point where more work would erode the quality, I’d tap the brakes in a minute.”

With Gratitude. Ancora is honored to be recognized as a Weatherhead 100 Award recipient once again and congratulates our fellow class members. 216-825-4000 / www.ancora.net

PROVIDENCE continued from previous page

hours away from their own families. “The people who are working for us are extremely passionate about what they do. They are the ones that drive our organization.” While Providence Healthcare Management’s growth is a testament to the firm’s core fundamentals, an ev-

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er-changing health care environment will continue to pose challenges in what figures to be a highly scrutinized industry for years to come. “The market continues to change on a yearly basis,” says Gunzburg. “There have been nursing shortages, people shortages and more recently, a push toward home health care. We are looking to continue to be the employer of choice in the markets we serve.”

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Traci Miller

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Weatherhead 100!

Color 3 Embroidery’s business builds off a ‘Be Better’ mindset By Barry Goodrich

With a team of employees that has ballooned from just eight people to the raci Miller calls Color 3 Em- current staff of 35 in a period of just six broidery “a 23-year overnight years, Color 3 Embroidery has managed to keep a family feel despite its recent success story.” Miller, who launched the firm in growth. “We interview based on core 1995 from her parents’ back porch values,” says Miller. “We’re hiring for in Canfield, oversees the wholesale fit and training for skill. And we let our contract embroidery, screen print team members have a say in who they’re and laser-etched decoration service going to work with every day.” provider, which has found success and Color 3 Embroidery often works with longevity in the highly competitive clients who require a quick turnaround promotional products industry. on large orders for items such as brandBut there were many lessons to ed polo shirts. It’s an environment be learned along the way. Like where the firm’s core value many entrepreneurs, Millof “Be Better” is realized er’s firm went through on a daily basis. some growing pains be“Being better fore finding its groove. can go in a lot of “I was all about selling different directions,” on the retail side,” says WEATHERHEAD says Miller. “It’s not Miller, a Youngstown 100 only about getting a State graduate. “There was client what they need, a gradual transition process of when they need it, but also about six or seven years before I looking for ways to go beyond found my personal niche on the whole- what the client is asking for.” sale side of the business.” Color 3 Embroidery’s organization Recognizing the future direction of and dependability have resulted in the business proved to be a vital ele- longstanding relationships with clients ment to the firm’s success. “It took me such as Arborwear, the Chagrin Fallsa while to dial in on our key focus,” based clothing company. says Miller. “We peeled off the retail “The logo industry is riddled work and some clients who were not a with disorganized businesses,” says good fit for us.” Arborwear team captain Bill Weber. Through Color 3 Embroidery, Miller “We probably used over a dozen has been able to build long-term different decorators, and we measure relationships with corporate clients all of them by Color 3. Traci has throughout the country. “We protect helped us streamline our order process. those relationships by honoring our And she knows our business from our word,” she says. “Doing what you say product to the end user.” you will do is who I am and what this company has become.” COLOR 3 continued on next page

#26

We celebrate your spirit of entrepreneurship in Northeast Ohio.

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A commitment to community -- and listening -part of Robert P. Madison International’s designs turn cardboard boxes into houses.” The firm’s focus on diversification is another example of Robert Madison’s hen Robert P. Madison opened his architectural legacy of opportunity. The multinationfirm in Cleveland in 1954, al staff of 12 includes architects from he was the first African-American Bosnia, China and Sudan. “When I first came here 28 years ago, to be licensed in the state of Ohio. And the Harvard graduate, Fulbright we had people from Russia, India and Scholar and World War II Purple Uganda,” says Sandra Madison. “We’re Heart veteran didn’t take long to make trying to keep that legacy alive. This is what America looks like. Learning about his mark in the community. different cultures brings us fresh ideas.” In 1964, Madison opened his Med MedDuring the past 20 years, ical Associates Building in the the firm has been involved Glenville neighborhood, with such major proj projproviding a much needed ects as the Cleveland infusion of medical care Public Library, Hilton for the community as Cleveland Downtown, well as a home base for Jack Cleveland Casiphysicians of color. UPSTART no, Global Center for “There was no place Health Innovation, the in that neighborhood for Convention Huntington people to visit a doctor,” Center of Cleveland, Cleveland says Sandra Madison, who in 2016 became the firm’s majority Museum of Art, Quicken Loans Arena, owner and CEO. “My uncle and those FirstEnergy Stadium and the Rock and doctors saw a need and decided to do Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. RPMI also is involved in smaller-scale something about it. Robert gave an opportunity to those doctors to get projects such as renovation work for their careers started. They were the schools in Warrensville and Elyria. “The bigger stuff is great,” says Madison, heroes of that community.” Madison is continuing her uncle’s “but with the smaller projects you can legacy in impressive fashion. Robert P. really hear the clients’ stories and help Madison International is the largest Af- them with their visions. Paying attention rican-American, female-owned archi- to the client and the community their tecture firm in Ohio. To this day, only building serves makes sense.” 2% of the country’s licensed architects There is a perfect symmetry to are black and just 18% are female. RPMI’s current project for another “I was one of those kids who didn’t Cleveland — Karamu House. The firm know what architecture was,” she says. currently is involved in a multi-phase “But I had a love of design. I would renovation of Karamu’s Jelliffe and design my sister’s dollhouse and would Arena theaters, including refurbishing

By Barry Goodrich

#22

COLOR 3 continued from previous page

And Color 3’s Be Better mindset has carried over to Arborwear as well. Weber feels the relationship formed between the two firms has improved his company’s performance. “Traci has helped us see things we can do differently and things we can do better,” says Weber. “She’s not just a service provider … she’s a partner. Color 3 has helped us up our game and deliver better service to our customers.” Building ethical relationships, serving as a problem solver and embracing challenges are standard operating procedures for both Color 3 and Miller personally. “In my opinion, service is a lost art,” she says. “In our business, mistakes can happen — you have to embrace them. And we have people who are able to solve problems whether I’m there or not.” Miller also believes in the work hard, play hard ethic. The business has a Core Values Crew made up of a person from each of the firm’s departments. They coordinate everything from pot lucks to holiday parties to baby

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Sandra Madison of the lobby and portico areas. “The spirit of Robert P. Madison is very much aligned to the core values that both of our organizations share,” says Karamu president and CEO Tony Sias. “It’s about collaboration, integrity and inclusion.” Despite a tight schedule RPMI was able to complete work on the Jelliffe Theatre in time for its June 2018 re-

opening. “They pushed the envelope and got it done, and we were able to have a fantastic gala,” said Sias. “Everyone we have worked with at RPMI has brought responsiveness and joy to the project. They’ve been very spirited.” The relationship between RPMI and Karamu House is linked to the sense of community on which both organizations thrive.

“It’s great to be working with a firm that is rooted in the community,” says Sias. “Our mission is to present programs for all people and have a positive impact. This has been an authentic collaboration in working to achieve our mutual goals.” While RPMI has a storied reputation that includes its design in 1977 of the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, Sandra Madison says the firm’s continued success is a result of a flexible approach to design. “You can have a great idea but you can’t force it to work,” she says. “You have to listen to your client and put their vision to paper. It’s all about tweaking it and getting it right. At some point, you’ve got to put your pencils down. There’s no one way of doing anything.” While recognizing its legacy, RPMI is also looking toward the future by visiting with students in Cleveland’s public schools. “A lot of kids don’t understand what we really do,” says Madison. “We want to get their minds wrapped around this by having an opportunity to interact with an architect. By getting their feet wet, some students might think ‘maybe I can do that too.’”

showers. One year, the company even brewed its own Color 3 beer. Employees also are encouraged to recognize their teammates through the use of a Core Values box. “It’s like those suggestion boxes that nobody pays attention to,” laughs Miller. “We have drawings each month for gift cards. At the end of the year, there is another drawing for bigger prizes like TVs.” Color 3 Embroidery is currently involved in its busiest quarter of the year with holiday orders flowing into the business. “The orders come in bigger and faster,” says Miller. “To deal with the volume, our team members will come in on Saturdays without being told to. It’s a trade-off for other times of the year when we encourage them to take time to do the things they want to do.” That work-life balance remains a challenge for Miller. “This company is my baby,” she says. “There are times when I kind of forget the rest of life is happening. I haven’t mastered it yet but I’m getting better.”

11/12/18 1:44 PM

WEATHERHEAD 100

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

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Sgt. Clean’s future shines bright thanks to subscription model, strong reputation By Vince Guerrieri

“That’s a testament to his marketing. I give him a lot of credit for his creativity.” hile operating a Krusz says the subscriptions benefit convenience store, Brian the company as much as they benefit Krusz attended a National the customers. Association of Convenience Stores “It keeps cash flowing on a regular conference in Las Vegas. There, he met someone who steered him toward basis,” he says. “It’s the foundation another convention, this one for of our business, and it allows us the owners and operators of car washes. capacity to grow not just as a company Krusz went to that event, in Atlantic but to have other opportunities for our City, and got as much information as team members. We don’t have to send he could, saying, “We just fell in love.” anyone home on rainy days.” After that, in 2013, the first Sgt. Keeping money flowing is an Clean — the name a nod to issue for any company that’s Krusz’s service in the trying to grow, but Krusz U.S. Marine Corps — says it’s a particularly opened in Strongsville. pronounced problem Since then, three more for car washes. have followed, Parma “Finding capital is WEATHERHEAD in 2016, Westlake in always an ongoing 100 2017 and Massillon in struggle,” he says. “The July, with another one on bigger banks say, ‘Oh, it’s the way in Medina. a car wash.’ We’ve had some And the chain has no plans to success with private investors and stop there. smaller community banks.” “We want to change the face of car Krusz says part of Sgt. Clean’s washing,” Krusz says. philosophy is to be not just a good Krusz says after his initial business but a good neighbor. He’s a experience at the car wash convention, member of many of the chambers of he started doing research. “I learned commerce and Rotary clubs in the what consumers thought of it, and it communities served by his car washes. was bad.” Car washes had a reputation “From a civic perspective, he’s for being dingy holes in the wall with been very generous with time and indifferent staffs. He wanted them to resources,” Painter says. “His be more than a place where Bruce reputation is extremely strong.” Springsteen song protagonists ended Painter notes that in Strongsville, up when they were down on their luck. Krusz set his sights on another car Sgt. Clean employs uniformed wash that had seen better days, and staff, many of whom are full-time added new equipment and made employees. Krusz estimates that cosmetic improvements. between the four locations currently “It was underutilized, and he made running, he has a total of about 65, and it an asset to the community,” Painter of those, about 50 are full-time. says. “We wanted to see it redeveloped “This is not a one-man band. We have a great solid team that makes and he did everything that he promised these things happen, and we would not to do.” And that reputation followed him. be where we are today without them,” “When I met with the mayor of he says. Parma, I said, ‘Here’s our track record, Krusz offers profit-sharing, health insurance and a 401(k). In return, he here’s what we want to do,’” Krusz says. gets a quality, well-motivated and “We were welcomed with open arms.” And that warm welcome extends to friendly workforce. potential sellers, Krusz says. “We’re putting a better face on the “Our business model has always been industry,” he says. “We want people to to take over distressed businesses,” he think of this as a career. “Our strong point is our customer says. “We invest in the equipment, the service. A close second is our building and the community.” They’re also seen as an exit strategy unlimited car washing.” Taking a cue from Netflix and for mature family-owned car wash E-ZPass on the Ohio Turnpike, Sgt. businesses, he says. “They want to make sure they’re Clean offers subscriptions (starting at $19.97 a month) for car washes. And passing it along to the right person,” like Netflix and E-ZPass, it auto-renews. Krusz says. “My background gives them confidence and puts them at ease And it seems to work. “You see the stickers on windshields that we’re doing the right thing and the driving around town,” says Brent passing of the torch is taken care of. “The future is bright. There are tons Painter, the economic development director for the city of Strongsville. of opportunities in Northeast Ohio.”

Brian Krusz

Congratulations to all Weatherhead 100 winners. We’re proud to be part of the 2018 class. (Humblebrag.)

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BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK We are proud to be a back-to-back-to-back Weatherhead 100 recipient, recognized as a Top 100 Fastest Growing Company in Northeast Ohio.

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W10

WEATHERHEAD 100

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

Weatherhead winners describe how big data and analytics are advancing their businesses By Judy Stringer

EXACTCARE

For Centurion ExactCare, the key to its value proposition among payers — primarily health care plans — is keeping patients with multiple chronic conditions in their homes, or rather out of costly emergency rooms and nursing homes. Thus, its most compelling use of big data to date, said CFO Marty Butler, is proving it’s doing just that. Butler said the Valley View company underwent a study with Optum Advisory Services, a part of the UnitedHealth Group, which allowed ExactCare to scour UnitedHealth’s database of tens of millions of patients, identify “basically exact matches” with ExactCare’s own members and compare spending among the two groups. “We were able to see really compelling data in terms of savings — anywhere from $500 a month for Medicaid patients and $730 per month for Medicare patients to nearly $1,000 per month for patients on both programs,” he said. “Armed with that data, we now understand which patients we should target to help payers bend the cost curve.”

CENTURION

OEC

OEC chief technology officer Kathy Golden said the acquisition in 2017 of Clifford Thames Group propelled the Richfield company into becoming “a global organization that is centered around data differentiating us. “We now are not only processing data and operating a business unit that actually monetizes it through business intelligence, but we are actually monetizing the authoring and creation of the data itself for the automotive industry.” The Weatherhead Centurion takes CAD-based diagrams and other engineering specs from automakers and uses its own expertise and analytics to create service menus and original

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equipment catalogs for the manufacturers and their dealerships. “We are taking this previously unstructured data and creating a taxonomy around that and then we are making it digital, making it accurate and making it easy to access for the OEMs and their customers,” she said. “It is all about taking data and making it information that hopefully allows them to literally change some of the behaviors in their businesses.”

PURE BUTTONS/ STANDOUT STICKERS

#25

Internet retailer Pure Buttons, and its sister company Standout Stickers, forgoes expensive advertising campaigns and focuses its marketing spend on “optimizing the website,” said Evan Leake, art director for the Medina-based companies. That means website traffic data and ever-changing search engine algorithms provide critical links to customers. Leake said both companies monitor user traffic in-house with tools such as Mouseflow and Google Analytics, but they also contract with an SEO professional who does the more in-depth data tracking. “Mostly we are making changes to the sites to optimize how we rank in the Google algorithm, and that is always changing based on whatever random ideas they have for importance, so it keeps us on our toes,” he said. “Right now, Pure Buttons is No. 1. For the stickers, it is a bigger market. We are somewhere in the top 10 search results, but we are always looking for ways to improve upon that.”

WEATHERHEAD 100

#23

UPSTART

#8 CENTURION

ANCORA

#30

Financial planning is like a puzzle, said Ancora chief investment officer John Micklitsch, and big data is one tool advisers use to “fill in more of the pieces in order to make more informed and accurate decisions about the future.” For years, he said, financial planners have screened large universes of stocks for characteristics and performance metrics that fit into individual portfolios. Today, that same information is being supplemented by a tidal wave of new data. Credit card data, for example, can reveal retail spending trends, while satellite images help market watchers monitor parking lot activity at stores; and web and social media monitoring tracks consumer sentiments. And, with the help of predictive modeling, the Weatherhead 100 company, based in Cleveland, can play out millions of scenarios in seconds before making investment recommendations to clients. “We have these tools, but they are just tools,” Micklitsch said. “There still is a lot of interpretation and proprietary refinement that we go through.”

