Crain's Cleveland Business, August 7, 2023

American revival

Scale and technology give American Nitrile, a UA partner, an edge over Asia

Opportunity in neglected demographic

Financial advisers see unprecedented chance to serve women with wealth

yB Jeremy Nobile

When working with older clientele, nancial advisers like Kenneth Chodzin of Lakewood have often found themselves talking solely to the man of the house.

But that’s beginning to change. ere are a variety of factors that may contribute to the focus on men in this industry and the oversight of women. Among them are upbringings in the baby boomer generation, views on gender roles and a misnomer that women, in general, are dis-

interested in the management of the family nances.

Another factor may be the longstanding homogeneity of the wealth management industry, which has been dominated by men serving men — while the profession is increasingly aware of its diversity problems, it’s struggling to address them.

Whatever the reasons, in older generations in particular, men have largely helmed family nances and been the predominant focus of the nancial planning sector.

See WOMEN on Page 18

Extra parking out, solar array in at Euclid of ce

yB Dan Shingler

Down near Columbus, a huge new manufacturing plant is being built that promises to claw back some of America’s competitiveness in a key high-tech, international industry that has become dominated by Asia in recent decades.

is isn’t about Intel. is is a story about American Nitrile in Grove City, which makes PPE gloves. e sort of gloves that were so hard to get during the pandemic that they shot up to as much as 20-times their previous cost, if you could nd them. e kind of gloves that also will continue to be used by the billions in the U.S., even in times of relatively good health. And gloves that might incorporate technology from the University of Akron and other Northeast Ohio entities to be smarter and more useful than gloves are today.

yB Stan Bullard

Since Haim and Amanda Mayan, through Euclid O ce Campus LLC, bought the 200,000-square-foot o ce tower formerly known as the Euclid Medical & O ce Plaza, they have focused on updating the 1975-vintage building.

e latest addition is a truly contemporary feature for the black glass curtain-walled structure: a $2 million solar array that stretches about half the length of the interconnected two-building complex.

It is a big commitment for the property, which sits on 10 acres.

e entire building cost $1.5 million for the couple, who operate Man Holdings of Cleveland, to acquire at the end of 2021.

ey have since updated suites in the structure as they land tenants; replaced dated lighting

TransDigm sets downtown Cleveland headquarters move to US Bank Centre as it exits Erieview Tower. PAGE 5

with energy-saving LEDs; upgraded elevators; and made a lengthy list of other improvements. It is now called Lake View Enterprise Campus.

See SOLAR on Page 16

SPORTS BUSINESS

Baseball fans don’t just buy peanuts and Cracker Jack; they leave them at their seat. Here’s what happens next.

PAGE 10

Ohio Gov. MIke DeWine (front left) and Jacob Block tour American NItrile’s plant in Grove City. | AMERICAN NITRILE PHOTOS

Gloves on their one-mile journey from dipping to boxing at American Nitrile.

Haim and Amanda Mayan have installed a solar array at Lake View Enterprise Campus in Euclid. | CONTRIBUTED

Still no plan in place for a new Cuyahoga County jail

yB Kim Palmer

e planning process behind building a new county jail has spanned two executive administrations, multiple years of steering committee and public hearings, a handful of possible sites and an in ation-fueled, rising budget.

Questions about the project continue as Cuyahoga County Council members at a full committee hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 1, failed to move legislation behind the project forward. No decisions were made about where the new jail should be located and if a tax should be extended to pay for it.

Here are ve takeaways about where the plan now stands:

Location, location, location

e jail, now in the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland, is “dated” and too expensive to remediate, Brendan Doyle, County Executive Chris Ronayne’s interim chief of sta , told council on Tuesday.

“We have heard from the county’s Public Works department that if we do not move forward (toward building a new jail), it will cost millions of dollars to x the current facility and we don’t believe that is fair or appropriate that our taxpayers fund that,” he said.

e administration is backing the purchase of a 72-acre parcel in Gar eld Heights for $38.7 million.

e property has been vacant for 10 years after a planned development was halted during the 2008 nancial crisis. e land needs no environmental remediation, unlike a previously suggested storage container site on Transport Road in Cleveland, and a bus route already serves the area.

Gar eld Heights Mayor Matt Burke and members of the suburb’s City Council have voiced support for the jail, but County Councilwoman Sunny Simon,

who represents the eastern part of the county, called it “isolated.” She argued that while the location is in the geographic center of the county, 70% of those currently incarcerated come from the cities of Cleveland and East Cleveland, and the Gar eld Heights site would be a longer commute for both law enforcement and family visitors.

“It doesn’t make sense by the numbers to move to that area,” Simon said. She supports an alternative: the former National ACME Co. site in Cleveland at the intersection of Eddy Road and Kirby Avenue.

Costs are rising

When a new jail was discussed in 2019, the project’s estimated budget came in around $500 million to $550 million. Since then, in ation and rising material and labor costs mean that a “reasonable and responsible budget” for a

jail would be about $750 million, said Je Appelbaum of Project Management Consultants, who is working with the county.

