Campus District
For a number of years at the tail end of the 20th century, Greater Cleveland's public and private leaders attempted to pull the city up through ambitious marketing campaigns. For awhile it seemed to work. The national media began referring to Cleveland as the "Comeback City" in conjunction with the grand openings of ambitious projects like Tower City Center, Jacobs Field and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
But toward the end of the '90s a strange thing happened: The city, for all intents and purposes, stopped marketing itself.
Why?
"We began to believe our own press," says Rick Batyko, president of the Regional Marketing Alliance of Northeast Ohio, which conducts the Cleveland Plus campaign. And civic officials "moved on to other tasks and defunded marketing."
In essence, Northeast Ohio stopped telling its tale with the tale barely begun -- a rather large mistake in retrospect. "The underlying economy wasn't doing that well," Batyko says. "That's something you couldn't see in the skyline shots."
During the mid-2000s, the region's narrative thread was picked up by Cleveland Plus campaign. Established in 2005 -- with founding members that included Greater Cleveland Partnership, Positively Cleveland and Team NEO -- the organization champions Northeast Ohio as a culturally rich, yet affordable place to live.
Read the rest of the story here.
But toward the end of the '90s a strange thing happened: The city, for all intents and purposes, stopped marketing itself.
Why?
"We began to believe our own press," says Rick Batyko, president of the Regional Marketing Alliance of Northeast Ohio, which conducts the Cleveland Plus campaign. And civic officials "moved on to other tasks and defunded marketing."
In essence, Northeast Ohio stopped telling its tale with the tale barely begun -- a rather large mistake in retrospect. "The underlying economy wasn't doing that well," Batyko says. "That's something you couldn't see in the skyline shots."
During the mid-2000s, the region's narrative thread was picked up by Cleveland Plus campaign. Established in 2005 -- with founding members that included Greater Cleveland Partnership, Positively Cleveland and Team NEO -- the organization champions Northeast Ohio as a culturally rich, yet affordable place to live.
Read the rest of the story here.
wsj calls cleveland an 'overlooked entrepreneurial hub'
In a Wall Street Journal post titled “For U.S. Startups, ‘Times They-are-a-Changing,’” Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship and trends that are changing nationwide, including Cleveland.
“I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional 'rise of the rest' as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.”
“America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world.”
Check out the full piece here.
“I’m convinced that we’re beginning to see a regional 'rise of the rest' as cities like Washington D.C., Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Raleigh, Cleveland, Detroit and many others experience unprecedented growth in startups. Silicon Valley will continue to be our nation’s most vibrant entrepreneurial hub, but a growing number of companies will start up in these often overlooked places.”
“America was built by risk-taking entrepreneurs who throughout history have turned dreams into new businesses, disrupted industries, created new ones and inspired the world.”
Check out the full piece here.
Back in 2011, Fresh Water ran a feature about Ohio's newly instituted Film Production Tax Credit, which helped attract big-budget productions like "The Avengers" and "Alex Cross," plus smaller films like "Take Shelter" and "Fun Size." We decided to revisit the topic to see how it's working out for Cleveland, and Ohio.
What began as a game and website development company in 1996 has blossomed into a thriving developer of software products.
After creating internal software that allowed UrbanCode to track the progress of its own software development projects, the company began developing similar products for its customers. UrbanCode products help their customers get their software to production faster -- decreasing time to market and ultimately getting their technology to the end users quickly and easily.
“One trait that unites all our customers is that they realize the strategic importance of their technology,” says Maciej Zawadzki, UrbanCode cofounder and CEO. “They need to get their technology into the hands of end users as quickly as possible. Our products facilitate the adoption of Agile methodologies in development and DevOps practices in operations."
Last year, UrbanCode was a finalist for Tech Company of the Year in NEOSA’s Best of Tech Awards, and its AnthillPro product won Best Software Product, Impact in 2008.
By recognizing their clients’ needs, UrbanCode has been growing by leaps and bounds. “Recently, we have been focused on DevOps releasing three new products: uDeploy, uBuild and uRelease,” says Tracy Gavlak, UrbanCode’s office manager. “We have been able to increase our growth rate to 70 percent over the last two years, with no signs of slowing down.”