WEATHERHEAD 100

RAZORLEAF CORP.

#70

Razorleaf Corp. does not deal in data per se, but it is in the business of helping others manage big data. The Stow-based Weatherhead 100 company implements product lifecycle management software, which enables manufacturers to make better use of the avalanche of data flooding into their systems, said CEO Eric Doubell. With the growth of customer technical requirements and automated product testing and validation, and the proliferation of Internet of Things, billions and billions of new data points are being added to conventional product design information. “It’s more than just the analytics of big data, but how it all relates to one another and how to traverse it,” Doubell said. “It’s being able to take a problem that is happening out in the field — a problem detected by remote sensors, for example — and trace it back to a requirement from a customers or a series of customers, to traverse that thread of information all the way back to the beginning.”

WEATHERHEAD 100

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NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

W11

Top Weatherhead 100 award winners notch powerful sales growth gains

By Kathy Ames Carr

WEATHERHEAD 100

his year’s 31st annual Weatherhead 100 Awards list of Centurions, Upstarts and Weatherhead 100 companies features an impressive mix of newcomers and encore winners. TPI Efficiency, a Cleveland-based company that helps other companies and organizations with budget management, plants its flag at the top of the Weatherhead 100 list, at sales growth of 3,282%, moving up from No. 8 in 2017. Three years ago, TPI Efficiency expanded its headquarters within downtown Cleveland due to “unprecedented growth,” and in 2017 it opened branches in Columbus and Baltimore, with more locations expected to open, according to the company. Macedonia-based VMI Group is No. 2, at 2,057% sales growth. The concrete construction contractor formed in 2012 with two employees, and has surged to a staff size of 73. Notable projects include the 150,000 square feet of concrete work for the expanded Fat Head’s Brewery production facility and brewpub that opened in Middleburg Heights in August. Cleveland-based Event Source, a special events services provider catapulted from No. 67 in 2017 to No. 3, with 1,975% sales growth in 2018. The Valley View-based company increased its employee head count 73%, to 192 from 111 during the like period. Its geographic footprint, meanwhile, has grown this year, with a headquarters expansion that doubled its size, to 150,000 square feet, along with the unveiling of a new design center in Pittsburgh. The acquisition in 2017 of two party rental locations in Florida enabled the company to grow its inventory of party rental items. The Weatherhead 100 winners represent companies that had at least 16 full-time employees in the last year and whose net sales were at least $100,000 in 2013 and more than $1 million in 2017. Additional winners among the top 10 ranked by sales growth include Mayfield Heights-based Five Lakes Professional Services (1,527%), Cleveland Bricks (1,513%), Westlake-based Sgt. Clean’s Car Wash (911%), Willoughby-based Technical Assurance Inc. (888%), Akron-based Metisentry (787%), Westlake-based Budget Dumpster (432%) and Cleveland-based WHS Engineering Inc. (361%). Certainly, the companies on the 2018 awards lists illustrate a patchwork of proficiencies and specialties, from software solutions providers,

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“

The No. 1 commonality that any fast-growing company on the Weatherhead 100 list shares is that they have identified a true problem in the marketplace and filled a real need, which adds enormous value to their customers.” — SCOTT SHANE, professor, Case Western Reserve University financial services firms, law firms and manufacturers to a retirement communities’ salon operator, and a custom button and magnet maker. Yet these companies share a common denominator, apart from their designation as 2018’s Weatherhead 100 Award winners. “The No. 1 commonality that any fast-growing company on the Weatherhead 100 list shares is that they have identified a true problem in the marketplace and filled a real need, which adds enormous value to their customers,” said Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurial studies and economics at Case Western Reserve University. “Lots of people start companies all the time, but the reality is that their customer base doesn’t have enough of a problem, and sales are slow as a result.” The winners also have demonstrated that they are capable of managing the process of scaling up to solve the problem as their customer base expands, without dissatisfying their initial base customers, Shane said. To that extent, Shane said one notable trend among recent Weatherhead winners is the proliferation of software solutions providers. “We see a lot of high-growth companies who have developed high-margin solutions that are more lucrative for the company, and they use that profitability to fuel further growth,” Shane said.

A PERFECT 10

The sales growth among this year’s 10 Centurions ranges from 77% to 692%, which are significant gains for those companies whose percentage of sales growth qualifies for the Weatherhead 100 in the past five years and had net sales of $100 million or more in the last year. Pepper Pike-based Providence Healthcare Management leads the Centurion list. (The company wasn’t on the list the prior year.) The postacute health care consulting company offers support services to senior living facilities, assisted living facilities and independent living communities. It handles 20 facilities in Ohio and eight

in Kentucky. The company recently added to its portfolio with the planned Nov. 1 ownership transfer of the Gaymont Nursing Center, a 112-bed skilled nursing facility in Norwalk. Meanwhile, Brecksville-based CrossCountry Mortgage Inc. comes in again at No. 2, for the second-straight year, with sales growth of 277% in 2017 and 366% in 2018. Employee growth swelled 31%, to 1,301 in 2018 from 994 in 2017. What began solely as a mortgage broker with a single office in Painesville has expanded into a mortgage solutions provider with, as its name reflects, a presence in 50 states. For the third consecutive year, Valley View-based ExactCare assumes

a high ranking in the list, at No. 3, with 237% sales growth. Independence-based Nations Lending Corp.’s 200% sales growth nabs the No. 4 Centurion slot, with Cleveland-based Park Place Technologies nearly tying. The data center hardware maintenance firm more than doubled its employee head count between 2017 and 2018, from 469 to 990. The IT solutions provider in early 2018 acquired Axentel Technologies, which was its seventh acquisition within the previous 18 months. The Centurion list is rounded out by Strongsville-based Union Home Mortgage (No. 6, with 196% sales growth); Richfieldbased MobilityWorks (No. 7., with 180% sales growth), Richfield-based ecommerce software maker OEC (No. 8, with 89% sales growth); The Garland Co., a Cleveland-based roofing outfit (No. 9, with 82% sales growth) and Cleveland-based Mazzella Holding Co. (No. 10, with 77% sales growth).

JUST GETTING STARTED

This year’s Weatherhead 100 Upstarts list features 29 companies, that qualified because they employed 15 or fewer employees, and/or had less than $5 million in net sales in the last year. The telos institute, a Chardonbased business strategy group founded in 2006, tops the Upstart list, at 694% in sales growth, followed closely by On The Other Side, a Chagrin Falls-based lawn care and snow removal service provider founded in 2011, which experienced a 605% sales growth. An additional 15 companies posted three-digit sales growth percentages, including Independence-based WellnessIQ, Chagrin Falls-based Brakey Energy, Beachwood-based Adatasol Inc. and Brecksville-based Request A Test.

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Congratulations!

We believe it’s important to recognize the achievements of people who’ve had a positive effect on others and the communities where they work and live. KeyBank congratulates the winners of the 2018 Weatherhead 100, Upstarts and Centurions awards. We’re all proud of what you’ve accomplished.

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WEATHERHEAD 100

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

W13

Weatherhead 100 Winners List

The 100 fastest-growing companies in Northeast Ohio are based on revenue from 2013 through 2017. Companies on the list must have had sales of at least $100,000 in 2013, plus a minimum of 16 full-time employees and more than $1 million in sales in 2017. RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

TPI works closely with organizations to reduce operating expenses and provide ongoing budget management.

2009

3281.57%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

VMI GROUP INC.

VMI Group is a construction company focused on commercial and industrial concrete.

2012

2056.66%

Summit

Macedonia

EVENT SOURCE

Event Source delivers special event rentals including linen, furniture and tabletop accessories.

1979

1975.26%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

192

FIVE LAKES PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Five Lakes helps dental practices attract and retain patients and maximize reimbursements.

2010

1527.01%

Cuyahoga

Mayfield Heights

clevelandbricks.com

CLEVELAND BRICKS

Real estate investment and development group that rehabs, renovates and builds properties in Cleveland.

2008

1512.81%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

SGT. CLEAN’S CAR WASH

Veteran-owned and -operated car wash.

2013

911.32%

Cuyahoga

Westlake

TECHNICAL ASSURANCE INC.

A building enclosure consulting firm specializing in programmatic asset management.

1993

887.95%

Lake

Willoughby

METISENTRY

Metisentry solves complex business problems by building and enhancing SaaS products.

2006

786.72%

Summit

Akron

BUDGET DUMPSTER

Budget Dumpster provides affordable and dependable waste removal solutions to customers nationwide.

2009

431.53%

Cuyahoga

Westlake

103

WHS ENGINEERING INC.

MEP consulting engineering for commercial, retail, residential and food services.

2005

361.07%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

NORTHEAST FACTORY DIRECT www.northeastfactorydirect.com

Furniture, kitchen cabinets and hot tubs sold through no-frills, warehouse concept, direct to public.

1999

342.59%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

100

UNIVERSAL WINDOWS DIRECT

Residential remodeling of windows, siding and doors.

2002

341.99%

Cuyahoga

Oakwood Village

195

ONSHIFT

Human capital management software and services to solve everyday workforce challenges in health care.

2008

327.03%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

195

GLOBAL TRANSPORT INC.

Freight broker, carrier, transportation consultant and distribution provider serving the logistics needs of companies nationwide.

2007

291.49%

Cuyahoga

Brook Park

CLEANLIFE ENERGY www.cleanlifeled.com

LED and smart tech solutions provider for OEM, residential, hospitality and commercial industries.

2012

270.21%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

LEGACY ROOFING SERVICES

Legacy Roofing Services is a full-service roofing contractor.

2012

261.16%

Summit

Akron

112

PAYROLL4CONSTRUCTION.COM

Full-service payroll provider helping contractors eliminate the hassles of construction payroll processing, reporting and tax filing.

2006

251.67%

Cuyahoga

Strongsville

PS LIFESTYLE

Operating 850 salons and spas in retirement communities in 36 states and growing.

2008

231.74%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

1240

FUTURI MEDIA

Futuri Media is a global leader in SaaS technology designed to drive audience and revenue growth.

2009

229.81%

Cuyahoga

Seven Hills

YELLOWLITE

YellowLite is a design and installation company of solar electric systems.

2008

217.39%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

RISK INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS

Global risk management and benefit services firm that’s 100% independent from the insurance industry.

1986

216.24%

Cuyahoga

Fairlawn

SPEEDEON DATA

Speedeon Data enables leading brands to succeed through data-driven marketing solutions.

2008

213.53%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

EXSCAPE DESIGNS

Exscape Designs is an award-winning, full-service landscape design, build, maintenance and snow removal company.

2008

202.97%

Geauga

Novelty

KHM TRAVEL GROUP

Host travel agency that empowers, educates, supports and promotes independent travel agents.

2005

198.03%

Medina

Brunswick

PUREBUTTONS.COM

PureButtons.com produces custom pin-back buttons, magnets, keychains and photo easel displays.

2005

192.3%

Medina

COLOR 3 EMBROIDERY INC.

National wholesale custom apparel decorator and service partner for promotional products industry.

1995

191.67%

Trumbull

Warren

BELLWETHER ENTERPRISE REAL ESTATE CAPITAL LLC

Bellwether Enterprise is a national, full-service, commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company.

2008

186.29%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

GCS

GCS provides CM at risk, general contracting and design-build services to clients around Ohio.

2011

185.53%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

TPI EFFICIENCY

www.tpiefficiency.com www.thevmigroup.com www.eventsource.com www.fivelakespro.com

www.sgtclean.com

www.technicalassurance.com www.metisentry.com www.budgetdumpster.com www.whs-eng.com

www.universalwindowsdirect.com www.onshift.com www.globaltransportinc.com

www.legacyroofing.com

www.payroll4construction.com www.salonps.com futurimedia.com

www.yellowlite.com www.riskinternational.com www.speedeondata.com www.exscapedesigns.com khmtravel.com

www.purebuttons.com www.color3.com

www.bellwetherenterprise.com www.gcsteam.com

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WEATHERHEAD 100

W14

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

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Weatherhead 100 Winners List RANK

29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

Osborn Engineering is a full-service engineering firm specializing in buildings and infrastructure.

1892

185.08%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

153

ANCORA

Ancora, with more than $6.8 billion assets under management, offers institutional, family wealth and retirement plan solutions.

2003

181.84%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

SANCTUARY MARKETING GROUP

A digital marketing agency striving to be the best lead generation company in Ohio.

2006

175.38%

Stark

North Canton

www.compassselfstorage.com

COMPASS SELF STORAGE

Self-storage industry leader providing self-storage and moving solutions nationwide.

2008

168.91%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

181

ARTWALL

Manufacturer of fine art, wall décor products.

2011

159.84%

Cuyahoga

Strongsville

KOEHLER FITZGERALD LLC

A technology-driven boutique law firm that provides efficient creative solutions to complex problems.

2011

154.69%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

www.glcsinc.com

GREAT LAKES COLD STORAGE

Superior frozen and refrigerated warehousing and distribution services for food, commodities, and various ingredients.

1999

154.06%

Cuyahoga

Solon

215

RE/MAX HAVEN REALTY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Residential property management and sales.

2010

152.13%

Cuyahoga

Solon

PREMIER PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Armed and unarmed security services.

2008

146.83%

Cuyahoga

Euclid

145

QUALITYIP

QualityIP provides professional IT services to small and mid-sized organizations throughout Northeast Ohio.

2004

144.21%

Portage

Kent

ASMGI

ASMGi helps grow and protect businesses with cybersecurity, software and cloud /IT services.

2002

143.81%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

ALLEGRO REAL ESTATE BROKERS & ADVISORS

Allegro is a global commercial real estate brokerage, tenant representation, corporate services and consulting firm.

2001

143.39%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

MEDIQUANT

MediQuant creates health care IT efficiencies with intelligent applications for revenue and data life.

1999

136.45%

Cuyahoga

Brecksville

AVANTIA INC

Helping clients leverage digital capabilities through custom software solutions to improve efficiency and market advantage.

2000

136%

Cuyahoga

Valley View

FRAMECO

FrameCo designs, assembles and installs pre-fabricated metals walls and panels.

2007

135.38%

Cuyahoga

Valley View

HILEMAN GROUP

Hileman Group is a digital agency specializing in health care and B2B industries.

2002

135.1%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

BANYAN TECHNOLOGY

Banyan Technology is the leading provider of logistics software, solutions and services.

2001

130.43%

Cuyahoga

Westlake

CRESCENDO COMMERCIAL REALTY

Commercial real estate services including consulting, leasing, investment brokerage and property management.

2008

128.36%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

www.jarrettlogistics.com

JARRETT LOGISTICS SYSTEMS

Provides continuous improvement, enhance operational efficiencies and reduce transportation costs.

1999

128.01%

Wayne

Orrville

104

EVERGREEN INDUSTRIAL BATTERIES

Helping companies save at least 10% on material handling spend.