He estimated it breaks down this way: nearly $39 million for the land, as well as $12 million for site work; $530 million for the corrections center; $33 million for a sheri ’s administration building; $38 million for consulting fees; $58 million for equipment, furniture and IT systems; and $40 million set aside for possible modications and additions.

“I think that $750 million is a reasonable budget right now, if we get started right now,” warned Appelbaum, who added that delays could mean cost increases.

How to fund it

Another sticking point: details of legislation allowing County Council to vote on an extension

AWP Safety rolls up four more traf c control service providers

yB Jeremy Nobile

AWP Safety — formerly just AWP, which stands for Area Wide Protective — has acquired four more tra c control service provider brands, signi cantly expanding the private equity-backed company’s already large U.S. network.

Financial terms of these deals were not disclosed.

AWP, headquartered in North Canton, primarily serves the utility, broadband and infrastructure end markets.

Its latest acquisitions comprise: Arrive Alive Tra c Control of Orlando, Florida; Give ‘Em a Brake Safety of Grand Rapids, Michigan; Stay Alert Safety Services of Kernersville, North Carolina; and Texas Tra c and Barricade of Pantego, Texas.

Arrive Alive, Give ‘Em a Brake and Stay Alert were all purchased from the portfolio of RHV Capital, an investment rm in Bloom eld Hills, Michigan. Texas Tra c was rolled up separately.

“Together, the combined companies will have the scale, resources and reach to deliver superior tra c control and safety services to a growing list of customers focused on delivering a ordable energy, broadband and transportation infrastructure,” according to the company. “Customers will bene t from an enhanced service o ering, next-generation safety technology and unmatched expertise in the design and protection of work zones.”

e acquired entities represent more than 650 employees, according to a company spokesperson.

In total, AWP’s operations now

span 28 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces with more than 163 locations and a pool of more than 7,800 employees.

“AWP Safety continues to grow its scale and portfolio to manage complex customer needs across utility, broadband and transportation infrastructure,” said AWP president and CEO Rob Sehnert in a statement. “ is latest acquisition strengthens our existing leadership in worksite protection services, tra c control planning and equipment sales and rentals. We are extremely excited about the expertise, leadership and passion for safety the new companies bring to the AWP Safety family.”

AWP is a portfolio company of New York private equity rm Kohlberg & Co., which acquired a majority of AWP from e Riverside Co. in December 2020.

tions the need for a 40-year extension rather than a 30-year extension. With a decade less in debt-service payments, he said the shorter term would save taxpayers nearly $4 million.

Timing is everything

As of Tuesday, County Council members failed to pass legislation to enter into a contract with the Garfield Heights property owner.

Simon, in addition to supporting an alternative site, said she is not inclined to enter into a purchase contract if there is no funding mechanism in place for a jail. She presented a substitute amendment to extend the waiting period before finalization of the Garfield Heights contract.

The new jail construction, she said, will require the 0.25% sales tax extension, or taxpayers will be stuck with a property that would be difficult to unload.

of a 0.25% Cuyahoga County sales tax addition beyond 2027, when it is set to expire, and for how long.

Former Executive Armond Budish’s administration planned to have council members make permanent the quarter-percent tax, which was first levied in 2007 and added onto the county’s 1% sales tax to help pay for what is now the building attached to the Huntington Convention Center.

Ronayne, while he was campaigning for the county executive position, came out against a permanent extension without a vote or community input, but he has since floated a 40-year tax extension to bring in about $51 million annually to pay off debt on the new jail construction. Some council members, including Simon, insist on taking the extension question to the voters.

Councilman Scott Tuma ques-

“The risk to taxpayers is to buy this property that the county can’t build on,” Simon said.

What happens now?

e failure to pass legislation supporting a purchase of the Gareld Heights property and the extension of the sales tax does not preclude council from voting on it again — or on another version from the Ronayne administration.

Look for the Gar eld Heights property contract to come up again without an amendment added by Simon to extend the waiting period window on thenal purchase. As for the sales tax extension, which was voted down unanimously, it well may come before voters next year.

As County Councilwoman Cheryl Stephens said, “ e people should vote on this.”

Riverside, which had acquired AWP in 2015, followed up that exit by reinvesting in the business through a minority acquisition the next month.

Kohlberg typically invests in companies with between $2 million and $2 billion in enterprise value or with between $25 million and $150 million of EBITDA (earn-

ings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). It typically targets equity investments in the range of $100 million to $500 million in areas such as food and consumer segments, pharmaceuticals/medical products, infrastructure services, nancial services, business services and health care services.

Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne’s administration is looking to build a new jail and move prisoners out of the Justice Center. | ALAMY

Flexjet builds on in-house maintenance services

Announces acquisition of Flying Colours

yB Jeremy Nobile

Flexjet Inc. has announced the acquisition of Flying Colours Corp., a Canadian maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company for the aviation industry, in a deal that builds on its international network and enhances its internal maintenance and product support services.