UrbanCode has grown from 25 employees to 55 in the past year. Gavlak cites finding the right talent as one of the company’s biggest challenges. The company is currently recruiting sales engineers, field sales executives and software developers.
“We have the energy and informal atmosphere of a start-up, with the customers and financial security of a much larger firm” says Gavlak.
Company officials expect to double in size again this year. Plans are underway to move to a larger space in the Halle Building later this year.
Source: Maciej Zawadzki and Tracy Gavlak
Writer: Karin Connelly
After creating internal software that allowed UrbanCode to track the progress of its own software development projects, the company began developing similar products for its customers. UrbanCode products help their customers get their software to production faster -- decreasing time to market and ultimately getting their technology to the end users quickly and easily.
“One trait that unites all our customers is that they realize the strategic importance of their technology,” says Maciej Zawadzki, UrbanCode cofounder and CEO. “They need to get their technology into the hands of end users as quickly as possible. Our products facilitate the adoption of Agile methodologies in development and DevOps practices in operations."
Last year, UrbanCode was a finalist for Tech Company of the Year in NEOSA’s Best of Tech Awards, and its AnthillPro product won Best Software Product, Impact in 2008.
By recognizing their clients’ needs, UrbanCode has been growing by leaps and bounds. “Recently, we have been focused on DevOps releasing three new products: uDeploy, uBuild and uRelease,” says Tracy Gavlak, UrbanCode’s office manager. “We have been able to increase our growth rate to 70 percent over the last two years, with no signs of slowing down.”
UrbanCode has grown from 25 employees to 55 in the past year. Gavlak cites finding the right talent as one of the company’s biggest challenges. The company is currently recruiting sales engineers, field sales executives and software developers.
“We have the energy and informal atmosphere of a start-up, with the customers and financial security of a much larger firm” says Gavlak.
Company officials expect to double in size again this year. Plans are underway to move to a larger space in the Halle Building later this year.
Source: Maciej Zawadzki and Tracy Gavlak
Writer: Karin Connelly
greater cleveland rta's ridership gains championed in rail mag
In a Progressive Railroading feature titled “Greater Cleveland RTA posts ridership gain in 2012,” the transportation mag covers the positive news.
"Ridership on the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) rose 4.3 percent to 48.2 million in 2012, marking the second consecutive year of growth, agency officials said in a prepared statement."
"Every service mode registered an increase, but the biggest gain was posted on the Red Line rail corridor, where ridership climbed 9.1 percent. The Blue and Green rail lines posted a 4.1 percent ridership gain."
"Customers are making a choice to ride, especially on the rail," CEO Joseph Calabrese is quoted in the piece. "With our recent increase in frequency on the Red, Blue and Green lines, and 8,000 free parking spaces at rail stations, we have room for more Northeast Ohioans to make the green choice and ride RTA."
Average daily trolley ridership rose 5 percent to 3,840 trips.
Read the rest right here.
"Ridership on the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) rose 4.3 percent to 48.2 million in 2012, marking the second consecutive year of growth, agency officials said in a prepared statement."
"Every service mode registered an increase, but the biggest gain was posted on the Red Line rail corridor, where ridership climbed 9.1 percent. The Blue and Green rail lines posted a 4.1 percent ridership gain."
"Customers are making a choice to ride, especially on the rail," CEO Joseph Calabrese is quoted in the piece. "With our recent increase in frequency on the Red, Blue and Green lines, and 8,000 free parking spaces at rail stations, we have room for more Northeast Ohioans to make the green choice and ride RTA."
Average daily trolley ridership rose 5 percent to 3,840 trips.
Read the rest right here.
Five student entrepreneurial teams will compete in the semifinals at the Ohio Clean Energy Challenge in Columbus on January 29, presenting their business plans and technologies to a panel of judges for the chance to win $10,000 and an opportunity to go on to the Midwest regional competition in Chicago.
The event is hosted by the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio (UCEAO) and NorTech as part of the Department of Energy’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. This is the second year the competition has been held in Ohio.
“We’ve expanded quite a bit this year,” explains Ashley Sparks, senior project coordinator at NorTech. “Each team was paired up with an industry mentor who could really help the teams build on their ideas and get feedback.”