2010

126.12%

Cuyahoga

Valley View

CARNEGIE INVESTMENT COUNSEL

Carnegie is an independent wealth management firm that works in the best interest of its clients.

1974

126%

Cuyahoga

Pepper Pike

SELMAN & COMPANY

Leading supplemental benefit insurance administrator with more than $300 million in premiums under administration.

1980

123.06%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

179

THE SPYGLASS GROUP

SpyGlass provides cost consulting services to financial executives specifically in telecom services.

2001

120.73%

Cuyahoga

Westlake

132

THENDESIGN ARCHITECTURE

Celebrating over 25 years providing planning, architecture and interior design services.

1989

116.09%

Lake

Willoughby

www.dpsohio.com

DIGITAL PRINT SOLUTIONS

Digital print provider specializing in the support of commercial print, finishing and binding.

2009

116.04%

Summit

Richfield

NATIONAL SAFETY APPAREL

Manufacturer of flame resistant safety apparel for multiple industries.

1935

115.81%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

284

WTWH MEDIA LLC

A B2B media company with more than 40 technical websites, print publications and live events in engineering.

2006

115.79%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

TRUE HIRE

True Hire specializes in background checks, drug testing and exit interviewing.

1995

113.13%

Stark

Uniontown

ON PARTNERS

ON Partners delivers game-changing talent for world-changing companies.

2006

111.18%

Summit

Hudson

KAUFMAN & COMPANY

National business litigation and trial law firm headquartered in Cleveland with New York, D.C. and Chicago offices.

2011

110.94%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

OSBORN ENGINEERING

www.osborn-eng.com www.ancora.net

www.sanctuarymg.com

www.artwall.com www.koehler.law

www.clevelandmanagement.com www.mypremiersecurity.com www.qualityip.com www.asmgi.com www.allegrorealty.com www.mediquant.com www.avantia-inc.com www.framecoframing.com www.hilemangroup.com www.banyantechnology.com www.cc-realty.com

www.everbatts.com

www.carnegieinvest.com www.selmanco.com www.spyglass.net

www.thendesign.com

www.thinknsa.com

www.wtwhmedia.com www.true-hire.com www.onpartners.com www.kaufman-company.com

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SPONSORED CONTENT

WEATHERHEAD 100

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

W15

Weatherhead 100 Winners List RANK

59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

Keene, an innovative manufacturer for applications in noise control, building envelope and floor prep.

2002

110.11%

Cuyahoga

Mayfield Heights

ALLIANCE SOLUTIONS GROUP

ASG provides specialized temp and direct-hire recruitment services across a range of industries.

2001

109.87%

Cuyahoga

Independence

172

SKY QUEST

Provides safe and reliable private jet charter services, aircraft management and aircraft sales.

2001

109.1%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

MARSHBERRY

MarshBerry provides consulting and financial advisory services to clients in the insurance industry.

1981

109.1%

Cuyahoga

Woodmere

CRIMCHECK

Crimcheck provides employment simplified screening solutions that protect client brands.

1991

107.1%

Medina

Brunswick

PERSPECTUS ARCHITECTURE

Perspectus excels in architectural design, planning, interior design and historical architecture with a client-focused philosophy.

2003

104%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

SECUREDATA 365

Ohio’s premier, state-of-the-art, purpose-built data centers in Canton and Cleveland.

2009

101.78%

Stark

Canton

INSIGHT2PROFIT

Delivering sustainable revenue & EBITDA growth through implementation of pricing and profit strategies.

2006

100.45%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

NOMS HEALTHCARE

NOMS Healthcare is a multi-specialty physician group with over 230 providers across northern Ohio.

2001

97.58%

Sandusky

804

INFINIUM WALL SYSTEMS

Turn-key manufacturer of glass wall systems used primarily in commercial office buildings.

2003

94.7%

Cuyahoga

Strongsville

US FREIGHT LLC

US Freight LLC is a rapidly growing transportation firm, providing exceptional service nationwide.

2009

94.08%

Cuyahoga

Rocky River

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

KEENE BUILDING PRODUCTS

www.keenebuilding.com

www.alliancesolutionsgrp.com www.flyskyquest.com www.marshberry.com www.crimcheck.net www.perspectusarch.com www.securedata365.com www.insight2profit.com www.nomshealthcare.com www.infiniumwalls.com www.gousfreight.com

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WEATHERHEAD 100

W16

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

SPONSORED CONTENT

Weatherhead 100 Winners List RANK

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

W YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

Razorleaf provides support to engineering and manufacturing groups by optimizing business processes.

2000

92.49%

Summit

Stow

A+ SOLUTIONS

A+ Solutions provides learning, development and psychological services to schools and families.

2005

92.48%

Cuyahoga

Beachwood

FOUNDATION SOFTWARE INC.

Develops and supports job cost accounting and project management software for the construction industry.

1985

92.39%

Cuyahoga

Strongsville

198

ECHO HEALTH

Premier provider of payment system solutions for the health care and insurance industries.

1997

91.32%

Cuyahoga

Westlake

GROUP MANAGEMENT SERVICES

As a CPEO, GMS partners with small businesses to handle all back-office administrative functions.

1996

90.7%

Summit

Richfield

247

NORTH AMERICAN COATING LABORATORIES

North American Coating Laboratories provides optical coatings in the polymer and glass markets.

1974

89.73%

Lake

Mentor

PURE WATER TECHNOLOGY

Providing industries with pure drinking water systems for employees‘ healthy hydration and wellness.

2005

88.99%

Cuyahoga

Bedford Heights

BLACKBURN OEM WHEEL SOLUTIONS

Privately owned distributor of Original Equipment (OE) wheels in the United States.

1983

88.48%

Summit

Macedonia

AVALUTION CONSULTING LLC

Avalution excels in business continuity, IT disaster recovery and information security consulting.

2005

85.55%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

CHANNEL PRODUCTS

Channel Products invents and manufactures component systems and technologies designed to improve safety.

1972

84.36%

Cuyahoga

Solon

194

ROCK THE HOUSE

RTH is a full-service production company specializing in corporate, nonprofit and social events.

1999

81.92%

Cuyahoga

Oakwood Village

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

RAZORLEAF CORPORATION

www.razorleaf.com

www.thinkaplus.com www.foundationsoft.com www.echohealthinc.com www.groupmgmt.com www.nacl.com

www.purewaterohio.com

www.blackburnwheels.com www.avalution.com

www.channelproducts.com www.rockthehouse.com

People who know, know BDO.SM

1 2 3 4 5 6

BDO provides assurance, tax, and advisory services to a wide range of publicly traded and privately held companies. We offer a sophisticated array of services, as well as the resources and capabilities of our global organization, combined with the personal attention of experienced professionals. BDO Cleveland 32125 Solon Road Cleveland, OH 44139 / 440-248-8787

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10

BDO Congratulates this year's Weatherhead 100 Class.

BDO Cleveland 1422 Euclid Avenue, The Hanna Building Suite 1500 Cleveland, OH 44115 / 216-325-1700

“We need someone who knows Northeast Ohio even better than we do.”

BDO Akron 301 Springside Drive Akron, OH 44333 / 330-668-9696

Accountants and Advisors www.bdo.com

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WEATHERHEAD 100

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

W17

Weatherhead 100 Winners List RANK

81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

RDL Architects focuses on senior living, commercial and mixed use development projects.

1996

80.38%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

NEPTUNE PLUMBING & HEATING CO.

Plumbing contractors serving Northeast Ohio, specializing in new construction and service.

1957

79.25%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

BIALOSKY CLEVELAND

60-person architecture, planning, interior design, engineering and graphic design firm.

1951

78.78%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

AQUA DOC

AQUA DOC is a full-service lake and pond management company dedicated to making water beautiful.

1983

76.79%

Geauga

Chardon

118

GEAUGA MECHANICAL COMPANY

Full-service mechanical contractor providing design, installation and maintenance.

1950

73.21%

Geauga

Chardon

www.k2mdesign.com

K2M DESIGN

Architecture, engineering and interior design firm specializing in public and private sector projects.

2001

72.07%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

LAKE CITY PLATING

Lake City Plating provides application of industrial coatings on metal parts.

1949

67.5%

Ashtabula

www.laketec.com

A strategic IT solutions and managed services provider, specializing in voice, network and cloud.

1989

67.12%

Cuyahoga

North Olmsted

HARTLAND & CO.

Independent institutional and wealth advisory firm.

1989

67.02%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

www.sure-site.com

Creating wireless networks and connectivity, from site development and engineering to installation and integration.

1999

66.68%

Cuyahoga

Beachwood

DANIEL’S AMISH COLLECTION

Manufacturer of bedroom and dining furniture sold at retail stores.

1996

65.87%

Tuscarawas

Dundee

175

PANEL MASTER

Manufacturer and designers of industrial control panels.

1985

64.37%

Lorain

LaGrange

CARVER FINANCIAL SERVICES INC.

Carver Financial Services Inc. provides personal vision planning to individuals and companies.

1990

63.46%

Lake

Mentor

THE PORTARO GROUP

TPG simplifies business communications decisions while providing unbiased telecom consulting.

2000

61.61%

Cuyahoga

Parma

TESTOIL

Helping large industrial facilities reduce equipment downtime through advanced lubrication analysis.

1988

60.41%

Cuyahoga

Strongsville

www.cohencpa.com

COHEN & COMPANY

Cohen & Company is an accounting firm serving private companies and the investment industry.

1977

59.68%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

380

FIT TECHNOLOGIES

FIT Technologies provides a full range of managed IT support services.

1999

59.03%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

DIRECT RECRUITERS INC.

Direct Recruiters, Inc. executive search acquires top talent for mission-critical positions.

1983

58.24%

Cuyahoga

Solon

WORLD SYNERGY

World Synergy helps customers thrive by reducing inefficiencies of silos with integrated business solutions.

1998

56.23%

Cuyahoga

Beachwood

LAUDAN PROPERTIES

National provider of inspection, preservation and REO services to banks, investors and GSEs.

2008

54.51%

Summit

Twinsburg

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

RDL ARCHITECTS

www.rdlarchitects.com www.neptuneplumbing.net www.bialosky.com

www.aquadocinc.com www.geaugamechanical.com

www.lakecityplating.com

LAKETEC

www.hartland.com

SURESITE CONSULTING GROUP

www.danielsamish.com www.panelmaster.com

www.carverfinancialservices.com www.theportarogroup.com www.testoil.com

www.fittechnologies.com www.directrecruiters.com www.worldsynergy.com www.laudanproperties.com

Upstart Winners List

Meet all Weatherhead 100 qualifications, employed 15 or fewer employees and/or had less than $5 million in net sales in 2017 RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

Transforming leaders, leadership teams, and organizations globally by optimizing the human side of enterprise.

2006

693.94%

Geauga

Chardon

ON THE OTHER SIDE

A premier residential and commercial lawn fertilization company.

2011

605.62%

Cuyahoga

Chagrin Falls

WELLNESS IQ

Leading national distribution and management source for small and mid-size corporate wellness solutions.

2007

572.56%

Cuyahoga

Independence

www.brakeyenergy.com

BRAKEY ENERGY INC.

Brakey Energy helps industrial, commercial and institutional enterprises in Ohio to cut energy costs.

1999

380.18%

Cuyahoga

Chagrin Falls

ADATASOL INC.

Custom software and database solutions help relieve your pain.

1993

303.42%

Cuyahoga

Beachwood

REQUEST A TEST

A national direct-to-consumer lab-testing service.

2001

238.65%

Cuyahoga

Brecksville

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

www.thetelosinstitute.com

THE TELOS INSTITUTE

www.ontheothersidecle.com www.wellnessiq.net

www.adatasol.com www.requestatest.com

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WEATHERHEAD 100

W18

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

SPONSORED CONTENT

Upstart Winners List RANK

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Up YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

Woodside Health is a medical office building acquisition and management firm.

2011

225.32%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

DEPENDABLE LLC

A manufacturer of professional floor products for repair, restoration and new construction.

1951

217.81%

Cuyahoga

Mayfield Heights

THE GERTSBURG LAW FIRM

Full-service business law firm optimizing the way businesses hire, pay and succeed with lawyers.

2012

192.48%

Cuyahoga

Chagrin Falls

AURUM WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Aurum specializes in providing financial planning, investment management, and 401(k) plan services.

2006

186.22%

Cuyahoga

Mayfield Village

www.dmsmgmtsolutions.com

DMS MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

DMS Management Solutions provides a wide range of accounting services to small and midsized businesses.

2003

143.03%

Cuyahoga

Westlake

LEAD TO CONVERSION

Digital experts with a passion for optimizing online success.

2006

130.76%

Summit

Hudson

R&K TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Simplifying the once complicated world of document technology management.

1991

128.61%

Lorain

North Ridgeville

PLANNED FINANCIAL SERVICES

Independent financial steward for individuals, families, and businesses seeking tailored wealth planning.

1994

123.35%

Cuyahoga

Brecksville

A & I HEALTH SOLUTIONS LLC

A small environmental firm specializing in commercial and educational abatement and demolition.

2006

114.38%

Erie

Vermilion

www.consolidus.com

CONSOLIDUS

An industry leading innovator and service provider of custom promotional products and branded apparel.

2006

105.88%

Summit

Akron

ARDLEIGH MINERALS INC.

Sustainability, recycling and speciality services for the aerospace industry.

1994

101.78%

Cuyahoga

Beachwood

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

WOODSIDE HEALTH

www.woodsidehealth.com www.floorprep.com

www.gertsburglaw.com

www.aurumwealth.com

www.leadtoconversion.com www.randktechnologies.com www.plannedfinancial.com

www.aihealthsolutions.com

www.ardleigh.net

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1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

GROW H IN ACTION

1 2

A P P L E G R OW T H PA R T N E R S CO N G R AT U L AT E S O U R C L I E N TS

5 applegrowth.com

AKRON | CANTON | CLEVELAND | KENT

Apple Growth Partners has been helping grow local businesses for 75 years in Northeast Ohio. Our team is proud to congratulate three winners of the Weatherhead 100 award. To see your growth in action is why we do what we do. We’re proud to work with the best. Tax Planning Accounting & Assurance

Consulting Services Business Valuation

Succession Planning Litigation Consulting

P015_P034_CL_20181203.indd 18

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SPONSORED CONTENT

WEATHERHEAD 100

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

W19

Upstart Winners List RANK

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

TLC PRODUCTS INC.

Develop, manufacture and market microbial products for improved agricultural yield and water quality.

1996

99.57%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

KIWI CREATIVE

Kiwi Creative is the go-to marketing agency for B2B software and technology companies.

2011

99.16%

Cuyahoga

Strongsville

5.5

GREAT LAKES FASTENERS INC.

Supplying standard and special fasteners to the manufacturing and service community.

1958

94.7%

Summit

Twinsburg

TORCH GROUP INC.

Boutique executive search firm focused on senior-level marketing, sales, product management and communications positions.

1990

94.23%

Cuyahoga

Solon

ROBERT P MADISON INTERNATIONAL INC.

An architectural firm improving lives through innovative designs, mentoring and service to community.