Financial terms of the deal, which closed Tuesday, Aug. 1, were not disclosed.

Flying Colours, founded in 1989, is based in Peterborough, Ontario, with additional facilities in St. Louis and Singapore.

In addition to MRO services, the company also provides work related to airline interior completions and refurbishments as well as custom aircraft painting. Flexjet notes that Flying Colours recently opened large paint and completions hangars that can “handle any size business aircraft as well as airliner category aircraft.”

Flexjet, which is based in Richmond Heights, is a fractional jet ownership and leasing company that also operates corporate jets and helicopters for airport transfers.

e Flying Colours deal follows Flexjet’s acquisition of another aviation MRO provider, Constant Aviation, which was announced in February. Constant Aviation and Flexjet were previously sister companies via Directional Aviation, an investment management rm and parent company of several aviation service businesses.

ese MRO deals come as Flexjet continues to grow and expand its eet of aircraft, which raises the need for a robust array of maintenance services within the business.

“A key product di erentiation has always been our focus on the cabin experience for our owners,” a Flexjet spokesperson told Crain’s. “With a eet that is rapidly approaching 300 aircraft globally, we have extensive aircraft refurbishment needs, and Flying Colours is a global leader in this category that will help us dramatically expand our capabilities and capacity.”

“Bringing the capabilities of Constant Aviation, which Flexjet bought earlier this year, and now Flying Colours in-house enables

us to ensure both the highest possible service quality and the maximum availability of aircraft for our owners,” said Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci in a statement. “Unlike other companies in our space that rely on third-party providers for their MRO needs, Flexjet now fully controls its maintenance and product support needs, and this aligns with our strategic vision of di erentiating ourselves from the competition at every level and in every way.”

Flexjet was planning to go public through a merger with Horizon

Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), but that deal was abandoned in the spring. Proceeds of that deal were slated to support a company expansion and improve maintenance support facilities, among other things.

But Ricci previously noted that the company would not be pulling back on expansion initiatives despite terminating that merger. is seems to be due in large part to the company performing better than anticipated since the discussions of a SPAC merger kicked up last year.

“In 2022, we outperformed the nancial targets provided at the start of the SPAC transaction and continue to deliver signi cant cash ows and compelling yearover-year growth,” Ricci said in April. “Our position of strength gives us the exibility to access the public markets at the appropriate time.”

As far as ongoing growth plans, some of those include adding a few dozen more aircraft and hiring some 1,400 additional employees in the current calendar year. e company said it will also remain strategic about additional acquisitions. e Flying Colours deal includes about 250 people who join Flexjet, which now has a global workforce of about 4,000.

FLEXJET

ErieBank’s next president sets sights on Northeast Ohio growth

A leadership transition queued up at ErieBank underscores the community bank’s focus on growth in the Northeast Ohio marketplace.

ErieBank — one of six regionally branded divisions of Clear eld, Pennsylvania-based CNB Bank, which comprises approximately $5.6 billion in total assets — has announced that Wesley Gillespie, its regional president for Northeast Ohio, will succeed longtime president David Zimmer e ective Dec. 31.

At that time, Zimmer, who in 2005 helmed the launch of the ErieBank brand in Erie, Pennsylvania, will move to the role of executive regional director.

at will be more of an advisory role for Zimmer as dayto-day oversight of ErieBank will fall to Gillespie, who intends to remain based out of the bank’s regional headquarters in Seven Hills.

“Dave has been the face of the bank since it started 18 years ago, and it’s real important for continuity that people know — particularly in Pennsylvania — that he is still around and available,” Gillespie said.

From his Northeast Ohio base, Gillespie will oversee the bank’s methodical expansion across this swath of the Buckeye State.

“We do plan to continue expanding inside of Ohio as we build out Cuyahoga County, Lake County and Ashtabula County,” Gillespie said. “ e plan is to continue to look for opportunities to move west.”

ose e orts will include support from Tim Flenner, a 17-year veteran of the bank who has served as commercial banking area manager in Lake County for the past ve years.

In conjunction with the announcement about Zimmer and Gillespie, ErieBank said Flenner will be promoted to Ohio market executive. Senior vice president Katie Jones, meanwhile, will take

on a role as ErieBank’s regional president of Pennsylvania. ose new roles are also e ective as of the end of this year.

e ErieBank brand established itself in Northeast Ohio with the acquisition of Lake National Bank in Mentor. It purchased that bank via a $25 million deal announced in December 2015, giving the company a beachhead from which it could further work its way into Greater Cleveland.

A few years later, the bank followed up that acquisition with the opening of a loan production o ce in Independence, which was later replaced by the regional headquarters set up by the bank in the adjacent city of Seven Hills. Besides those and its legacy Mentor o ces, the bank’s local footprint today encompasses additional branches in Ashtabula and Woodmere.