The businesses represent various ideas in clean energy solutions. “It’s paramount for this region to have students really interested in commercialization,” says Byron Clayton, NorTech vice president. “These are students who are involved in bringing jobs here and it addresses the brain drain issue in that these businesses they create keep them here.”
The top team in the Ohio competition will go on to compete for $100,000 in Chicago at the Midwest regional competition. In addition to the five Cleveland teams, there are seven other teams from around the state.
“This challenge helps raise awareness of these startup companies in the state and the region,” says Clayton. “This challenge brings new innovations to the area, provides funding, creates mentoring opportunities and access to venture capital.”
Source: Ashley Sparks, Byron Clayton
Writer: Karin Connelly
The event is hosted by the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio (UCEAO) and NorTech as part of the Department of Energy’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition. This is the second year the competition has been held in Ohio.
“We’ve expanded quite a bit this year,” explains Ashley Sparks, senior project coordinator at NorTech. “Each team was paired up with an industry mentor who could really help the teams build on their ideas and get feedback.”
The businesses represent various ideas in clean energy solutions. “It’s paramount for this region to have students really interested in commercialization,” says Byron Clayton, NorTech vice president. “These are students who are involved in bringing jobs here and it addresses the brain drain issue in that these businesses they create keep them here.”
The top team in the Ohio competition will go on to compete for $100,000 in Chicago at the Midwest regional competition. In addition to the five Cleveland teams, there are seven other teams from around the state.
“This challenge helps raise awareness of these startup companies in the state and the region,” says Clayton. “This challenge brings new innovations to the area, provides funding, creates mentoring opportunities and access to venture capital.”
Source: Ashley Sparks, Byron Clayton
Writer: Karin Connelly
The health of Lake Erie has come a long way in the past 40 years, and it is now considered by many to be a case study of a recovering ecosystem. Yet not very many people know that, in part as a result of cleaning up our water pollution as well as our close proximity to a Great Lake, Northeast Ohio companies have developed rich expertise in water technology.
To leverage this cluster, influence policy, and conduct research and education, a group of organizations have launched The Alliance for our Water Future, a new nonprofit organization that seeks to spur innovative solutions to freshwater issues locally and globally.
"Silicon Valley is an example of what one industry cluster can do for a region," says Byron Clayton, Vice President at NorTech. "Companies all worked together in that region to leverage their strengths. In Northeast Ohio, we have a great legacy in cleaning up industrial waste water. We identified areas where we have the best chance of competing, and that's been the focus of our water technology cluster."
The areas that NorTech identified are automation and controls (identifying the best, most efficient way to control water), absorbents (extracting contaminants from water) and corrosion resistance (preventing water systems from corroding).
NorTech's role is to identify, organize and accelerate clusters. The Alliance will help promote this success story and spur cross-sector collaboration. By working together, the groups involved in the Alliance hope to make a global impact.
"This is about the economic future of our region," says Fran DiDonato, Program Manager of the Alliance. "If we can show that we had success with cleaning water, then that gives us credibility when we export our solutions to other places."
Two Northeast Ohio companies, MAR Systems and ABSMaterials, were recently selected by the Artemis Project as 2012 Top 50 Water Companies. Rockwell Automation is also considered a major player in the water technology field.
The founding members of the Alliance are NorTech, Case Western Reserve University, Port of Cleveland, Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, Great Lakes Science Center, Kent State University, MAR Systems and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
Source: Byron Clayton, Fran DiDonato
Writer: Lee Chilcote
To leverage this cluster, influence policy, and conduct research and education, a group of organizations have launched The Alliance for our Water Future, a new nonprofit organization that seeks to spur innovative solutions to freshwater issues locally and globally.
"Silicon Valley is an example of what one industry cluster can do for a region," says Byron Clayton, Vice President at NorTech. "Companies all worked together in that region to leverage their strengths. In Northeast Ohio, we have a great legacy in cleaning up industrial waste water. We identified areas where we have the best chance of competing, and that's been the focus of our water technology cluster."
The areas that NorTech identified are automation and controls (identifying the best, most efficient way to control water), absorbents (extracting contaminants from water) and corrosion resistance (preventing water systems from corroding).