1954

86.7%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

STANDOUT STICKERS

Produce custom stickers - die cut, bumper, oval, circle, square, rectangle, kiss cut and vinyl decals.

2009

86.21%

Medina

CORNERSTONE IT INC.

Best in class IT services, for managed services, security and cloud. A Microsoft Gold Cloud Partner.

2003

86.06%

Lake

Mentor

42CONNECT

Help companies grow their online business by utilizing digital marketing strategies.

2003

83.03%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

GRANTS PLUS

Grants Plus partners with nonprofits to help them raise grant funding to fulfill their missions.

2007

80.69%

Cuyahoga

Cleveland

12.35

INNER CIRCLE ADVISORS

Advisory, tax and financial reporting services for entrepreneurs and their businesses.

1996

63.73%

Cuyahoga

Independence

O’REILLY EQUIPMENT

O’Reilly Equipment provides full-service truck, trailer and snowplow equipment sales and service.

2002

60.07%

Geauga

Newbury

COMPANY 119

A digital agency building sophisticated sales and marketing systems that deliver sales predictability.

2004

56.82%

Geauga

Chardon

www.tlc-products.com www.kiwicreative.net www.glfus.com

www.torchgroup.com www.rpmadison.com

www.standoutstickers.com www.cornerstoneit.com www.42connect.com www.grantsplus.com www.innercirclellc.com

www.oreillyequipment.com www.company119.com

Centurion Winners List

Meet all Weatherhead 100 qualifications and had net sales of $100 million or more in 2017 RANK

1 2 RANK

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

Providence provides management and consulting services for health care providers.

2008

691.78%

Cuyahoga

Pepper Pike

3000

CrossCountry Mortgage serves customers with a high-energy team of professionals who bring knowledge and a passion for the business of mortgage lending.

2003

365.75%

Cuyahoga

Brecksville

1301

ORGANIZATION/WEBSITE

DESCRIPTION

PROVIDENCE HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT

CROSSCOUNTRY MORTGAGE INC.

www.providencehcm.com

www.crosscountrymortgage.com

ORGANIZATION WEBSITE/DESCRIPTION

YEAR EST.

SALES GROWTH

COUNTY

CITY

2017 EMPLOYEES

EXACTCARE 2009 236.74% Cuyahoga Valley View www.exactcare.com Chronic care pharmacy-at-home for complex patients to improve health outcomes and reduce costs.

288

200.02% Cuyahoga Independence NATIONS LENDING CORPORATION 2003 www.nationslending.com Nations Lending makes people’s dreams of owning a home come true when others say it’s not possible.

725

1991 199.27% Cuyahoga Cleveland PARK PLACE TECHNOLOGIES www.parkplacetechnologies.com Provider of post-warranty storage, server and networking hardware maintenance.

990

1970 196.31% Cuyahoga Strongsville 968 UNION HOME MORTGAGE www.unionhomemortgage.com Independent mortgage banking company headquartered in Ohio with a network of branches throughout U.S.

MOBILITYWORKS

1997

OEC

2000

179.92%

Summit

Richfield

1067

www.mobilityworks.com Largest retailer of wheelchair accessible vehicles with 73 locations across the country.

Richfield

www.oeconnection.com OEC is the leading parts technology provider for automotive OEMs and their dealer networks.

326

82.46% Cuyahoga Cleveland THE GARLAND COMPANY INC. 1895 www.garlandco.com The world’s leading manufacturer of high-performance building envelope solutions.

875

MAZZELLA HOLDING COMPANY 1959 77.25% Cuyahoga www.mazzellalifting.com Cleveland manufacturer and distributor of lifting and roofing products.

650

P015_P034_CL_20181203.indd 19

89.54%

Summit

Cleveland

WEATHERHEAD 100 AWARD WINNER

Channel Products is proud to be recognized among Northeast Ohio’s fastest growing companies and congratulates all of our fellow Weatherhead 100 winners.

11/12/18 1:45 PM

W20

WEATHERHEAD 100

BY THE NUMBERS DECADE ESTABLISHED

WINNERS BY COUNTY

1800s - 2 1930s - 1 1940s - 1 1950s - 1 1960s - 1 1970s - 3 1980s - 15 1990s - 21 2000s - 50 2010s - 5

Cuyahoga - 74 Summit - 8 Lake - 4 Lorain - 2 Stark - 2 Medina - 1 Geauga - 2 Wayne - 1 Portage - 1 Ashtabula - 2 Erie – 1 Mahoning – 1 Tuscarawas -1

FIVE-YEAR GROWTH RATES |

NEO’s Fastest Growing Companies

OLDEST COMPANY FARMERS NATIONAL BANC CORP. FOUNDED 1887

MOST EMPLOYEES Farmers National Banc Corp.

443 Employees NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 5 - 25: 22 26 - 50: 40 51 - 100: 22 101 - 150: 6 151 - 200: 5 201 - 300: 4 300 plus: 1

50% - 99%: 32

100% - 249%: 46

Managing editor, custom and special projects: Amy Ann Stoessel, astoessel@crain.com

SPONSORED CONTENT

YEARS ON THE WEATHERHEAD 100

MARKET SECTORS OF WINNING COMPANIES

First-Time Winners: 31 2 years - 16 3 years - 6 4 years - 13 5 years - 8 6 years - 9 7 years - 5 8 years - 5 9 years - 1 10 years - 3 11 years - 1 12 years - 1 13-plus years - 1

Real Estate - 7 Advertising/PR/Marketing – 4 Architecture/Building/Construction – 16 Automotive/Transportation – 2 Consulting – 4 Consumer Products – 5 Environmental – 3 Financial and Professional Services – 27 Health care Services and Manufacturing - 5 IT Products and Services – 13 Manufacturing and Distribution – 14 Real Estate - 7

250% - 499%: 14

500% - 749%: 2

Graphic designer: Staci Buck Photos: Elaine Manusakis

750% - 999%: 2

1,000% - 1,999%: 3

2,000%: 1

WEATHERHEAD SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT CONTACTS Award and application: Brigid Schaefer, brigid.schaefer@case.edu Sponsorships: Cassie Pinkerton cassie.pinkerton@case.edu

For more information about custom publishing opportunities, please contact Amy Ann Stoessel.

This advertising-supported feature is produced by Crain Content Studio-Cleveland, the marketing storytelling arm of Crain’s Cleveland Business. The Crain’s Cleveland Business newsroom is not involved in creating Crain Content Studio content.

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Thursday, December 6

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Friday, December 7

•

Saturday, December 8

For times and registration information, visit weatherhead.case.edu

P015_P034_CL_20181203.indd 20

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

D E C E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018

PA G E 3 3

Focus

Cleveland Whiskey founder Tom Lix says that because of tariffs, “We’ve essentially stopped our international business.” (Photographs by Ken Blaze for Crain’s)

SMALL BUSINESS

TARIFFS SOUR CLEVELAND WHISKEY’S INTERNATIONAL AMBITIONS Trump’s trade war puts a cork in local distiller’s expansion plans By JEREMY NOBILE jnobile@crain.com @JeremyNobile

Lix uses woods other than oak to finish his whiskeys. Corks await the stalled foreign sales.

P033_CL_20181203.indd 33

Before tariffs sparked a trade war with Europe and Asia, Cleveland Whiskey was doing about 10% of its sales overseas. The whiskey maker, which has 14 employees and is coming up on its 10-year anniversary, logged revenues of $1.52 million in 2017. That marked an annual increase of 61% and its best year ever. That growth was attributed in part to international sales. Cleveland Whiskey began shipping a few small batches of product to China about two years ago and was gaining traction there. It was even selling a few bottles in Europe despite pushback from regulators. Then came the tariffs.

“I expected to do even more going into next year. We were making great strides in connection with China,” said CEO Tom Lix. “We even expected to launch a new product specifically for the European market this year we thought would go over well. Now, we’ve essentially stopped our international business.” Although pulling out of sales overseas won’t cripple Cleveland Whiskey, it does chip away at its growth trajectory. For a small-business owner, that’s frustrating. “I just don’t understand it,” Lix said. “It’s irresponsible and impacting businesses. All it does is cause problems and increase costs, and it lines up on the backs of people least able to work around it, which is smaller businesses and consumers.” SEE WHISKEY, PAGE 36

Sample bottles from batches of Cleveland Whiskey’s rye.

11/29/18 4:08 PM

PA G E 3 4

D E C E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018 |

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

SMALL BUSINESS

Local organic dough business on the rise By DOUGLAS J. GUTH clbfreelancer@crain.com

What can you do with dough? Terry Thomsen has long pondered that question, and has been asked it more than once since launching her organic dough business two years ago. The answer, it turns out, is both delicious and lucrative, as the Cleveland-area food innovator has taken her idea for vegan-friendly, GMOfree frozen dough to the national stage. Feel Good Dough, which Thomsen runs from a 2,500-square-foot shared production space in Fairview Park, sells its 100% organic wares in 150 stores in the Midwest and Florida, and that number is growing. In November, Thomsen and her sales manager drove 14 hours round-trip to nail down distribution in New York City, a move that could open up the entire Northeast. “The city is full of all kinds of people and it’s going to get our name branded,” said Thomsen. “People are going to know what Feel Good Dough means after New York City.” For its founder, Feel Good Dough means a healthy product line used for pizzas, calzones, empanadas, cinnamon rolls and other “clean” eats. Thomsen USDA-certified sells all-purpose dough, partnering with a New York manufacturer for the bulk of the production while taking care of smaller orders from her space in Fairview. “It took us a long time to find a manufacturer that would bring in our special ingredients,” Thomsen noted. “They make 200,000 pieces a week for us, which has given us the volume we needed to grow.”

Feel Good Dough produces a range of “100% clean” organic all-purpose doughs. (Contributed photo)

Terry Thomsen, founder of Feel Good Dough, says her organic chocolate dough can be used for dessert pizzas and other sweet treats. (Douglas J. Guth for Crain’s)

Chocolate dough is one of the company’s hotter items, utilized by amateur bakers for dessert pizzas flavored with s’mores, ricotta and jam, or other imaginative toppings. Recipes for cinnamon rolls and honey nut balls, meanwhile, are available on Feel Good Dough’s website (feelgooddough.com), where visitors can also purchase Thomsen’s latest concoction: a wheat-flour dry mix milled with certified organic hard wheat. Locally, Feel Good Dough products are available at Heinen’s, Giant Eagle, Whole Foods Market, Buehler’s and a handful of smaller stores. Kroger’s is the company’s newest carrier, and Thomsen was headed to Florida at the end of November to meet executives from the Publix supermarket chain. Expanding into New York has Thomsen thinking about how to sell to busy people wanting to whip up a quick pizza in a toaster oven, she said. The Lakewood resident’s dough has a five-day refrigeration life, with one 16-ounce ball stretching into a 12-inch, regular-crust pizza.

Let our Commercial Bankers help tailor a solution to reach your unique business needs. Tim Dixon, SBA/USDA Program Manager Beachwood Office 25201 Chagrin Blvd., Suite 120 Beachwood, OH 44122

 216.359.5553 (DL)

TDixon@middlefieldbank.com

The Middlefield Banking Company

“The goal right now is getting people to realize they can use our dough whenever they want,” said Thomsen. “It’s not a one-time use.”

An industry disruptor Thomsen also is the founder of Frickaccio’s Pizza Market in Fairview Park and has been selling pizza bagels from the West Side Market for more than 30 years. Her newest enterprise opened in 2016, arising in part from concern about the preservative-laden pizza dough her two young grandchildren had been eating. Thomsen began experimenting with organic ingredients, buying an 80-quart mixer she named “Helga” to make batches of vegan, organic dough. She initially test-marketed her creation at the West Side Market. After getting picked up by Heinen’s, Thomsen tweaked the recipe to withstand extra heat for grilling and baking. “When we meet people who’ve been in the food industry for years, they see what we’re doing as the start of something really good,” said Thomsen. “It’s not just me saying it,

it’s the experts. When they’re saying it makes us feel good.” Tiny Footprint Distribution, an Indianapolis-based vendor with a warehouse in Columbus, delivers Thomsen’s products to Giant Eagle supermarkets. A unique selection that includes cauliflower pizza crust made Feel Good Dough a natural fit for the distributor, said procurement manager Ty Thomson. “Once we found a cornerstone retailer, we were able to go from there,” Thomson said. “The nature of (Feel Good Dough) being organic is a category that’s not really in this marketplace.” Thomson is impressed by Thomsen’s passion for her brand, and believes Feel Good Dough could have nationwide appeal if it continues on its current growth trajectory. “You can build your name regionally, but sometimes back yourself into a corner because of labeling,” he said. “(The company) has the capability of going west of the Mississippi. It doesn’t just belong in Ohio.” Thomsen views her work as disruptive in an industry selling goods laced with pesticides and other toxins. She’s spreading the word through, among other methods, a new commission-based affiliate program that contracts participants to test market and sell her dry mix. Additionally, she linked up with a fundraising organization to get her products into PTA and charity events. “A dough ball in every fridge” is the goal moving forward, said Thomsen, who added she believes clean eating is important for the mind as much as the body. “I know what we’re doing is going to help people,” she said. “We’re the happy company that wants to help people feel good.”

Nominate Your Best for the

Recognize the achievements of a top sales and marketing professional with a nomination for the Sales & Marketing Executives of Cleveland’s prestigious Distinguished Marketing and Sales Award (DMSA), the profession’s premier honor to acknowledge excellence and provide community recognition for outstanding sales and marketing achievements. If selected, your nominee will join the 2019 Business Executive of the Year, Carl J. Grassi, Chairman, McDonald Hopkins and other outstanding DMSA winners on the stage at the 58th Annual Distinguished Marketing and Sales Awards gala banquet, February 28, 2019 at Executive Caterers. Nomination forms are available at SMECleveland.com. For information, call 216-767-5951.

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P034_CL_20181203.indd 34

11/29/18 4:09 PM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

SMALL BUSINESS

Opportunity Zone program offers investors deferred gain tax benefits

Planning strategies Tax benefits Let’s use an example to explore the benefits of the Opportunity Zone Program. Suppose you had a $300,000 basis in corporate stock that you sold for $1 million in cash. You can defer the $700,000 capital gain by reinvesting the gain into an Opportunity Fund. You don’t need to recognize the gain on the sale of the stock until you dispose of your Opportunity Fund investment or Dec. 31, 2026, whichever occurs first. In addition to tax deferral, the Opportunity Zone Program also allows investors to exclude some portion of the gain altogether. Returning to our example, 10% of the deferred $700,000 gain would be excluded from income if the Opportunity Zone investment is held for five years. If the investment is held for seven years, another 5% would be excluded, for a total of 15%. That could mean excluding $105,000 in capital gain income in our example and deferring income recognition on the non-excluded amount until the end of 2026. These holding periods need to be satisfied by the end of 2026, so the 10% or 15% exclusions require investment in the next couple of years. Beyond these benefits, any appre-

++ ++ +

Proposed Treasury regulations issued last month, which explain the new program with flexible rules, have stirred up interest in investing in the 8,700 designated Opportunity Zones, including 320 in Ohio. While the Opportunity Zone Program is quite complex, the path toward its tax benefits can be summed up as follows: JJThe investor must realize eligible capital gain income, meaning almost any capital gain income subject to a few exceptions; JJWithin 180 days, the investor must reinvest the capital gain in an “Opportunity Fund”; and JJThe Opportunity Fund must invest more than 90% of its assets in Qualified Opportunity Zone Property (“qualified property”) within an Opportunity Zone, either through operating a Qualified Opportunity Zone Business (“qualified business”) itself or investing in a subsidiary that operates a qualified business.

ciation on the Opportunity Fund investment over the deferred gain amount is tax free if you hold the investment for at least 10 years. Obviously, if the investment performs well over those 10 years, this will be a very significant savings.