Gillespie emphasized that Northeast Ohio has been a growth market for the bank the last several years and that he intends to keep up the momentum.

ErieBank ranked as the 17th-largest bank by market share out of 34 institutions operating in the Cleveland-Elyria MSA as of the latest Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data from June 2022. Being in the middle of that pack means there’s plenty of opportunity to win market share from competitors.

In terms of locations, ErieBank is continuing to add branches as part of its growth strategy. Gillespie said that he expects ground to break for a new branch at Westlake’s Crocker Park in the next month or so that could open sometime around the second quarter of next year.

ere are also active discussions about installing what could be the bank’s sixth branch in Cleveland proper. Noting how many large banks in Ohio have winnowed their branch networks in recent years — a trend that tends to more greatly impact

poorer neighborhoods — Gillespie said the idea is to plant that next Cleveland location in an “underserved community.”

While banking is going through a tricky period, he said, “we continue to be very bullish about the Northeast Ohio market.”

“We came here with the intent to grow. And (being named president of ErieBank) is an endorsement of the growth that we have had and that we expect to continue to have here,” Gillespie said. “Having the president of the bank in this market is really our communicating that we are very serious about growing this market in a way that is responsible and good for the shareholders and the communities here.”

As far as Zimmer’s responsibilities in his next role, the bank said he will serve as a key partner in corporate strategic activities, including a special role of monitoring the construction, sta ng and opening of ErieBank’s Parade Street o ce in Erie, Pennsylvania’s East Side Renaissance district. He’ll also retain a seat on the bank’s board of advisors.

“We are immensely grateful to Dave Zimmer for his outstanding contributions to ErieBank throughout the years,” said CNB Bank president and CEO Michael Peduzzi in a statement. “His leadership and dedication have been instrumental in our growth and success. We have the utmost condence in (Gillespie, Jones and Flenner) to continue building on the strong foundation laid by Dave. His ongoing commitment in his new role to preserving the company’s values and corporate identity, while being a continued resource for the bank’s new leadership, will ensure that ErieBank continues its tradition of excellence.”

“It’s been incredibly rewarding to be in this role over the past 18 years; to have led the build-out of ErieBank, creating over 150 jobs in the area and the ongoing commitment to the community,” Zimmer added. “I look forward to the next chapter with the bank in an advisory role.”

yB Jeremy Nobile

Gillespie

An ErieBank branch in Woodmere. CONTRIBUTED

TransDigm HQ bound for US Bank Centre

Stan Bullard

TransDigm Group (NYSE: TDG) will move to the top two oors of US Bank Centre, staying in downtown Cleveland as it exits the 30th oor of Erieview Tower.

e headquarters of the aerospace and power parts manufacturer, representing just 40 people for a company that employs more than 14,000, will occupy the 15th and 16th oors of US Bank Centre, at 1350 Euclid Ave. in Playhouse Square.

e company, through a spokesperson who declined to be identied, veri ed the move but downplayed it. TransDigm said it’s simply a move to new space, as it is happy to stay in downtown Cleveland because it appreciates the city’s vitality. TransDigm said it will exit Erieview Tower, where it occupies the 30th oor, in spring 2024 as its lease expires.

Andrew Coleman, CBRE’s Cleveland market leader, and a CBRE team represented the building in the transaction.

“It goes to show a few things, (such as) the importance of a vibrant neighborhood such as Playhouse Square and the value of amenities, as the ownership has

invested a signi cant amount of money in the building,” Coleman said in a phone interview. “ ings such as a new tenant lounge with soft furniture. It also ts the hybrid work environment because of the ease of access downtown from I-77.”

e location has been a selling point for the 16- oor building since it was constructed in 1989 by a joint venture of Ross Farro, an Independence-based suburban o ce developer, and the Wolstein family. Originally it was dubbed “Renaissance at Playhouse Square,” because it was the rst new o ce building constructed in the city’s eater District in 50 years.

TransDigm’s destination was disclosed in a just-released Midyear Market Update by Downtown Cleveland Inc., the new name of the former Downtown Cleveland Alliance.

e nonpro t said TransDigm will take 25,983 square feet of ofce space. TransDigm itself described the square footage as similar to what it occupies at Erieview Tower.

A full oor at that 40- oor skyscraper consists of 19,000 square feet, according to online realty

data provider CoStar.

Vic Voinovich, a managing director in Cleveland for the SVN International realty brokerage, said in a phone interview that when US Bank Centre went up, Playhouse Square was known as a home for law and accounting rms and small businesses. Not major, publicly traded companies.

“TransDigm probably feels Playhouse Square has come of

age,” said Voinovich, who was active in promoting the district in the 1980s. “It’s a close second to Public Square. It also might be that TransDigm just nds it better for its employees as it’s close to the theaters, restaurants and things their employees might enjoy.”