NorTech's role is to identify, organize and accelerate clusters. The Alliance will help promote this success story and spur cross-sector collaboration. By working together, the groups involved in the Alliance hope to make a global impact.
"This is about the economic future of our region," says Fran DiDonato, Program Manager of the Alliance. "If we can show that we had success with cleaning water, then that gives us credibility when we export our solutions to other places."
Two Northeast Ohio companies, MAR Systems and ABSMaterials, were recently selected by the Artemis Project as 2012 Top 50 Water Companies. Rockwell Automation is also considered a major player in the water technology field.
The founding members of the Alliance are NorTech, Case Western Reserve University, Port of Cleveland, Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland State University, Hiram College, Great Lakes Science Center, Kent State University, MAR Systems and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
Source: Byron Clayton, Fran DiDonato
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Each year in Cuyahoga County, 20 fortunate artists are awarded $20,000 Creative Workforce Fellowship grants to pursue their art, which often takes a back seat to more pressing needs. The fellowships also help to brand the region to outsiders as an artist-friendly place to live.
Cleveland State University has had a busy year expanding its international reach, and now it has the accolades to prove it.
CSU produced the second highest number of Fulbright scholars in the nation during the 2012-2013 academic year. The second-place ranking was shared among eight universities, with each producing five Fulbright scholars. Tying for runner-up this year with CSU were Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Rutgers, Texas A&M at College Station, University of Florida, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and University of Washington at Seattle.
CSU's Fulbright grant winners are staff members Jayne Mary Fuglister, Rama K. Jayanti, Brian Edward Ray, Janche Sang and Miena Sterio.
"This is an important distinction," says Joe Mosbrook, CSU's director of strategic communication. "CSU has an outstanding faculty that's been doing some remarkable things."
The Fulbright program allows participants to study, teach and conduct research abroad. CSU's grantees are studying the fields of law, business and computer science, respectively, and within the next year will be headed to far flung destinations including India and Azerbaijan.
The honor is nothing new for CSU. The university achieved the same ranking during the 2010-2011 academic year. With nearly 50 Fulbright grants awarded to CSU faculty in the past decade alone, the school consistently ranks among the nation’s top universities for Fulbright scholars, its supporters note.
"People don't think about Cleveland State as a research institution," Mosbrook says. "Look at the track record and you'll see the work being done. We look forward to continuing that trend."
SOURCE: Joe Mosbrook
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
CSU produced the second highest number of Fulbright scholars in the nation during the 2012-2013 academic year. The second-place ranking was shared among eight universities, with each producing five Fulbright scholars. Tying for runner-up this year with CSU were Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Rutgers, Texas A&M at College Station, University of Florida, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and University of Washington at Seattle.
CSU's Fulbright grant winners are staff members Jayne Mary Fuglister, Rama K. Jayanti, Brian Edward Ray, Janche Sang and Miena Sterio.
"This is an important distinction," says Joe Mosbrook, CSU's director of strategic communication. "CSU has an outstanding faculty that's been doing some remarkable things."
The Fulbright program allows participants to study, teach and conduct research abroad. CSU's grantees are studying the fields of law, business and computer science, respectively, and within the next year will be headed to far flung destinations including India and Azerbaijan.
The honor is nothing new for CSU. The university achieved the same ranking during the 2010-2011 academic year. With nearly 50 Fulbright grants awarded to CSU faculty in the past decade alone, the school consistently ranks among the nation’s top universities for Fulbright scholars, its supporters note.
"People don't think about Cleveland State as a research institution," Mosbrook says. "Look at the track record and you'll see the work being done. We look forward to continuing that trend."
SOURCE: Joe Mosbrook
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Recent transplants to Cleveland arriving from so-called "big-ticket" metropolitan markets say that they are experiencing appreciable cost savings in terms of housing, transportation, entertainment and food. And that translates to a better standard of life with little lost in terms of quantity and quality of offerings.
It's crunch time, folks! In less than three weeks, the 2012 holiday season will be a memory. We feel your pain. To help, we've stitched together a provocative assortment of gift ideas that should knock out your list in no time flat. This year, keep it fresh, keep it tasty, keep it local.