Carl Grassi is chairman of McDonald Hopkins LLC.

How the program works

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PREMIER REAL ESTATE

AUCTION

Tax Tips: Carl Grassi

The Opportunity Zone Program included in the federal tax-reform law passed last year is designed to spur investment in low-income areas. Done properly, investments in designated areas, known as Opportunity Zones, allow both gain deferral and gain exclusion. Imagine a supercharged like-kind exchange, where you can defer income without a likekind requirement, take cash off the table between investments and even exclude gain upon exit.

Investors in Opportunity Zones should carefully consider their choice of entity, organizational structure and even the use of working capital to maximize tax benefits. Recall that Opportunity Funds must invest 90% of their assets in qualified property within the Opportunity Zone. That 90% threshold may be satisfied with stock or partnership interest in a qualified business, which itself is considered qualified property. The proposed regulations only require qualified businesses to hold 70% of their assets in qualified property. These rules provide investors with flexibility to thoughtfully plan their organizational structure. Proactive investors in Opportunity Zones will see rewards. The deferred gain reinvested in an Opportunity Fund must be recognized by the end of 2026. As a result, investors must invest in Opportunity Funds by the end of 2019 to satisfy the seven-year holding period to exclude 15% of the deferred gain, or by the end of 2021 to satisfy the five-year holding period to exclude 10%. To sum up, while investors should be mindful of the complex rules and guidelines in the proposed regulations on the Opportunity Zone Program, the tax benefits are worth a hard look.

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PA G E 3 6

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

SMALL BUSINESS

Adviser: Laura Sheridan

What do you call your customer? What do you call your customer? Ever wonder why Disney calls them “guests,” Costco calls them “members” and Ritz-Carlton calls them “ladies and gentlemen”? It’s not by accident or a casual decision. Most businesspeople know to use the same logo on every ad and marketing piece. Why should language be any different? Many companies fall short on keeping their words and messaging consistent when describing the experiences they help create.

Brand language matters Business is tough. Consumers are often overwhelmed by the many choices they face. Your brand assets must work together to create a meaningful brand experience, and brand language is a key brand asset.

Language as a connector Language connects people to each other and to brands. It can either steer a consumer through choosing a brand’s products or turn them off. Language helps determine whether we notice a brand, buy, then buy again, and even become a brand advocate.

Where to start Defining your brand’s character is step one. We help our clients pick a handful of words to describe their brand character. The exercise starts with imagining their brand as a person. What character traits are authentic and help establish trust? Are you sassy or traditional? Friendly or formal? Funny or serious?

Laura Sheridan is president of the Clevelandbased Viva La Brand agency.

Once your brand character is defined, it’s time to establish your brand language. It’s about determining how your brand character gets translated into your writing style. Sophisticated brands consider these five language elements: 1. Word length 2. Sentence length (Viva La Brand is known for short, punchy phrases — no long, multimessage sentences) 3. Jargon (Starbucks created its own; more on that below) 4. Word plays (think of Trader Joe’s famously cheap private-label wine Two-Buck Chuck) 5. Colloquialisms (MailChimp is known for using language like “grab coffee”, “bare bones” and “big a-ha moments”) Next comes creating a brand language guide. Savvy marketers have embraced brand style guides (also known as brand books or brand guides) for decades. This repository of brand identity assets — including the logo, color palette and typography — acts as a set of rules to explain how a brand should be presented at all times and in all applications. Guides enable consistency among employees and external design partners, which is key to establishing brand awareness and an emotional connection with customers.

Your brand language guide is home to words and phrases carefully selected to promote your brand. We also like to include the don’ts: those words that should never be used when describing your brand. So, what brands have nailed their brand language?

Example No. 1: Starbucks Forget small, medium and large — it’s short, tall, grande and venti when you order a drink at Starbucks. There’s a reason for this brand language convention. Howard Schultz, the brand founder, wanted his coffee chain to resemble the Italian coffee bars he visited in 1983 that romanced the coffee experience. Using only these names helps differentiate the brand and create a more adventurous feel than simply ordering a cup of joe. The brand lingo extends beyond cup sizes with words like doppio, macchiato, misto and barista.

Example No. 2: Rothy’s Know Rothy’s? The washable, woven shoes for women made from recycled plastic? From the names of its $125 and $145 washable slip-ons — The Flat, The Point, The Loafer and The Sneaker — to the company’s brand language describing its audience as “game changers”, Rothy’s has created a truly unique brand experience. It deliberately picked simple product names rather than use monikers that require additional information such as Johnston & Murphy’s Wallace or Gleason. In less than two years, the company has raised more than $12 million

in investment funding, sold over $10 million, and amassed 153,000 Instagram followers and 216,000 likes on its Facebook page. One reason for the brand’s swift adoption? A clear and consistent use of its logo and unique blue color, coupled with frequent use of its product and customer names. “Game changer”? That’s what the marketer calls Rothy’s-wearing women who are “disrupting their industries.” These women — including Meghan Markle, now Duchess of Sussex, who was spotted wearing Rothy’s during her first royal tour appearance —are the heroines of Rothy’s ads.

First steps What can you do to catapult your own audience’s connection with your brand? Here are five takeaways for your business: 1. Define your brand language. Start by articulating your brand character. Then, translate your brand’s voice into your writing style. 2. Pick words to describe your customer, your products, its benefits and the experiences that are consistent with your brand character and help differentiate your brand. 3. Create a brand language guide just like your brand style guide. 4. Share your brand language guide with your employees. Discuss how it applies to what they do every day. Brainstorm how they’d use it when they talk to customers. 5. Share your brand language guide with your external creative partners, advisers, board members and others who talk about your brand. Ensure they understand it at a gut level.

WHISKEY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33

Asia pullout At issue are the retaliatory 25% tariffs by Canada, Mexico, China and the EU that target specific American goods ranging from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to yogurt, coffee, jeans and, of course, bourbon. Those tariffs were in response to Trump’s taxes on steel and aluminum imports. “That was done because retaliatory tariffs were tit-for-tat with those we had,” said economist Edward “Ned” Hill, a professor at The John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. “Why whiskey? That’s because of the Senate president, Mitch McConnell. They wanted to smack something in Kentucky to make him pay attention. Cleveland Whiskey was hit with the backwash of the McConnell smack.” Before the trade war began, demand for craft bourbon overseas was surging. That’s what influenced Lix to export in the first place and to build international sales into his business plan. At the same time, a generally positive outlook for the distilling business had Lix and other Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs in the liquor sector weighing domestic expansion plans earlier this year. “There was going to be a tsunami of market demand for these things and we could fill that gap,” Lix said. “That was always a part of our plan. But those (international) markets have shut down for us.” A bottle from Cleveland Whiskey’s Cleveland Underground line retails for around $50. But there ends up being much more than a 25% tax by the time the product gets in front of a customer.

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D E C E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018

PA G E 3 7

SMALL BUSINESS Tom Lix feeds wood staves through a machine that cuts them into chunks to replicate the traditional barrel-aging process for his whiskeys. (Ken Blaze for Crain’s)

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Beyond the increased costs from the tariffs, Lix feels he’s lost any leverage he might’ve had as a small business challenging big government rules in another country. “Right now, we’re the bad guys,” Lix said. “I can’t do that now because (Americans) are the ones who started this whole problem. If you’re in Canada or Europe or China, it’s a reaction to the tariff war we started. There is no good will toward American products right now. And that’s a problem.”

Change will come ... eventually Cleveland Whiskey now has nearly 1,600 investors across the world thanks to its dual crowdfunding campaigns. The first, in 2016, raised about “That 25% tariff starts a compounding process that’s applied early on, then other taxes and tariffs mark up that base price,” Lix explained. “It’s not just a 25% increase. It may be a 50% increase by the time it gets to the consumer, and that’s a big deal.” Even if buyers want the product, sellers can’t offer it at a palatable price. That’s ruining the value of selling overseas, Lix said. So he pulled out. As Bloomberg recently reported, demand for American bourbon overseas has, in fact, tanked in the wake of higher prices. Large companies like Jack Daniels possess the size and scale to offset and absorb those impacts, but craft manufacturers like Cleveland Whiskey don’t have that same ability.

Litigate. Win. Repeat.

EU retreat Meanwhile, Lix was facing pushback in Europe due to laws that define what products can be sold as whiskey. That’s because of lobbying efforts by the Scotch Whisky Association (for the unfamiliar, whisky is a term typically reserved specifically for the Scotch version of the spirit), which influenced the EU to define whiskey by a certain set of parameters, including a requirement that it’s barrel-aged for at least three years. Cleveland Whiskey, however, is made through a unique process. Its spirits are created with a machine that uses pressure to force whiskey distillates through chunks of wood. That process imbues the liquid with the color and taste profiles that otherwise come from a traditional barrel-aging process, but in a fraction of the time. That process is what lets the manufacturer finish whiskeys not just using traditional oak, but with other woods such as cherry or locust, which aren’t typically used to make barrels. Lix received several cease-and-desist letters from the EU as he shipped products there, though. So he changed the operating name in Europe to “Cleveland City Bourbon” to skirt the rules by not actually labeling it as a whiskey anymore. All the while, Lix — who has successfully utilized social media to drive two crowdfunding campaigns — was planning to release a new product he said was intended to “poke a stick” at the Scotch Whisky Association. That release was going to coincide with a social campaign designed to show how he was fighting the EU to change its rules to allow sales as Cleveland Whiskey. Lix has canceled that release and given up that campaign for now.

P036_037_CL_20181203.indd 37

$700,000. The second round this year drew in about $832,000. While Lix declined to share any year-end projections, he said revenues are still trending up over last year despite losing international sales. If he could do business overseas, though, that growth would be even stronger. “Do I expect this turns around at some point? I do. Do I expect to be back in those markets? I do. None of my enthusiasm has diminished at all. This is just a temporary roadblock for us,” Lix said. “Whether it’s a change in administration or a change in the rules from Congress, something will occur that levels the playing field once again. I just wish it would happen sooner rather than later.”

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PA G E 3 8

D E C E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018 |

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

THE LIST

Nonprofits

Ranked by 2018 expenses

THIS YEAR

ORGANIZATION

THE LIST Healthcare Ministries Inc., Barberton 1 Christian (800) 791-6225/chministries.org

Nonprofits

Charities, Diocese of Cleveland, Cleveland 2 Catholic (216) 334-2900/ccdocle.org Ranked by 2018 expenses

Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Cleveland (216) 738-2265/greaterclevelandfoodbank.org

EXPENSES 2018 2017 (MILLIONS)

TOTAL REVENUE 2017 (MILLIONS)

INCOME FROM PRIVATE SUPPORT

INCOME 2017 FUND FOR PROGRAM BALANCE SERVICES (THOUSANDS) PURPOSE

$423.2 (1) $278.6 (2)

$339.7

100.0%

80.0%

$118,967.3

To glorify God, show Christian love and experience God's presence as Christians share each others' medical bills

Howard S. Russell, president, CEO

$103.3 (1) $97.8

$102.9

48.0%

84.8%

$89,783.0

To provide help and create hope for people of every race and religion throughout the Diocese of Cleveland

Patrick Gareau, president, CEO

95.9%

$6,759.1

Works to ensure that everyone in our communities has the nutritious food they need every day

Kristin Warzocha, president, CEO

$89.9 $90.9

$90.3

61.0%

TOP EXECUTIVE

ORGANIZATION

EXPENSES 2018 $89.3 (1) 2017 $98.8 (MILLIONS)

TOTAL REVENUE $92.8 2017 (MILLIONS)

INCOME FROM 3.7% PRIVATE SUPPORT

INCOME 2017 FUND FOR 92.9% $74,392.0 Hospice, palliative care and bereavement support services William E. Finn, PROGRAM BALANCE president, CEO TOP EXECUTIVE SERVICES (THOUSANDS) PURPOSE

5 1

Menorah Park, Beachwood Christian Healthcare Ministries Inc., Barberton (216) 791-6225/chministries.org 831-6500/MenorahPark.org (800)

$79.5 (1) $423.2 $79.5 (2) $278.6

$77.3 $339.7

48.2% 100.0%

95.7% 80.0%

$24,871.0 $118,967.3

Toglorify provide health on both a residential and God's To God, showcare Christian love and experience outpatient presence as basis Christians share each others' medical bills

Jim Newbrough, Howard S. Russell,CEO president, CEO

6 2

Playhouse Square Foundation, Cleveland Cleveland Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland, (216) 334-2900/ccdocle.org 771-4444/playhousesquare.org (216)

$73.6 (1) $103.3 $60.4 $97.8

$66.1 $102.9

97.0% 48.0%

92.0% 84.8%

$163,368.5 $89,783.0

Toprovide operate theand performing arts for center andofhelp restore To help create hope people every race andreligion develop the Playhouse Square of district and throughout the Diocese Cleveland

Art Falco, CEO Patrick Gareau, president, CEO

3 7

The Centers for Families and Children Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Cleveland& Circle Health Services, Cleveland (216) 738-2265/greaterclevelandfoodbank.org (216) 432-7200/thecentersohio.org

$68.3 (1) $89.9 $48.8 (3) $90.9

$47.1 (3) $90.3

9.0% 61.0%

82.0% 95.9%

$49,846.0 (3) $6,759.1

To improve livesthat through integrated health care, early Works to ensure everyone in our communities has learning and food workforce services the nutritious they need every day

Elizabeth Newman, Kristin Warzocha, president, CEO president, CEO

4 8

Hospice of the Western Reserve, Cleveland Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, Cleveland (800) 707-8922/hospicewr.org (216) 621-0303/areaagingsolutions.org

$89.3 (1) $67.5 (1) $98.8 $66.2

$92.8 $66.3

3.7% 26.0%

92.9% 91.0%

$74,392.0 $4,514.5

Hospice, palliative care and bereavement support services To provide choices for people to live independently in the place they want to call home

William E. Finn, E. Douglas Beach, CEO president, CEO

Menorah Park, Beachwood The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland (216) 831-6500/MenorahPark.org (216) 421-7340/clevelandart.org

$79.5 $62.0 $79.5 $60.7

$77.3 $49.3

48.2% 50.7%

95.7% 77.3%

$24,871.0 $972,746.1

To provide health care on both a residential and Creating transformative experiences through art, for all outpatient basis the people forever

Jim Newbrough, CEO William M. Griswold, director, CEO

Playhouse Square Foundation, Cleveland The Musical Arts Association (The Cleveland Orchestra), Cleveland (216) 771-4444/playhousesquare.org (216) 231-7300/clevelandorchestra.com