TransDigm regularly makes news, not all of it positive, as it is a big supplier to defense industries.

e company touted its decen-

tralized operating structure in a June 2023 investor presentation, which estimated its 2023 revenue at mid-year at $64 billion. It has 49 operating units that contain 114 manufacturing locations across the globe. It has grown through acquisitions since being founded in 1993 and went public in 2006.

TransDigm was represented by Hanna Commercial’s David Wagner and Bill Nice.

TransDigm Group has leased the top two oors of the US Bank Centre at 1350 Euclid Ave. as the new home for its headquarters.

STAN BULLARD

Credit card competition would save businesses, consumers money

At a time when lawmakers struggle with common ground and common sense, recently introduced federal legislation is a breath of fresh air.

e Credit Card Competition Act — which enjoys bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress — seeks to address the ballooning fees small businesses pay every time a customer uses a credit card.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance is helping lead the charge for this much-needed reform that will bene t Ohio’s Main Streets. His colleagues need to hop on board.

EDITORIAL

Participation trophy

Atheoretical good — giving citizens more of a say in how public money is spent in their neighborhoods — runs into some practical challenges in a participatory budgeting initiative that Clevelanders will vote on this fall.

Late last month, a grassroots group called PB CLE was certi ed as having submitted enough valid signatures in the city to qualify their participatory budgeting proposal for a charter amendment vote in November. It was an impressive act of organizing, as the group collected more than 6,400 valid signatures, or about 500 more than needed.

It sounds good, on the surface. e election pitch writes itself: Why shouldn’t the people who pay taxes get a little more power in determining where those dollars go, and politicians a little less?

If approved, Ideastream noted, “the proposal would allocate money to projects voted on by Cleveland residents. e amount would be equivalent to 1% — and eventually 2% — of the city’s general fund, or the city’s primary operating fund. PB CLE said at least some of that money could come from the city’s capital budget, which nances capital construction.”

Cleveland City Council leaders have raised red ags about the process, though, and they’re right to do so.

A big concern, according to a statement from council, is that if $14 million (2% of the city’s most recent general fund) was diverted to participatory budgeting, it could lead to “massive layo s” and have a “devastating impact on the city,” including by preventing the hiring of police o cers and cutting expenses in departments such as public health, recreation and building/housing.

PB CLE has characterized that argument as a scare tactic, and while it’s reasonable to be skeptical about council’s estimate of the impact of participatory budgeting on city services, there’s no doubt that some things citizens like and rely on could be cut.

ere are other concerns.

According to the ballot language, $350,000 would be used in the rst year to set up the program. Administrative costs would rise as the amount allocated in participatory budgeting rises. It requires sta and resources to create this process, and the bene ts don’t look to be worth the expense. Related, participatory budgeting adds more people to the process and therefore adds time. ink top-down budgeting involving elected o cials is cumbersome? See how a

new, 11-person steering committee (each paid $5,000) just starting out in the budget process does.

PB CLE o cials and other advocates for participatory budgeting aren’t wrong in the basic premise: People are disengaged from their government. It’s worth thinking about ways to connect citizens more closely with the work of government. We wonder, though, how robust the level of participation would be for most voters — and how much would be driven by a few with narrow interests who see a new path to getting something they want.

Council hasn’t exactly earned citizens’ trust, but this proposal comes with a lot of downside. Voters beware.

Time to act

Thursday, Aug. 3, marked the six-month anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. It won’t surprise you to know that the federal government has done virtually nothing to make sure such a disaster doesn’t happen again.

But it’s not for a lack of trying in some corners. Ohio’s U.S. senators, Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican JD Vance, proposed a sensible railroad safety bill that has won praise from President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the bill is a top agenda item for the fall, but key Republicans in Congress aren’t on board, and the railroad industry lobby is pushing back hard. e Republican-led House will be an even bigger hurdle.

e Brown/Vance Senate bill, as well as a House version, would boost nes for safety violations, require more inspections and increase the number of trackside detectors that monitor for overheated wheel bearings. One key point of disagreement: the Senate bill requires that most freight trains have two-person crews; the House bill doesn’t.

Vance last month told Bloomberg that the rail-safety bill “is a test case about whether a more pro-worker Republican Party has some teeth instead of just some rhetorical ourish.” He’s right. But this isn’t about some rede nition of the Republican Party. It’s about taking reasonable, achievable steps toward corporate responsibility and reducing the risks of future derailments, which come with long-term, expensive environmental and public health impacts. Time to get on board and pass it.

As the owner of an air inspection company in Akron, I have rsthand experience with the nancial squeeze these “swipe fees” have on budgets — especially for small businesses that operate on razor-thin margins. And I’m not alone. In a national survey of small business owners, around 2 in 5 called these fees “a signi cant challenge” for their nancial well-being.

Amid a sluggish economy that has been plagued by ination for roughly two years, the last thing entrepreneurs need is a hidden transaction tax.