To succeed as a region, Cleveland needs hungry, highly skilled immigrants willing to risk it all for a chance to build their dreams. With an estimated 30,000 open positions in high-skill industries in the region, the time is now to market Cleveland as a place friendly to outsiders. Fortunately, Radhika Reddy and others are on top of it.
cle named top college town in annual ranking
To come up with its annual College Destinations Index, the American Institute for Economic Research evaluates each community’s overall academic and cultural environment, quality of life and employment opportunities in the area.
“At a time when approximately half of current college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, the pros and cons of a particular college destination should be an important factor in making a college selection,” says Julie Zhu, the AIER research analyst who oversaw compilation of the Index.
The index includes the top 75 US towns and cities for college students with student populations of 15,000 or more.
Cleveland is ranked #12 under Mid-Size Metros.
“The characteristics that make up a great college destination often make a location ideal for business, retirement and tourism," says Steven Cunningham, AIER Director of Research and Education. "A top AIER College Destinations Index ranking should be just as important to the town or city as it is to the schools located there and the families and students attending or considering them.”
Read all about the rankings here.
“At a time when approximately half of current college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, the pros and cons of a particular college destination should be an important factor in making a college selection,” says Julie Zhu, the AIER research analyst who oversaw compilation of the Index.
The index includes the top 75 US towns and cities for college students with student populations of 15,000 or more.
Cleveland is ranked #12 under Mid-Size Metros.
“The characteristics that make up a great college destination often make a location ideal for business, retirement and tourism," says Steven Cunningham, AIER Director of Research and Education. "A top AIER College Destinations Index ranking should be just as important to the town or city as it is to the schools located there and the families and students attending or considering them.”
Read all about the rankings here.
Amplified Wind Solutions, a Cleveland State University company behind a wind amplification system that can produce up to six times more electricity than a typical wind turbine, won second place and $600 in the student business competition at JumpStart’s Entrepreneur Expo November 13.
The AWS founders are targeting the telecommunications industry. “This system can be placed on top of cell phone towers in remote and urban locations, and be used to power the equipment on site,” explains CEO Niki Zmij. “In today's world, wireless communication is growing explosively and as a result more and more towers are going up in the U.S. and abroad. Each new tower has to be powered.”
Amplified Wind Solutions was founded in February 2012, based on technology invented by Majid Rashidi, chair of CSU’s engineering technology department. Zmij is working on her MBA. Other company members include Terry Thiele, director of sustainable product strategies at the Lubrizol Corporation. The team recently added Jon Stehura, financial manager at Laird Technologies and former CFO of ParkOhio.
AWS has two prototypes -- one at CSU and one at Progressive Field -- and a third prototype in the works that will be the version marketed to the telecommunications industry.
Zmij was so busy at the Entrepreneur Expo that she didn’t sit down all day. “It really helped AWS gain exposure within our community as well as make important connections that will support our business development,” she says, adding that she might have found some investment leads as well. “I did speak with a few individuals in the venture capital space who thought our idea was a compelling one and are interested in learning more about our plans.”
In addition to the $600, AWS has the opportunity to receive mentoring from JumpStart. “The mentoring alone has an incredible value for our business development,” says Zmij. Student teams from CWRU and Kent State were also winners in the competition.
Source: Niki Zmij
Writer: Karin Connelly
The AWS founders are targeting the telecommunications industry. “This system can be placed on top of cell phone towers in remote and urban locations, and be used to power the equipment on site,” explains CEO Niki Zmij. “In today's world, wireless communication is growing explosively and as a result more and more towers are going up in the U.S. and abroad. Each new tower has to be powered.”
Amplified Wind Solutions was founded in February 2012, based on technology invented by Majid Rashidi, chair of CSU’s engineering technology department. Zmij is working on her MBA. Other company members include Terry Thiele, director of sustainable product strategies at the Lubrizol Corporation. The team recently added Jon Stehura, financial manager at Laird Technologies and former CFO of ParkOhio.
AWS has two prototypes -- one at CSU and one at Progressive Field -- and a third prototype in the works that will be the version marketed to the telecommunications industry.