$73.6 $57.4 $60.4 $55.3

$66.1 $54.6

97.0% 52.0%

92.0% 83.7%

$163,368.5 $201,443.0

To operate the performing arts center and help restore To develop provide inspirational experiences by serving the art of and the Playhouse Square district music at the highest level of artistic excellence

Art Falco, CEO André Gremillet, executive director

7 11

The Centers for Families and Children & Circle Health Services, Oriana House Inc., Akron Cleveland (330) 432-7200/thecentersohio.org 535-8116/orianahouse.org (216)

$68.3 (1) $54.1(3) (1) $48.8 $53.0

$47.1 (3) $51.1

9.0% 2.0%

82.0% 98.0%

$49,846.0 (3) ($10,076.7)

To improve lives through integrated health care, early Community corrections programs and chemical learning and workforce services dependency treatment

Elizabeth Newman, James J. CEO Lawrence, president, president, CEO

12 8

ColemanReserve Professional Kent Western Area Services, Agency on Aging, Cleveland (330) 621-0303/areaagingsolutions.org 673-1347/colemanservices.org (216)

$52.2(1) $67.5 $48.0 $66.2

$51.3 $66.3

7.0% 26.0%

88.0% 91.0%

$14,898.6 $4,514.5

Behavioral health,for addiction, rehabilitation, employment To provide choices people to live independently in the and residential for Ohioans place they want programs to call home

Burns,CEO E.Nelson DouglasW.Beach, president, CEO

13 9

Judson Services Inc., Cleveland The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland (216) 421-7340/clevelandart.org 791-2004/judsonsmartliving.org (216)

$49.8 (1) $62.0 $49.8 $60.7

$48.7 $49.3

90.0% 50.7%

89.0% 77.3%

$25,757.0 $972,746.1

A not-for-profit senior living organization serving Northern Kendra Creating transformative experiences through art, for all William M.Urdzik, Griswold, Ohio sinceforever 1906 president, the people director, CEOCEO

14 10

Volunteers America of Greater Cleveland The Musicalof Arts Association (The Ohio, Cleveland Orchestra), Cleveland (440) 231-7300/clevelandorchestra.com 717-1500/voago.org (216)

$44.8 $57.4 $44.9 $55.3

$46.2 $54.6

41.0% 52.0%

81.0% 83.7%

$38,904.0 $201,443.0

Spiritually based human services group providing To provide inspirational experiences by serving the social art of services that promote self-sufficiency and independence music at the highest level of artistic excellence

Dennis J. Kresak, André Gremillet, president, CEO executive director

15 11

Positive Education Program, Cleveland Oriana House Inc., Akron (216) 535-8116/orianahouse.org 361-4400/pepcleve.org (330)

$43.7(1) $54.1 $43.4 $53.0

$43.6 $51.1

2.7% 2.0%

88.8% 98.0%

$27,779.0 ($10,076.7)

Helping troubled and troubling learn and grow Community corrections programschildren and chemical dependency treatment

Habeebah R. Grimes, James J. Lawrence, CEO president, CEO

16 12

Montefiore, Beachwood Coleman Professional Services, Kent (216) 673-1347/colemanservices.org 360-9080/montefiorecare.org (330)

$42.2 $52.2 $40.6 $48.0

$41.3 $51.3

50.0% 7.0%

89.0% 88.0%

$28,005.9 $14,898.6

Behavioral health, addiction, rehabilitation, employment seniors and residential programs for Ohioans

Nelson W. Burns, president, CEO president, CEO

17 13

United Way of Greater Cleveland, Cleveland Judson Services Inc., Cleveland 436-2100/unitedwaycleveland.org (216) 791-2004/judsonsmartliving.org

$42.1(1) $49.8 $43.3 $49.8

$37.9 $48.7

92.0% 90.0%

80.0% 89.0%

$22,058.0 $25,757.0

invest in education, health, basic needs and financial ATo not-for-profit senior living organization serving Northern stability Ohio since 1906

August A. Napoli Jr., Kendra Urdzik, president, CEO president, CEO

18 14

The Village of Network, Volunteers AmericaWooster of Greater Ohio, Cleveland (800) 717-1500/voago.org 638-3232/thevillagenetwork.org (440)

$40.6 $44.8 $39.3 $44.9

$42.4 $46.2

0.1% 41.0%

79.8% 81.0%

$20,958.4 $38,904.0

Work in partnerships empowering youth and families Spiritually based human services group providing socialto build brighter futures self-sufficiency and independence services that promote

Richard Graziano, Dennis J. Kresak, president, CEO president, CEO

19 15

Eliza Jennings, Olmsted Township Positive Education Program, Cleveland 226-5000/elizajennings.org (216) 361-4400/pepcleve.org

$35.0 $43.7 $36.6 $43.4

$38.6 $43.6

59.0% 2.7%

86.0% 88.8%

NA $27,779.0

Offers troubled a spectrum serviceschildren and choices Helping andoftroubling learnfor andaging growwell

Richard M. Habeebah R. Boyson Grimes, Jr., president, CEO CEO

16 20

$32.1 (1) $42.2 $34.9 $40.6

$33.5 $41.3

93.5% 50.0%

85.8% 89.0%

$15,556.2 $28,005.9

Toprovide improve quality of and life and employment To health care wellness servicesopportunities to aging for people in the communities we serve seniors

Anne Richards, Seth Vilensky, president, CEO president, CEO

$42.1 $30.5 (1) $43.3 $29.9 $40.6 $39.3 $28.3 $27.2 $35.0 $36.6 $28.0 (1) $27.8 $32.1 (1) $34.9 $27.8 $28.2

$37.9 $30.9

92.0% 15.3%

80.0% 97.1%

$22,058.0 $20,359.2

$42.4 $27.2

0.1% 10.0%

79.8% 90.0%

$20,958.4 $2,000.0

$38.6 $29.2

59.0% 1.0%

86.0% 86.7%

NA $2,046.2

20 24

Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio Inc., Montefiore, Beachwood Canton (216) 360-9080/montefiorecare.org (800) 942-3577/goodwillgoodskills.org United Way of Greater Cleveland, Cleveland Emerald Development & Economic Network (EDEN) Inc., Cleveland (216) 436-2100/unitedwaycleveland.org (216) 961-9690 /edeninc.org The Village Network, Wooster (800) 638-3232/thevillagenetwork.org FrontLine Service, Cleveland (216) 623-6555/frontlineservice.org Eliza Jennings, Olmsted Township (216) 226-5000/elizajennings.org Koinonia Homes Inc., Independence (216) 588-8777/koinoniahomes.org Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio Inc., Canton Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, Beachwood (800) (216) 942-3577/goodwillgoodskills.org 292-3999/jfsa-cleveland.org

$33.5 $30.1

93.5% 48.0%

85.8% 86.0%

$15,556.2 $26.7

To invest in education, health, basic needs and financial To provide housing solutions to people facing the stability challenges of housing insecurities and homelessness Work in partnerships empowering youth and families to build brighter Reaching outfutures to end homelessness, prevent suicide and overcome trauma Offers a spectrum of services and choices for aging well To provide residential and day support, along with career services to individuals with developmental disabilities To improve quality of life and employment opportunities for in the communities Topeople help families find solutionswe toserve face life's challenges with confidence

August A. Napoli Jr., Elaine Gimmel, president, CEO executive director Richard Graziano, president, CEOexecutive Susan Neth, director Richard M. Boyson Jr., president, CEO Diane Beastrom, president, CEO Anne Richards, president, CEO Susan Bichsel, president, CEO

21 25

Emerald Development & Economic Network (EDEN) Inc., Cleveland Vocational Guidance Services, Cleveland (216) 961-9690 /edeninc.org 431-7800/vgsjob.org

$30.5 $25.7(1) (1) $29.9 $26.1

$30.9 $26.9

15.3% 30.0%

97.1% 84.0%

$20,359.2 $16,909.1

To housing to people facing the for a Toprovide prepare peoplesolutions with barriers to employment challenges of housing insecurities and homelessness brighter future

Elaine Gimmel, Robert E. Comben Jr., executive director CEO

22 26

FrontLine Service, Cleveland Ideastream, Cleveland (216) 623-6555/frontlineservice.org 916-6100/ideastream.org

$28.3 $25.6 $27.2 $29.0

$27.2 $24.6

10.0% 69.0%

90.0% 82.0%

$2,000.0 $44,527.5

Reaching outinformation to end homelessness, prevent suicide and Multimedia source aiming to illuminate the overcome trauma world around us

Susan executive KevinNeth, E. Martin, director president, CEO

23 27

Koinonia Homes Inc., Independence Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland (216) 588-8777/koinoniahomes.org 781-7625/rockhall.com

$28.0 $25.0(1) (1) $27.8 $24.1

$29.2 $36.2

1.0% 90.0%

86.7% 74.2%

$2,046.2 $111,784.7

To residential day support, along with of career Toprovide engage, teach andand inspire through the power rock & services to individuals with developmental disabilities roll

Diane GregBeastrom, Harris, president, president, CEO CEO

24 28

Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, Beachwood Jennings, Garfield Heights (216) (216) 292-3999/jfsa-cleveland.org 581-2900/jenningsohio.org

$27.8 $24.3 (1) $28.2 $22.7

$30.1 $23.2

48.0% 60.0%

86.0% 92.0%

$26.7 $18,730.0

To families find solutions to face life's challenges A help nonprofit providing Catholic-based continuum of care with confidence for seniors since 1942

Susan Bichsel, Allison Q. Salopeck, president, CEO president, CEO

25 29

Vocational Guidance Services, Cleveland CHN Housing Partners (4), Cleveland (216) (216) 431-7800/vgsjob.org 574-7100/chnhousingparters.org

$25.7 $23.8(1) (1) $26.1 $31.8

$26.9 $32.5

30.0% 53.0%

84.0% 96.0%

$16,909.1 $24,808.6

To prepare people with barriers to employment for a Building strong families and vibrant neighborhoods brighter throughfuture quality affordable housing

Robert E. S. Comben Robert Curry, Jr., CEO executive director

26 30

Ideastream, Cleveland Altenheim Senior Living, Strongsville (216) (440) 916-6100/ideastream.org 238-3361/altenheim.com

$25.6 $23.3 (1) $29.0 $19.8

$24.6 $20.5

69.0% 36.7%

82.0% 94.4%

$44,527.5 $25,553.3

Multimedia information source aiming to illuminate the A nonprofit life plan community offering senior services world around us and programs

Kevin Martin, PaulE. Psota, CEO president, CEO

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland (216) 781-7625/rockhall.com

$25.0 (1) $24.1

$36.2

90.0%

74.2%

$111,784.7

To engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock & Greg Harris, president, RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER (CSODER@CRAIN.COM) roll CEO

THIS YEAR

5 9 6 10

17 21 18 22 19 23

Hospice of the Western Reserve, Cleveland (800) 707-8922/hospicewr.org

SOUND SOLUTIONS FOR NOT-FOR-PROFITS Pam Lebold + maloneynovotny.com + 216.363.0100 To provide health care and wellness services to aging Seth Vilensky,

$24.3 (1) 60.0% $18,730.0 providing Catholic-based continuum of care Allison Q. Salopeck, Jennings, Garfield Heights Get 52 nonprofits, more executives names and$23.2 10 years of92.0% data. Become aAfornonprofit Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data 28 all $22.7 seniors since 1942 president, CEO (216) 581-2900/jenningsohio.org

This list includes 501(c)3 nonprofits. Colleges, foundations and hospitals were excluded. Information is supplied by the organizations. Send all feedback to Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com.

(1) Projected; year ends on Dec. 31 (2) Christian Healthcare Ministries attributed in 2018 expenses growth of the organization and efforts to speed upand how quickly it pays its members' medical (3) The $23.8the $32.5 53.0% to 96.0% $24,808.6 Building strong families vibrant neighborhoods Robert S.bills. Curry, CHNtax Housing Partners (4), Cleveland (1)increase $31.8 through quality affordable director (216) 574-7100/chnhousingparters.org Centers for Families and Children formed a strategic partnership with Circle Health Services in November 2017, and now they operate as one organization. The 2017 figureshousing are for the Centers for Familiesexecutive and Children only. (4)

Formerly Cleveland Housing Network Altenheim Senior Living, Strongsville (440) 238-3361/altenheim.com

$23.3 (1) $19.8

$20.5

36.7%

94.4%

$25,553.3

A nonprofit life plan community offering senior services and programs

Paul Psota, CEO

RESEARCHED BY CHUCK SODER (CSODER@CRAIN.COM)

Get all 52 nonprofits, more executives names and 10 years of data. Become a Data Member: CrainsCleveland.com/data This list includes 501(c)3 nonprofits. Colleges, foundations and hospitals were excluded. Information is supplied by the organizations. Send all feedback to Chuck Soder: csoder@crain.com.

(1) Projected; tax year ends on Dec. 31 (2) Christian Healthcare Ministries attributed the increase in 2018 expenses to growth of the organization and efforts to speed up how quickly it pays its members' medical bills. (3) The Centers for Families and Children formed a strategic partnership with Circle Health Services in November 2017, and now they operate as one organization. The 2017 figures are for the Centers for Families and Children only. (4)

Formerly Cleveland Housing Network

P038_CL_20181203.indd 38

11/29/18 4:15 PM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

D E C E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018

PA G E 3 9

ANALYSIS

Christian group cements position on Nonprofits list Nonprofits ranked by 2017 fund balance

By CHUCK SODER

1. Cleveland Museum of Art $972,746,081

csoder@crain.com @ChuckSoder

2. Cleveland Museum of Natural History $228,221,165

The law of diminishing returns has yet to slow the growth of Christian Healthcare Ministries. The health care cost sharing ministry — which didn’t even break the top 30 on our Nonprofits list back in 2010 — has spent the past four years in the No. 1 spot on the list, which ranks Northeast Ohio 501(c)3 nonprofits by total annual expenses. Even so, it’s still growing like crazy. The Barberton-based organization projects that its expenses will hit $423 million by the end of 2018, up from $278.6 million in 2017 — a whopping 51.9% increase if the projection is on target. So what’s happening here? First, some background: Christian Healthcare Ministries doesn’t technically provide health insurance. Its members pay fees that are then used to help other members pay their medical bills. Demand for its services exploded after Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Over the past six years, Christian Healthcare Ministries’ expenses have grown by an average of 54% every year. The lowest year was 40% in

3. The Musical Arts Association (The Cleveland Orchestra) $201,442,988 4. Playhouse Square Foundation $163,368,548 5. Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging $140,136,000

2012. And its revenue has grown even faster, judging by numbers they’ve submitted for the list over the years. (Crain’s Data Members can now see those historical numbers for themselves by downloading the full digital list in Excel format.) Yes, Christian Healthcare Ministries continued to grow its base of members this year. The biggest reason for the increase, however, is that it’s sending out payments for medical bills faster than it has in the past, according to CFO Charity Beall. Two other organizations in the top 10 posted huge growth percentages this year. The Centers for Families and Children joined forces with Circle Health Services in November 2017, which is the main reason why its projected 2018 expenses are nearly 40% higher than the figure for 2017, which doesn’t include Circle Health Services. The combined organization is ranked at No. 7 this year. Likewise, Playhouse Square broke into the top 10 at No. 6 after its annu-

al expenses jumped nearly 22% due to additional Broadway performances. (No, Hamilton performances aren’t included. Those took place during the organization’s 2019 fiscal year.) A total of 27 of the 52 nonprofits on the full digital list submitted projected expenses for 2018 because their fiscal years don’t end until Dec. 31. That’s why there are so many footnotes in that column on the list. The rest of the figures on the list are from 2017. The list would look much different if we ranked it by 2017 fund balance. By that measure, the Cleveland Museum of Art (No. 9 on the list) would easily take the top spot with a fund balance exceeding $972 million. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, No. 34 on the full digital list, would leap up to No. 2, with a fund balance of more than $228 million. The list excluded colleges, hospitals and grantmaking foundations, since we have separate lists for those organizations. GSB_LoanAd_Craines_4x6.indd 1

4/10/18 11:11 AM

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P039_CL_20181203.indd 39

11/30/18 2:41 PM

PA G E 4 0

D E C E M B E R 3 - 9 , 2 018 |

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

AKRON

Neighborhood Watch

For West Akronites, it’s still ‘the best side’ Residents and backers love this diverse community enough to tackle its continuing challenges By DAN SHINGLER

About this series

dshingler@crain.com @DanShingler

We thought we knew a fair amount about Akron, which is the hometown of some of us at Crain’s. That is, until we started driving around with Akron planning director Jason Segedy, who agreed to take part in an ongoing series to show us his knowledge and passion for the city — one neighborhood at a time. This month, we look at West Akron, which is one of Akron’s most diverse neighborhoods. While the area has its challenges and needs to see its business base grow, it also has a group of community organizers who are working hard to improve it.

