YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Youngstown will be the site of the state’s fourth innovation hub, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday during a visit to the area.
The new hub will be located in the old Vindicator building on West Front Street in downtown Youngstown and focus on additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing. The building will undergo extensive renovations with a $1.2 million investment from the state.
The state is also investing $26 million in the new hub, while an additional $36 million will come from local, federal and private investment.
“The hub will specialize in additive manufacturing which is really revolutionizing the way military equipment and comments are produced,” DeWine said.
The Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense will be led by America Makes, founded in Youngstown in 2012 as the U.S. Department of Defense’s national manufacturing innovation institute for additive manufacturing. Additional partners include the Youngstown Business Incubator, Youngstown State University, the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and the City of Youngstown.
Barb Ewing and her team at the Youngstown Business Incubator were instrumental in getting the hub for Youngstown. The Department of Defense, Ewing says, is going to be spending money like it did during World War II.
“Since the moment I woke up, I’ve had a smile on my face,” Ewing said. “We can support both early-stage companies and existing manufacturers. The community will look very different a decade from now.”
YBI’s Heidi Ruby showed WKBN inside the Vindicator building. The presses are gone — the space soon to be occupied by Ursa Major and possibly Humtown Products. Another area will be taken up by a large printer for JuggerBot 3D thanks to a $4 million Air Force grant.
The move is expected to create about 450 new jobs by 2029, as well as create learning opportunities for local students.
DeWine’s administration created the $125 million Ohio Innovation Hubs Program in collaboration with the Ohio General Assembly to spur investment outside of Ohio’s major metro areas. Innovation Hubs combine the talents of leading academic and research institutions, workforce and economic development partners, and private companies.
Last year, DeWine announced the launch of Ohio’s first three Innovation Hubs: the Northwest Ohio Glass Innovation Hub, Dayton’s onMain Innovation Hub, and the Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub.
DeWine was joined on Thursday by Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik. Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown, Sen. Al Cutrona and the director of America Makes, as well as the vice president and COO of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining, were also in attendance.
Tressel, who admittedly had nothing to do with Innovation Hub, understood its significance to Youngstown.
“Now the key is going to be recruiting students, researchers, faculty, companies so that we can show that magical things are going to happen because we were supported so well,” Tressel said.
The next step is design work and then getting the contracts for the renovation. For example, there’s plenty of electricity going into the Vindicator building but it’s not in the right places. So $3 million of electrical work will be needed.