Zmij was so busy at the Entrepreneur Expo that she didn’t sit down all day. “It really helped AWS gain exposure within our community as well as make important connections that will support our business development,” she says, adding that she might have found some investment leads as well. “I did speak with a few individuals in the venture capital space who thought our idea was a compelling one and are interested in learning more about our plans.”
In addition to the $600, AWS has the opportunity to receive mentoring from JumpStart. “The mentoring alone has an incredible value for our business development,” says Zmij. Student teams from CWRU and Kent State were also winners in the competition.
Source: Niki Zmij
Writer: Karin Connelly
vision for local food system outlined in artsy animation
This animated video premiered at the 4th Annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit in September.
"It illustrates the vision for a local and sustainable food system in the Cleveland region, and how people can get involved," explains Jenita McGowan of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability "As part of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 year of local foods celebration, we wanted to create a video that is fun, simple and easy to understand. It is our goal that this video resonates specifically with residents of Northeast Ohio using recognizable icons, such as the West Side Market.”
This animated video premiered at the 4th Annual Sustainable Cleveland Summit in September.
"It illustrates the vision for a local and sustainable food system in the Cleveland region, and how people can get involved," explains Jenita McGowan of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability "As part of the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 year of local foods celebration, we wanted to create a video that is fun, simple and easy to understand. It is our goal that this video resonates specifically with residents of Northeast Ohio using recognizable icons, such as the West Side Market.”
Daniel Cuffaro has been working in design for 20 years. He knows how an inspiring, eclectic workspace can act as fuel for creative minds, promoting interaction among those who essentially use their imagination for a living.
Such was the idea behind Cuffaro's founding of Abeo Design, a Lakewood-based company that builds aesthetically distinctive office/studio workstations with a sustainable bent. Unlike your typical office furniture, the spindly "Hive" workstations are designed with both functionality and adaptability in mind, Cuffaro says.
Each station is comprised of a work surface and storage shelf embedded with LED lighting. The entire unit is on wheels, making a studio or office easy to reconfigure as projects or teams change, notes Cuffaro. This is not something you could readily do with a set of hard-to-move cubicles.
"Our product is a dynamic and customizable alternative,” he says.
The workstations also fulfill a practical need. They are made of wood and other building materials reclaimed from abandoned Cleveland houses deconstructed during the foreclosure crisis. Cuffaro, head of the industrial design program at The Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), first got the idea for Abeo in 2009 when he was developing the layout for the school's design studio. At the time, there was a growing market for raw materials harvested from foreclosed homes, so why not build CIA's studio furniture with those resources?
"I had a desire to turn a bad situation into something salvageable," Cuffaro says.
His first customer also happens to be his current employer. CIA recently purchased a handful of the $6,000-and-up workstations from Abeo, which works with Northeast Ohio companies A Piece of Cleveland and Benchmark Craftsmen to make the product a reality.
A portion of Abeo's profits will support CIA programs. Meanwhile, Cuffaro will continue to live by the company's name. In Latin, Abeo ( pronounced "a-bay-o") means "change" or "transformation." Turning trash into something of value is good for both the company and a sustainable Cleveland, he says.
SOURCE: Daniel Cuffaro
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Such was the idea behind Cuffaro's founding of Abeo Design, a Lakewood-based company that builds aesthetically distinctive office/studio workstations with a sustainable bent. Unlike your typical office furniture, the spindly "Hive" workstations are designed with both functionality and adaptability in mind, Cuffaro says.
Each station is comprised of a work surface and storage shelf embedded with LED lighting. The entire unit is on wheels, making a studio or office easy to reconfigure as projects or teams change, notes Cuffaro. This is not something you could readily do with a set of hard-to-move cubicles.
"Our product is a dynamic and customizable alternative,” he says.
The workstations also fulfill a practical need. They are made of wood and other building materials reclaimed from abandoned Cleveland houses deconstructed during the foreclosure crisis. Cuffaro, head of the industrial design program at The Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), first got the idea for Abeo in 2009 when he was developing the layout for the school's design studio. At the time, there was a growing market for raw materials harvested from foreclosed homes, so why not build CIA's studio furniture with those resources?
"I had a desire to turn a bad situation into something salvageable," Cuffaro says.