It has had its problems, but residents of one of Akron’s largest neighborhoods say it’s still true: “The West Side is the best side.” The neighborhood is West Akron, home to nearly 20,000 residents, including much of the city’s African-American community. Like many other urban minority communities, West Akron used to be predominantly white, said Jason Segedy, Akron’s director of planning and urban development, on a tour of the neighborhood. “It was a very white neighborhood before the ’60s,” said Segedy, who grew up in West Akron after the neighborhood had been integrated into about a 50-50 mix of black and white residents in the 1980s. As a white family moving into the neighborhood in 1974, the Segedys were bucking the trend. “It was kind of ground zero for white flight in the city in the ’60s … a lot of people moved out of the neighborhood as the African-American community was growing. And it actually created a great opportunity for African-Americans and became the heart of the city’s African-American community,” he said. It’s diverse in other ways as well. Along St. Michaels Avenue, on the neighborhood’s western edge, the area turns to farms. Segedy noted of a sign on the road, “That’s probably our only tractor-crossing sign in the city.” West Akron has businesses — just not enough that provide high-paying jobs, residents say. Instead of being dominated by a big hospital or large corporate offices like some neighborhoods, West Akron primarily has small businesses. Segedy took us down the main drag of Copley Road. It’s populated by restaurants, dollar stores and other small businesses. One of the oldest and best-known is Ritzman Pharmacy, a neighborhood stalwart for decades that now competes with a Walgreens across the street. Driving around the residential sections that make up most of the neighborhood today reveals well-kept homes and streets busy with kids and people. It has remained a solid, middle-class neighborhood, where most residents own their homes, Segedy said. Although it has also had challenges with crime, education and a lack of business investment. He points to some victories, too, such as the development of Stoney Pointe Commons, a 68-unit, affordable housing development completed by Tober Building Co. this year. Longtime residents who came of age in West Akron will tell you that growing up here can be and has been tough for many, with too many opportunities to get caught up in drugs and violence and too few for advancement. But they’re also quick to bring up fond memories of things like playing basketball on neighborhood courts with a young LeBron James, walking

P040_CL_20181203.indd 40

Ritzman Pharmacy has been among the longest lasting of the businesses that populated West Akron decades ago. It still serves the neighborhood from its store on Copley Road. (Shane Wynn for Crain’s)

West Akron has great housing stock, and the neighborhood is populated with mostly well-kept yards and neat homes that have retained their value well over the years.

You’ll find a tractor-crossing sign where the city turns into farms along St. Michaels Avenue.

to and attending Buchtel High School, or taking part in myriad gatherings in their tight-knit community. Chances are good that if you find two people who grew up in West Akron, they know each other. Many have stayed and are committed to improving the neighborhood. Folks like Tim Anderson, who grew up on the streets of West Akron in the 1990s, got into drugs, went to prison and now runs a nonprofit called Fallen Fathers Foundation to ensure that other kids don’t make the same mistakes he did. He’s one who remembers playing hoops with James at the Ed Davis Community Center and other neighborhood courts. Before LeBron became “LeBrawn,” Anderson swears he more than held his own on the court against the future NBA superstar. “I was older, so we could have our way with him. Then all of a sudden he went from 5-9 in middle school to 6-4 as a freshman,” Anderson said, laughing. If you see a Lakers jersey in West Akron, it’s likely because people here remember James not only playing on their courts, but also donating money for renovations once he became a star, neighborhood residents said. Today, though, Anderson has a

young people, though. Anderson and his crew at Fallen Fathers work closely with the Lawton Street Community Center and others on an initiative called Save Our Community, which provides various forms of assistance and community events to unify and organize area residents. Lawton Street supervisor Francine Blake, also a West Akronite, is another who is dedicated to the effort and her longtime home. In addition to help with school and life, young people need a place to gather and positive things to do, Blake said. The center provides a place to play ball and hold events — and it’s a place for everyone — from youth to seniors. “If you leave people idle with nothing to do, they’ll find something bad to do,” Blake said. But she said she’s always thought her neighborhood was the best in Akron. And while it’s changed — there are fewer kids and more crime than she saw in the 1970s, and more blighted businesses — she said she still feels secure and at home. “I feel safe here,” she said. As for the future, you won’t find many Pollyannas in West Akron, but you will find hope.

more important mission than playing hoops. He’s trying to change young lives. He works most afternoons at a hub of West Akron’s activity — the city's Lawton Street Community Center. He gathers more than 20 young people each day, providing them with mentors, tutors and instruction on how to become entrepreneurs and other topics. At night, he goes to his paying job managing a residential unit that transitions former inmates back to the outside world. He sleeps during the day, when he’s not raising money or recruiting retired teachers to tutor. He’s looking forward to winter, he said, because snow shoveling provides an opportunity to present kids with valuable lessons on running a small business. Growing the program has been tough, though, because he hasn’t been able to get outside funding. But he hopes Fallen Fathers’ growth will help him show its value to would-be funders. “We have 50 kids enrolled in our program as of today,” Anderson said of the 2-year-old program. “When I started off, I started off with just eight kids.” He’s certainly not giving up on his neighborhood or, especially, its

The neighborhood has kept up the quality of its housing, and has retained and attracted important residents and cultural contributors. Probably at the top of that list is renowned sculptor Woodrow Nash, whose lifelike works of African men and women have brought him acclaim. He seldom looks up from his work to answer the phone, community members said, and couldn’t be reached. But then, Nash likely doesn’t need to do much marketing. “Beyonce, Jay-Z, Chris Rock, LeBron — they all have pieces of his work,” said David Lieberth, a friend of Nash and Akron’s former deputy mayor. It’s a great thing for the neighborhood that Nash, who used to work in New York, chose West Akron as his home, Lieberth said. “He’s said he could do his work anywhere. And people ask him why he doesn’t do it in New York or Los Angeles. But he says this is home, and he can do anything he needs here and get to anywhere he needs to go from here,” Lieberth said. Nash is well-known in places like Chicago and Harlem, said Andrea Fain, a 74-year-old art lover in Chicago who makes a point of seeing Nash each year at two shows in her city and one in New York. “I would love to have his work. I figure I’ve got 10 years to acquire it,” Fain said. Nash might be most important locally, though. “He’s a real anchor for that Copley Road neighborhood,” Lieberth said. And Copley Road might be the key to keeping West Akron vibrant and bringing its residents more opportunities. The city certainly thinks so. Segedy said two sections of Copley Road have been targeted for the city’s Great Streets program, which provides funding for businesses to improve their facades and other features. “This is an area in which the city is really looking to invest,” Segedy said. The city has also taken steps to improve Copley Road by making it more pedestrian-friendly, including installing new bike lanes. All of the efforts, by the city and neighborhood residents, are meant to keep West Akron vibrant and to improve its financial opportunities, but more investment and new businesses are needed, they say. Time will tell if they can attract them. But, being West Akron, you can bet on one thing: They won’t give up.

11/30/18 1:37 PM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

LORDSTOWN

SUPPLIERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Take, for instance, Jamestown Industries Inc. of Moraine, Ohio, near Dayton. Jamestown has a plant in Austintown, near Youngstown, that provides support for the Chevrolet Cruze to GM in Lordstown. In recent years, however, it has diversified to help protect the company from the volatility of the automotive market. Lawrence Long, vice president of development for Jamestown Industries, is optimistic the company will be able to weather this latest storm. Diversifying the business hasn’t been easy, he said, and neither was absorbing the loss as GM Lordstown

PA G E 41

mean, it was like somebody just hitting you with a lightning rod, I guess, as shocking as all get out,” DeBlasio said. “Now we’ve been through this now how many Barra times?” Another difference, she said, is that when Black Monday happened, Youngstown was essentially a “one-industry town.” That’s not the case anymore. James Dignan, president and CEO of the Youngstown-Warren Chamber of Commerce, said the loss of jobs will be “significant,” making up maybe 1% of the Mahoning Valley’s workforce. But he doesn’t compare it to Black Monday. The impact will be much

smaller and, with GM, there’s still a “window of opportunity,” he said. One week before GM’s announcement, a number of regional partners including the chamber launched the “Drive It Home” campaign, which had a goal of raising community awareness and support of the plant. The campaign was inspired by a similar, successful campaign about two decades ago. Dignan said the group wanted to show GM it had a “partner with excess capacity” and “a capable, qualified workforce.” Dignan framed GM’s decision as disappointing but not surprising. The plant was already operating on one shift, which isn’t effective or efficient. He knew some sort of decision would be coming. “We thought we had a little bit of time,” Dignan said. “Now we know where GM stands.”

The “Drive It Home” campaign will continue. The main difference is that, while the campaign hoped to be a proactive one, it now has a deadline attached to its mission. The majority of GM’s revenue comes from three product lines: pickup trucks, SUVs and crossovers, Dignan said. And the Lordstown plant doesn’t make any of those. But he’s interested in the company’s plans to move toward adding more low-emission and alternative fuel vehicles. “Well, heck, we want to be part of that next generation,” Dignan said. And he thinks Northeast Ohio has an argument to make in favor of that. It still has a base of traditional manufacturing, but it’s a leader in additive and advanced manufacturing with the region’s additive manufacturing cluster and America Makes in

went from three shifts to two to one. Jamestown Industries had to cut its shifts back, too. But about three years ago, the company started to make a concentrated effort to diversify the services it offers. So far, Jamestown has added logistics and transportation services, spinning off a new company, and entered into strategic alliances that allow it to offer services like product design and engineering. The company has almost 50 employees, Long said, and it plans to keep its location in the Mahoning Valley open. “We’re going to make it. It’s devastating. It’s a hard loss. It’s General Motors, and they’ve been our flagship company that we’ve been in

suppliers in the association would likely be affected by GM’s cutbacks, but that it was too early to know specifics. But Fream did see some cause for optimism. “Additionally, as GM and the automotive industry increase production of autonomous, electric and hybrid suppliers Koehler Fream C Rvehicles, A I N ’ S C Lmany EVELA N D B U S Iwill N E Shave S | new opportunities,” she said in the support of since we started. But we’re statement. The approximately 430 members being proactive,” Long said. There’s always a “ripple effect” on of the Brecksville-based Precision suppliers when OEMs make a big Machined Products Association change, said Julie A. Fream, presi- serve a variety of industries, includdent and CEO of the Michigan-based ing automotive. But Miles Free, diOriginal Equipment Suppliers Asso- rector of industry research and techciation, in an emailed statement. She nology, said a number of those acknowledged that the tier 1, 2 and 3 companies have already expanded

beyond Detroit’s three major automakers to serve foreign companies like Honda, Toyota and Subaru, or to serve alternative vehicle-makers such as Tesla, Free said. Free noted the association has an online forum and that, as of a couple of days after the announcement, no one had mentioned the GM news. business be0 SMembers E P T E M B E R expect 3 - 9 , 2 018 | PAto GE 4 strong in the coming months. Even if a member company is affected by the GM shutdowns, locally or otherwise, Free doesn’t expect that to mean layoffs. Companies are already short on talent, so they wouldn’t lay off skilled workers. If they lose work in one department, he expects they’ll find a spot for those employees elsewhere.

Falling demand for small cars like the Chevrolet Cruz, which is made in Lordstown, is one of the reasons General Motors gave for shuttering five North American plants. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

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Youngstown. The Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center in Warren just recently opened a lab with battery testing capabilities. “And if GM is going to make this new move into this area, we can help them,” Dignan said. And if the plant doesn’t get another product, or if the employment needs on a new product are far lower than in the past, Dignan thinks there will still be enough job opportunities for workers in the region. They may not pay as much, or they might require some retraining, but they’re there. Today, there are almost 18,000 advertised job openings in the Mahoning Valley, including some at Vallourec, he said. Jessica Borza, executive director of the Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, said she knows not everyone would be able to easily transition from GM to another plant, but many could with some retraining. In recent years, the coalition has been actively working with local training providers to create short-term programs to meet just that kind of need. Borza said she hopes people take advantage of those resources. In the past, many people working in manufacturing have gotten used to cyclical layoffs. And Borza said she hopes GM Lordstown does get another product. But today’s labor market means people — in manufacturing or otherwise — should get used to the idea of “lifelong learning” to remain competitive, she said. “We know there’s still a lot of opportunities, which is what we’ve been talking about for so long. We do have a strong and growing manufacturing industry that’s non-auto-related, or not dependent or over-reliant on one customer segment, the auto and specifically the GM plant,” Borza said. “And so, we feel like that presents a lot of opportunities for these workers to be able to transition and support those other manufacturers and the growth that they’re planning.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

At the Lordstown plant, production is projected to end March 1, 2019. The plant employs about 1,600 people, most of whom are hourly workers. The Lordstown plant went up during a time of automotive expansion in the 1960s, said John J. Grabowski, who holds a joint position as the Krieger-Mueller associate professor of applied history at Case Western Reserve University and senior vice president for research and publications at the Western Reserve Historical Society. Cleveland and the surrounding area had a strong history in automotive, but the addition of Lordstown changed the “ecology” of that particular community and increased its population, he said. “The human consequence of this, it’s not only job loss and income loss, it’s loss of pride,” Grabowski said. For Donna DeBlasio, professor of history at Youngstown State University, the announcement evoked Black Monday, the day the steel mill closures began in Youngstown in 1977, though there are some significant differences. It clearly will be on a smaller scale, and workers have some warning before their jobs will be lost. But she thinks it’s a good analogy because the workers will be losing good-paying jobs, and, even if they come back in some form, she suspects they’ll look a lot different than they do today. She used the steel industry as an example. Youngstown is still making steel through Vallourec, but the company’s modern plant is “light years” away from the plants of old, DeBlasio said. They’re safer and cleaner, yes, but also more automated. They don’t need as many workers. And those workers tend to need more education and training. “When Black Monday happened, I

To place your listing in Crain’s Cleveland Classifieds Contact Kate Rozek at 216-771-5276 / email CLBClassified@crain.com Copy Deadline: Wednesdays @ 2:00pm -- All Ads Pre-Paid: Check or Credit Card

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CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Advertising Section

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE To place your listing, visit www.crainscleveland.com/people-on-the-move or for more information, please call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470 / email dstein@crain.com.