In general, credit card companies and banks rake in between 2% and 4% of every transaction in fees — an expense that has more than doubled over the past decade and continues to rise. While these charges may seem like just pennies to some, the fees add up quickly. In 2022 alone, credit card companies and banks collected roughly $160 billion in swipe fees from businesses.

at’s more than the entire gross domestic product — which is the value of all goods and services produced in a year — of a country like Hungary.

Ohio’s nearly 1 million small businesses aren’t the only ones that feel the nancial pinch from credit card swipe fees. Consumers end up paying the price as well. Entrepreneurs often have no other choice but to pass along a portion of the extra costs to customers in the form of higher prices. One estimate suggests the average family pays an extra $1,024 in in ated price tags each year because of swipe fees. e skyrocketing transaction taxes paid by businesses are largely a result of a lack of competition. Visa and Mastercard control roughly 80% of the credit card market — a duopoly position that allows the corporate tag team to raise swipe fee rates without fear of backlash.

In nearly every other area of the U.S. economy, free market competition keeps costs under control. It’s why Wendy’s doesn’t quadruple the price of a hamburger; company executives understand customers have other options to choose from, including McDonald’s or Dairy Queen.

As introduced, the Credit Card Competition Act would disrupt this broken system by fostering free market competition. e legislation would require banks with more than $100 billion in assets to include additional credit card networks on the cards it issues to consumers. at way, small business owners like me will have additional options on how to process transactions.

e bene ts for entrepreneurs are expected to be extensive. One analysis estimates that businesses will enjoy yearly nancial savings upward of $15 billion. at’s money Main Street businesses in Ohio can use to grow operations, attract a larger customer base, invest back into the community, and provide employees with the pay they deserve.

In virtually every other industry, free market competition helps to keep prices in check and foster a healthy economy. I’m thankful to lawmakers like Sen. JD Vance for pursuing legislation that would inject a dose of competition into the credit card market. Ohio small businesses and families will all bene t.

RICH WILLIAMS FOR CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS

Tim Chapin is a small business owner in Akron and a partner of the Job Creators Network Foundation.

After high court ruling, inclusion in communities more important

Freedom is America’s lodestar, but recent Supreme Court decisions have raised alarms as they draw not on our history of liberty, but on our history of oppression.

In 2023, the court ended a rmative action for non-white college applicants, made it legal to discriminate against individuals based on sexual orientation in certain cases, and gutted the executive branch’s student loan forgiveness plan. Such backsliding is indicative of how ephemeral freedom can be when it is not proactively preserved.

As lawyers, we respect the court and commit to the oath we took to uphold the law, and it is for precisely that reason that we are obliged to raise our voice when we see injustice.

We cannot subscribe to the myth that discrimination does not occur and cannot be addressed by the judicial system, including the Supreme Court. As the guarantor of our most foundational rights, the court has an obligation not only to avoid legislating from the bench, but zealously to preserve the laws the American people have put in place. Yet the court is not infallible — and while over time it can be self-correcting, that process is contingent on advocates and experts raising our voices.

Tenille N. Kaus is an attorney and is the director of diversity, equity, inclusion and advancement at e Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.

plan ies in the face of separation of powers, and entirely discounts the nancial realities facing tens of millions of American families. e May 2021 Federal Reserve Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking found that 37% of adults would not be able to pay for an unexpected expense of $400 with cash, savings or a credit card that they could pay o at the next statement.

e court is not a source for new policy — rather than legislating or governing, its job is “to say what the law is.” Rather than leveling the playing eld, it will make it difcult for all to access education and opportunity.

For instance, the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which is responsible for administering the bar exam attorneys take to obtain licensure, has suggested some strategies and best practices for enhancing fairness in assessment, including conducting bias reviews, collecting validity evidence, providing accommodations, reporting subgroup performance and engaging stakeholders. ese e orts are more di cult following the Supreme Court’s decision.

e court struck down protections enabling schools to consider applicants’ race in admissions for higher education despite the strong legal basis for the long-standing practice. At a time when the American Bar Association’s membership is 86% white, 5% Black, 5% Hispanic and 2% Asian despite America being 59% white,13% Black, 19% Hispanic and 6% Asian, it behooves us as attorneys to re ect on our role in preserving the integrity of the judiciary — in terms of both how it is perceived by and how it serves the American people.

e court’s ruling on a student loan forgiveness

And yet we must persist. By choosing inclusion, we can continue creating vibrant communities. At the organizational level, this includes doing the work to make spaces more inclusive — addressing both the physical and mental accessibility of your workspace.

True inclusion means meeting people where they are, given their circumstances. is can take many forms — like providing employees access to child care, ensuring paid parental leave for a variety of family structures or allowing for remote work. It is easy to adopt the language of inclusion; it is di cult to adopt the practice. e sincerity of our e ort can be judged by its e cacy, and how it responds to obstacles like those introduced by these court decisions.

