20100809-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
8/6/2010
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$1.50/AUGUST 9 - 15, 2010
Vol. 31, No. 31
Manufacturers bite nails over long-term prospects
Market ills don’t deter fundraising at colleges
By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
Efforts pay off at area institutions
With lead times already long for new orders, prices for all types of steel are increasing as the cost of raw materials go up and production capacity is held back. That’s a concern for local manufacturers, who use steel in all its forms — from steel rod to make screws and bolts and sheet steel to stamp parts to high-grade alloys to machine parts for everything from medical devices to aircraft. ArcelorMittal reported on July 29 that it will seek a 10% increase in what it charges for steel worldwide. West Chester-based AK Steel, which produces stainless, carbon and electrical flat-rolled steel, announced price increases for all three of its product lines at the beginning of August. Down in Canton, Timken also has raised prices for the specialty alloy steels it makes in its electric arc furnaces there. So far, local manufacturers say the price increases they’ve seen have been small and manageable — 3% to 5% in most cases. But in a hyper cost-conscious environment, they worry about price increases down the road. They also say that the price increases are being driven by rising raw material costs for steel and a lack of steel production online — and the steelmakers themselves generally agree with that assessment. “There is no way that this is demand driven. Our shipping levels are still fairly steady, and I don’t see much increase in car sales volume,” said Bill Adler, president of Cleveland-based auto supplier Stripmatic Products. “I think this has more to do with the cost of raw materials and the impact China’s demand now has on them.” That’s pretty much on the mark, said Cengiz Kurkcu, president of Industrial Engineered Solutions at Timken Steel in Canton. For example, Timken uses scrap metal as its feedstock and the price
By SHANNON MORTLAND smortland@crain.com
Steel prices rise as raw materials costs go up
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See STEEL Page 17
MARC GOLUB PHOTOS
Ron Clutter, an Ashtabula native and serial entrepreneur, is the mastermind behind GaREAT, the Geneva area Recreational, Educational, Athletic Trust.
FEELING GOOD ABOUT GaREAT Interest mounts in massive Geneva sports complex By JOEL HAMMOND jmhammond@crain.com
R
on Clutter has been asked the question so much he now beats people to it. “People ask me, ‘Why Geneva?’” Mr. Clutter said last week at the Geneva area Recreational, Educational, Athletic Trust, or GaREAT for short. “Well, why not Geneva?” Mr. Clutter, an Ashtabula native and serial entrepreneur, is the mastermind and driving financial
force behind GaREAT, a sprawling, 40-acre athletic complex just north of Interstate 90 in Ashtabula County. The site currently features a 215,000-square-foot building split up into soccer and volleyball/basketball fields, and a 250,000-square-foot building with a 300-meter indoor track, full-length football field, stateof-the-art batting cages (including video screens capable of simulating any situation) and a 30,000-squarefoot banquet facility. In the middle — with a press box See GaREAT Page 9
Many Northeast Ohio colleges saw their coffers swell in the last school year as benefactors opened their wallets wider despite the lingering effects of the recession. Schools such as Case Western Reserve, Kent State and John Carroll universities increased fundraising by millions in the fiscal year that ended June 30. “The fundraising numbers for us were up for the second year in a row,” said John Carroll’s president, the Rev. Robert Niehoff. “It’s been both in dollars and participation rates. Every fundraising category is up.” “Each of the John Carroll raised $16.7 colleges have million in the fiscal year that development ended June 30, a 36% hike from the approximately $12 officers who million it raised in the fiscal are constantly year ending June 30, 2009. calling (potential Much of that increase was donors).” due to an anonymous $4.45 million gift. – Steven Minter, interim CWRU also logged a banner vice president for year, raising $115.5 million advancement, Clevein the fiscal year that ended land State University June 30, which was its secondlargest fundraising year in history and the third consecutive year the school raised more than $100 million. CWRU raised nearly $109 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009. Though figures aren’t yet official for the fiscal year that ended June 30, some colleges across the country don’t expect to have done as well as some of their peers in Greater Cleveland. According to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s Fundraising Index released last month, colleges expect to have raised 4.3% more than in the See COLLEGES Page 17
INSIDE Not all businesses taking charge of energy costs
LEFT: The complex’s 5,500-seat football stadium will play host to Geneva High School football games starting later this month. RIGHT: Courts play host to volleyball and basketball games and also are equipped to handle tennis. The USA men’s junior volleyball team currently is training at the facility.
Few manufacturers and other firms are aware of a new rider that will show up on their electricity bills. But many can avoid the higher rates on their total bills by making changes now in their energy usage. Read Dan Shingler’s story on Page 3.
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SMALL BUSINESS Companies are taking online coupon sites for a spin as new marketing tools ■ Page 11 PLUS: TAX TIPS ■ HOME TEAM MARKETING ■ & MORE
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