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ADVERTISING & MARKETING

ARCHITECTURE

LAW

thunder::tech

Kaczmar architects incorporated

Frantz Ward

Kaczmar architects incorporated is pleased to announce that Kiera M. Szytec has been has been named an Associate in the firm. Kiera earned her Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University in 2005 and has been employed by KAI for a total of 11 years. As a passionate designer, Kiera thoughtfully studies the use of new products and design trends for introduction into each project, and her superior technical skills have been instrumental in ensuring high-quality drawing production office wide.

Kaczmar architects incorporated is pleased to announce that David A. Kaplan has been named an Associate in the firm. Dave has been employed by KAI since graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University in 2004. David is an excellent communicator and very efficient project manager. His outstanding performance has resulted in consistent repeat projects with large-scale organizations including SherwinWilliams, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Cleveland VA Medical Center.

Kaczmar architects incorporated is pleased to announce that Richard L. Yanusaitis has been named an Associate in the firm. Rich earned his Bachelor of Architecture from KSU in 1994 and has been employed by KAI for 23 years. Rich’s experience has spanned numerous project types in that time. His in-depth design and construction knowledge is a tremendous resource for our Project Team members, and his tireless commitment to both client and KAI objectives make him an invaluable asset to our firm.

thunder::tech is proud to announce Bruce Williams has been promoted to Vice President of the Development Department. After 16 years with the agency, Bruce will be focusing on thunder::tech’s digital transformation services; e-commerce solutions provided by multi-disciplined teams; and development of internal resources, talent and skillsets with external partners and technologies. Bruce will continue to provide strategy and alignment of solutions with clients’ unique industries and opportunities.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Glenmede

ERIEBANK ERIEBANK, now expanding into the metro Cleveland market, has appointed local banking executive, Wes Gillespie, as Regional President to lead the initiative. Gillespie will spearhead a unique approach to business banking where he will work with area business owners and executives seeking timely, and in many cases, same day decisions for their capital and operating fund needs. Services include commercial lending, treasury management and other business financial tools. Learn more at ERIEBANK.bank.

Kirk Schmitt has joined Glenmede’s Ohio office as a Relationship Manager and Portfolio Manager. In partnership with advisory, tax and wealth planning colleagues, he provides investment advice, asset allocation and ongoing portfolio management for Glenmede clients. Mr. Schmitt earned his MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University and has over 20 years of industry experience. He is a CFA® Charterholder and earned a Fundamentals of Alternative Investments Certificate from the CAIA Association.

We are proud to welcome Jonathan Scandling to our Labor & Employment Practice Group. Jon focuses his practice on the representation of management in all aspects of labor and employment law. Most recently Jon was the Assistant Law Director for Cuyahoga County in its Labor & Employment Group. Jon is a member of the Cleveland Employment Inn of Court. He earned his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and his B.S., magna cum laude, from Florida State University.

HOSPITALITY & TOURISM

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Shaker Investments is proud to announce the addition of Brad Wheeler to the firm as Managing Director of Business Development. Brad will be responsible for building new relationships targeting institutional investors, family offices, consultants and high net worth individuals. With his strong background in financial services and his more than 20 years of experience driving disciplined, value-based strategies, Brad is a welcome addition to the Shaker Investments team.

VIKTOR has hired Mark Mazzone as Senior Director of Business Development. He will be responsible for developing new business opportunities and creating customized meetings, incentive and rewards programs for VIKTOR’s new and existing clients. Mark has worked closely with companies in the Financial Services, Manufacturing, Consumer Packaged Goods and Healthcare industries developing incentives, rewards and recognition, corporate meetings and group travel incentive programs. www.viktorwithak. com

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Newry Corp Newry Corp is proud to announce Ryan Musarra has joined the firm as New Business Development Manager. For the last 20 years, Ryan has advised senior leaders from Fortune 1000 companies on challenges related to accelerating technology development, identifying opportunities for growth, and developing new capabilities. At Newry, Ryan will continue to build relationships with leading innovators and define solutions that translate to business results.

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Donley’s is pleased to announce the promotion of George Esner to Concrete Operations Manager for Northeast Ohio. George started with Donley’s as a Co-Op in 2002 and then was hired as a Project Engineer. His recent projects as Lead Project Manager include the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Building, the Health Education Campus, and the Summa West Bed Tower. George has also led the way in developing younger talent and took the lead in developing our current dashboards and standard documents.

Donley’s Donley’s is pleased to announce the promotion of Steve Hamilton to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Relocating back to the Cleveland office, Steve will lead the organization’s strategy development and serve as a key bridge between finance, risk and project operations. His career with Donley’s began in 2008 as a Project Engineer. Since 2016, Steve has been part of the Raleigh leadership team serving as Operations Director for Donley’s growing Southeast concrete services business unit.

For more information or questions regarding advertising in this section, please call Debora Stein at (917) 226-5470 or email: dstein@crain.com

11/28/18 11:02 AM

CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

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PA G E 4 3

SOURCE LUNCH

Robert Redmond Managing director, Mohr Partners Bob Redmond is a vivid, detailed storyteller and a longtime interpreter of business trends shaping the inner workings of Northeast Ohio commercial real estate. At 79, he says he feels 60 and plans to keep working at an age when many are retired. He runs a Cleveland office for Mohr Partners Inc., a Dallas-based global real estate advisory firm. As its principal broker in Ohio, he oversees the out-of-state firm’s tenant-buyer rep transactions statewide for office, industrial and retail companies, plus deals for doctors, dentists and retailers. He ran the office unit at Ostendorf-Morris Co. (now Hanna Commercial) in the late 1980s, when the office was the king of real estate development in town. He then spent a dozen years at CBRE Group. He’s helped sell three $40 million properties in the city over the years. ¶ Still rail-thin thanks to playing tennis twice weekly, he shows up for lunch with an open-collar shirt, blue jeans and an authentic leather navy flight jacket. The coat was a gift from a client, cardiologist Jorge Albert Garcia, whom he helped build a medical office building in Westlake. It’s a big change from the suit, white shirt and tie of the old O-M days. — Stan Bullard

The Redmond file First car “A 1931 Model A. I bought it with $50 and a promise not to turn it into a hot rod,” he said.

Best gig “At Villanova University, I played guitar in a quartet called The Four Fifths. We played folk music. I also play the banjo.”

Fun night out “My wife, Karin, and I like going to hear local groups play music around town. We also go to the Broadway Series at Playhouse Square.”

Lunch spot 3 Palms Pizzeria 200 Park Ave., Orange Village

The meal One had a meatball bowl and Caesar salad. The other had the Italian sandwich with vegetables. One drank a Diet Coke and coffee. The other had water.

The vibe Contemporary pizzeria with an Italian bakery, busy during a weekday lunch.

The bill $49.02 with tip

Downtown Cleveland has had incredible success attracting new companies the last few years. Do you see that continuing? Yes. All of the residential development downtown is attracting new people to the city, both young people from out of town and here, as well as empty-nesters. There is so much to do downtown now that it is very attractive. As people live there, they will form relationships downtown that will create synergies for years to come. That will attract even more companies downtown. Why has Cleveland taken it so hard on the chin economically? Is it just the decline of manufacturing? It’s also due to mergers and acquisitions and resulting relocation to other MSAs. The number of M&A deals has increased dramatically over the years. That has cost us companies. Then we lost population due to the decline of manufacturing and larger companies had to go to still larger metropolitan areas to recruit the volume and type of talent they needed. That started long before technology companies began transforming Seattle, San Francisco and Silicon Valley. We’re seeing changes in the real estate business here with companies such as Forest City Realty Trust being acquired and properties going to out-of-town buyers. Commercial real estate today is driven by institutional investors, and we’re seeing the results. You’ve seen firsthand the decline of individual offices in businesses and the rise of the open office. Will open offices take over every business except for law? I believe in “regression toward the

mean,” as they say in statistics. This process could be cyclical. For so many years, the private office was the typical office design, with secretaries just outside the office. Following the recession of the early ’80s, there seemed to be a slow trend toward cost savings and a change in design toward open landscaping. There have been many variations tested during the past few decades due to some complications, such as confidentiality and sound travel. One of the major factors contributing to this is the disappearance, or at least the reduction in percentage, of “secretaries” and the redistribution of workload assignments to people with different skills. There definitely has been a reduction in the average space occupied by employees. In the 1980s, it was about 250 square feet per employee. Now, it’s under 200. With digital technologies making companies re-examining how they market and sell products and services, it seems there is less emphasis not only on sales forces but on the value of being active in trade associations and networking. You’ve devoted a lot of time to local real estate groups. What are your views on that change? Whether networking will continue to be a viable way of promoting oneself and increasing business is difficult to forecast. Trade association membership enables the individual to demonstrate commitment to one’s field. It also offers an opportunity to receive awards for certain levels of achievement in their practice. I call it “credentialing,” because it enables the professional to promote the fact that he or she is “the best” in their

field. In the case of holding leadership positions, it demonstrates that colleagues think the individual is a “leader” in that field. How has commercial real estate brokerage changed in Northeast Ohio since the 1980s? Area brokerages can’t hire fast enough now. The economy became stagnant here in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the 1990s, many brokerages quit hiring and several firms consolidated. It’s only been since about 2010 that commercial real estate companies can afford to hire and train the number of people they need to handle transactions they are getting. The industry has changed dramatically. In the mid-1980s, it seemed that every commercial broker was a product of corporations such as IBM, Xerox or the military. Was that because of the quality of corporate sales training? Yes. In the 1980s, that list also included military service. It was a case of where to find people with advanced training, discipline and maturity to make it in the business. At O-M, I once hired a fellow with a high school diploma. He was a great salesman. If you were looking for your first career job after college today, would you go directly into real estate, the corporate ladder at a big company or what? I’d pursue investment banking and mergers-and-acquisitions work. I could have gone to Wall Street instead of leaving New York for Cleveland. The earnings potential in investment banking is enormous.

CLEVELAND BUSINESS 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310 Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 Phone: (216) 522-1383 www.crainscleveland.com Twitter: @CrainsCleveland Publisher/editor Elizabeth McIntyre Group publisher Mary Kramer Managing editor Scott Suttell Sections editor Michael von Glahn Creative director David Kordalski Web editor Damon Sims Associate editor/Akron Sue Walton Assistant editor Kevin Kleps Senior reporter Stan Bullard, Real estate/construction Reporters Jay Miller, Government Dan Shingler, Energy/steel/auto/Akron Rachel McCafferty, Manufacturing/ energy/education Jeremy Nobile, Finance Lydia Coutré, Health care/nonprofits Senior data editor Chuck Soder Cartoonist Rich Williams Events manager Ashley Ramsey Marketing coordinator Megan Lemke Integrated marketing manager Michelle Sustar Managing editor custom/special projects Amy Ann Stoessel Director of advertising sales Lisa Rudy Advertising sales manager Steve Copley Senior account executive Dawn Donegan Account executives Laura Kulber Mintz, Loren Breen Office coordinator Denise Donaldson Pre-press and digital production Craig L. Mackey Media services manager Nicole Spell Billing Peter Iseppi Credit Rod Warmsby Crain’s Cleveland Business is published by Crain Communications Inc.

Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain President KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain Secretary Lexie Crain Armstrong CFO Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr., Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr., Chairman (1911-1996) Reprints: Laura Picariello, 732-723-0569 or lpicariello@crain.com Customer service and subscriptions: 877-824-9373 Volume 39, Number 49 Crain’s Cleveland Business (ISSN 0197-2375) is published weekly, except for the last week of December, at 700 West St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, Cleveland, OH 44113-1230. Copyright © 2018 by Crain Communications Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Cleveland, OH, and at additional mailing offices. Price per copy: $2.00. Postmaster: Send address changes to Crain’s Cleveland Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2912. 1-877-824-9373. Subscriptions: In Ohio: 1 year - $64, 2 year - $110. Outside Ohio: 1 year - $110, 2 year - $195. Single copy, $2.00. Allow 4 weeks for change of address. For subscription information and delivery concerns send correspondence to Audience Development Department, Crain’s Cleveland Business, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI, 48207-9911, or email to customerservice@crainscleveland.com, or call 877824-9373 (in the U.S. and Canada) or (313) 446-0450 (all other locations), or fax 313-446-6777.

THE WEEK What’s in a name?

Apartment plan

City commitment

Millennia Cos. has christened the mammoth office building at 925 Euclid Ave., known by its former names the Huntington Bank Building and Union Trust, as The Centennial. Millennia’s disclosure came via a CBRE Group Inc. news release stating that Millennia’s Millennia Commercial Group appointed a team from CBRE to market its downtown Cleveland historic properties, including The Centennial. CBRE said Millennia will announce more details soon on the proposed $270 million remake of The Centennial, including retail uses inside the massive bank hall, in addition to an event center. The Centennial includes 1.3 million square feet of office and retail space.

An apartment complex with a total of 275 apartments in two buildings, one of eight floors and another of five, is proposed for a Lakewood site near the corner of Detroit Avenue and Bunts Road by Columbus-based Jerome Solove Development Inc. Jerome Solove, president and owner of JSDI, said he has developed apartments primarily in the Columbus area for 40 years and began exploring the idea for a Lakewood project after discovering the community when his son, a Case Western Reserve University graduate, bought his first home there. JSDI has obtained contracts to buy properties such as the Educators Music building, at 13701 Detroit Ave., and the former Spitzer car dealership, 13815 Detroit, to create a 2.2-acre site.

Huntington Bank agreed to keep a significant presence in Akron in exchange for more public improvements around its regional office at Cascade Plaza, according to legislation passed by Akron City Council. Huntington’s end of the deal requires maintaining at least 1,200 jobs and a payroll of at least $63 million through Dec. 31, 2022. The facility at Cascade Plaza became Huntington’s in 2016, following the bank’s $3.4 billion acquisition of FirstMerit Bank, which was headquartered there. The city of Akron will spend up to $1 million to upgrade the parking garage’s lighting and restore the back steps of the plaza that overlook Quaker Street.

P043_CL_20181203.indd 43

An architectural massing study reflects the scope of the Lakewood project proposed by Columbus-based Jerome Solove Development Inc. If the $40 million project proceeds, it would stretch from Wyandotte and Parkwood avenues on Detroit Avenue almost to Bunts Road. (Contributed rendering)

11/30/18 1:38 PM

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