Demonstrators in favor of student loan debt forgiveness rally outside the Supreme Court on June 30 in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court tossed out President Joe Biden’s plan to slash the student debt of more than 40 million people. ANNA ROSE LAYDEN/BLOOMBERG

A fresh take on vending machine cuisine

Food tech company Farmer’s Fridge expands to Cleveland

yB Bev Shaffer

We’ve all been in that situation when our stomach growls and we realize we haven’t eaten all day.

Given the circumstances, convenience often trumps health, and we settle for a vending machine selection of sugar-laden drinks, a candy bar or a bag of chips. While you’re scanning your card to make that ill-advised purchase, your food-deprived brain is thinking how nice something fresh and nutritious would be instead.

Why is it so hard to nd fresh food on the go? A salad. A wrap. A burrito bowl.

Farmer’s Fridge CEO Luke Saunders was asking himself that same question, and the concept of rede ning fast food with an innovative approach to vending machine cuisine was born.

Now Farmer’s Fridge has made its way to Northeast Ohio.

e story of Farmer’s Fridge begins with Saunders. Frustrated by the lack of healthy and delicious food options available in the vending machines during his business travels, Saunders decided to take matters into his own hands. In 2013, armed with a passion for good food and an entrepreneurial spirit, he launched Farmer’s Fridge with a simple mission: to make fresh, wholesome meals easily accessible to everyone.

At the heart of Farmer’s Fridge is the commitment to using only the freshest ingredients. e Chicago-based company partners with local farmers and suppliers to pro-

Farmer’s Fridge uses temperaturecontrolled vending machines, which they call “fridges,” to dispense their fresh meals. The Chicago-based company partners with local farmers and suppliers to procure seasonal produce.

cure seasonal produce, ensuring that their menu items are not only avorful (they partner with some of the leading chefs in America — think Rick Bayless and Stephanie Izard) but also environmentally responsible. What sets Farmer’s Fridge apart from conventional fast-food chains is its unique distribution system. Instead of brick-and-mortar restaurants, the company uses temperature-controlled vending machines, which they call “fridges,” to dispense their fresh meals.

ese smart fridges, which will not vend food that isn’t fresh or kept at optimum temperature, are strategically placed in busy locations to cater to people on the go.

e fridges are restocked daily with freshly prepared salads, bowls, sandwiches, wraps, breakfast items, snacks and beverages. Vending operations are designed to enhance the customer experience. Walk up to the fridge, browse the selection on the touchscreen display, make your choice and retrieve a fully recyclable,

Nick Browning, former Huntington president in Akron, makes impact with a nonpro t

Nick Browning went from occupying a corner o ce in a downtown skyscraper to mopping oors.

And the former president of Huntington Bank Akron says he couldn’t be happier.

“My retirement wasn’t planned; I was planning to work until 65,” said Browning, who’s 60. “But I am thoroughly enjoying it.”

Browning left Huntington in May 2022 because, well, banks reorganize and spouses coax, he said. He was responding to a reporter’s inquiry spurred by questions from area businesspeople about where Browning had landed and what he is doing.

Browning has turned his attention and skills to philanthropic work, speci cally with Akron’s Grace House, which he started last September with his wife, Cindy, and Holly Klein.

Cindy Browning and Klein knew each other through their shared

work as hospice nurses. ey and Nick Browning started Grace House to provide hospice care for the homeless, which the nonpro t does for no charge.

Today, Nick Browning is Grace House’s board chair, while Klein is its executive director and Cindy Browning is volunteer coordinator. He’s also facilities manager, which means “anything Cindy needs me to do,” and that includes mopping and other help with cleaning.

Grace House is not huge, with six beds, but it’s crucial to those it serves, and so far, Nick Browning says it seems to be about the right size. It currently has two people on a waiting list but occasionally is not full, he said.

at this is what Browning is doing with his time might not surprise those who know him.

Browning, originally from South Carolina but an Akronite for more than three decades, became entrenched in the city’s business and philanthropic communities,

which in Akron he says are one and the same.

“Akron has always done business through volunteerism,” he said. “ at’s how everyone knows everyone.”

Cindy’s also on the board of the Humane Society of Summit County, he said, and the couple have settled happily into the city’s West Side.

“We’re 100% committed to being in Akron. It’s our home,” he said.

e e ort also enables him to use some of the skills he honed in 20 years as a regional bank president for Huntington and its predecessors in Akron to give something back to the community.

A nonpro t could do worse than to have a bank president, past or present, helping it to raise its initial funding, which Browning largely did for Grace House. He credits the town.

“ at’s Akron. at’s just so Akron,” Browning said. “As tough as we thought it might have been to raise $4 million, it wasn’t. Akron’s very generous.”

eco-friendly jar or package containing your selection. In addition to the intuitive touchscreen interface on their fridges, the company also o ers a mobile app that allows users to browse the menu, place orders in advance and earn rewards for loyalty.