His first customer also happens to be his current employer. CIA recently purchased a handful of the $6,000-and-up workstations from Abeo, which works with Northeast Ohio companies A Piece of Cleveland and Benchmark Craftsmen to make the product a reality.
A portion of Abeo's profits will support CIA programs. Meanwhile, Cuffaro will continue to live by the company's name. In Latin, Abeo ( pronounced "a-bay-o") means "change" or "transformation." Turning trash into something of value is good for both the company and a sustainable Cleveland, he says.
SOURCE: Daniel Cuffaro
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Local firms like TWIST Creative, Go Media and Studio Graphique are just a few of the design-minded companies that are fueling Cleveland's creative renaissance. With the region's future success dependent on the procurement of young talent, the design community's exciting body of work is earning the city regional and national buzz.
That's no crass come-on, but rather an effort to advocate for a Cleveland-based bike-sharing network that has become popular in a number of U.S. cities. For a small fee, bike sharing allows patrons to rent a bike at self-service sites scattered about a city, then return the bike to another site.
Cleveland's Office of Sustainability recently issued a request to conduct a feasibility and implementation study on the service. Minneapolis, Chicago and Chattanooga, Tenn., are among the cities that have recently launched a bike-sharing network.
The local push is being fronted by Bike Cleveland, a group that advocates for the rights of the local cycling community. Earlier this year, the organization teamed with University Circle Inc. and other groups to form a Bike Share Task Force.
By providing greater access to bikes, bike-share programs can help increase the number of people biking, decrease the amount of pollutants in the air and improve community health, says Jacob VanSickle, executive director of Bike Cleveland.
"The city has stepped up," he says of the effort. "We have to determine the model that would work in Cleveland."
VanSickle would like to see bike-sharing docks placed at locations with high-density populations and job rates, including rapid stations, Public Square, college campuses and the Cleveland Clinic. The bikes would typically be used for short trips -- an office worker taking a bus to Public Square, for example, could use the automated bike station instead of taking another bus to his ultimate destination.
Trips of less than 30 minutes would be free of charge. Those using the service more frequently could pay $50 to $70 become annually. They would be charged a fee for treks longer than a half hour.
Promoting bike sharing is part of creating a culture that makes a city more attractive, says VanSickle. Along with the bike-sharing program, Bike Cleveland has been advocating for bike lanes and other cycling-friendly amenities. The group plans to keep the wheels turning until more progress is made.
"Cities with the bike-sharing program are seen as more livable and friendly," says VanSickle. "That's something we can gain from in Cleveland."
SOURCE: Jacob VanSickle
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth
Cleveland's Office of Sustainability recently issued a request to conduct a feasibility and implementation study on the service. Minneapolis, Chicago and Chattanooga, Tenn., are among the cities that have recently launched a bike-sharing network.
The local push is being fronted by Bike Cleveland, a group that advocates for the rights of the local cycling community. Earlier this year, the organization teamed with University Circle Inc. and other groups to form a Bike Share Task Force.
By providing greater access to bikes, bike-share programs can help increase the number of people biking, decrease the amount of pollutants in the air and improve community health, says Jacob VanSickle, executive director of Bike Cleveland.
"The city has stepped up," he says of the effort. "We have to determine the model that would work in Cleveland."
VanSickle would like to see bike-sharing docks placed at locations with high-density populations and job rates, including rapid stations, Public Square, college campuses and the Cleveland Clinic. The bikes would typically be used for short trips -- an office worker taking a bus to Public Square, for example, could use the automated bike station instead of taking another bus to his ultimate destination.
Trips of less than 30 minutes would be free of charge. Those using the service more frequently could pay $50 to $70 become annually. They would be charged a fee for treks longer than a half hour.
Promoting bike sharing is part of creating a culture that makes a city more attractive, says VanSickle. Along with the bike-sharing program, Bike Cleveland has been advocating for bike lanes and other cycling-friendly amenities. The group plans to keep the wheels turning until more progress is made.
"Cities with the bike-sharing program are seen as more livable and friendly," says VanSickle. "That's something we can gain from in Cleveland."
SOURCE: Jacob VanSickle
WRITER: Douglas J. Guth