In Northeast Ohio, look for the “fridges” at six terminal locations at Cleveland Hopkins Airport, at Progressive Field and at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. Farmer’s Fridge products also are available at area Costcos. Check often, as new selections are always being introduced.

Beyond its focus on health and taste, Farmer’s Fridge is committed to sustainability. e jars used to serve the meals are made of 100% recyclable materials, reducing single-use plastic waste commonly associated with takeout containers. In fact, all of their packaging is recyclable. Moreover, the company actively works to minimize food waste by donating unsold items and recently partnered with Feeding America to donate 1.5 million meals.

Farmer’s Fridge stands as a shining example of how a passionate idea, coupled with commitment and creativity, can revolutionize an entire industry. On a recent call, I asked Saunders what are his biggest challenges? “People are scared to eat food from a vending machine, even if I reassure them,” he mused. “And, honestly, the overall complexity of our business model is challenging.”

Farmer’s Fridge started with just one fridge and now operates more than 750 nationwide. On their 10-year anniversary, think of them as the world’s smallest restaurant.

To date, Grace House has helped 55 people, six at a time, and has no plans to stop, he said.

But what about Browning? He’s a very modern 60, t and trim from years of working out, running and riding bikes in a river city. He said he has plenty to do. He’s still vice chair of the board of Summa Health, where he chairs the nance committee, and is on the board of the Akron Urban League.

He knows his town, and vice versa. At a recent encounter on a Monday morning at Akron Family Restaurant, which is known as a networking spot for all sorts of local leaders, Browning had no shortage of visitors at his table, from those running the restaurant to Akron NAACP president Judi Hill. He gets a “Hi Nick!” and a handshake or hug from them all.

“It’s like ‘Cheers,’” he says.

“Nick is great. Nick’s the best,” Hill said, after appearing at the table and embracing him.

Whether Browning puts his skills and popularity to work be-

yond Grace House and his other board work remains to be seen. He won’t rule out returning to banking.

“I loved Huntington Bank, and I certainly loved my colleagues,” he said.

He does, though, have a noncompete agreement in e ect until May 2024.

And, he really is enjoying retirement, he said, and being able to work on what he wants — far more than he thought he would have. He leaves Akron Family with a grin.

“Where you o to?” he’s asked. e response: “I’m o to Grace House. I need to mop the oors.”

Dan Shingler

Nick Browning and NAACP Akron president Judi Hill at Akron Family Restaurant.

DAN SHINGLER

Chagrin stylist’s pandemic pivot creates path to podcasting studio

In many ways, Megan Moran’s “pandemic pivot” story isn’t all that unique.

She’d been running her own wardrobe styling out t, e Style Foundry, for a decade when COVID struck. Quite literally overnight, Moran’s clients — mostly busy, professional moms — “didn’t need to be dressed up anymore,” she said.

e Chagrin Falls resident also was pregnant with her second child and “starting to feel the itch,” she explained, “to do more, something di erent.”

So in 2021, Moran — like so many others looking to connect with their fellow humans on a deeper level — started a podcast.

But unlike most of them, she stuck with it.

e Mompreneur Guide, which Moran describes as “ y-on-thewall conversations with mom entrepreneurs,” recently dropped its 108th episode and transitioned into its fth season. It has been downloaded roughly 20,000 times, she said, and ranks “somewhere between a top 3% to 5% podcast.”

$12M gift will double the number of nurse scholars at Cleveland Clinic

Scott Suttell

Cleveland Clinic will expand an ambitious nurse-training program as a result of a gift of more than $12 million from e Howley Foundation.

In recognition of the new gift and the foundation’s cumulative support of the health system, the Clinic said all programs within its ASPIRE initiative will be renamed to re ect the Howley name, including the Howley ASPIRE Nurse Scholars Program.

e nursing program, designed for local high school and college students, seeks to “increase diversity in health care, address opportunity gaps and reduce health disparities in the community,” the Clinic said.

e Clinic said the Howley Foundation gift will allow the nurse scholars program to double enrollment to about 50 students from Cleveland-area high schools each year, starting this fall.

e Clinic said said students enter the program as high school juniors and “are taught an innovative curriculum that provides an exploration of the nursing profession, as well as socialization and integration into health care.” High school graduates then have the opportunity to earn a scholarship to pursue a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the Breen School of Nursing and Health Professions at Ursuline College.

“We feel strongly that a quality education is the best way to address social inequality and promote economic mobility,” said Nick Howley, chairman of the foundation and executive chairman and founder of TransDigm Group Inc. “We want students to be able to complete their nursing degrees poised for success.”

And this summer, Moran and her husband/business partner Collin took an even bigger step in distinguishing the mommy-friendly platform, launching a studio designed to help other women grow their businesses “without missing those special moments with their kids,” according to Moran.

e 1,800-square-foot Mompreneur Co. Podcast Studio is nestled on the north edge of Cha-

grin’s downtown merchants’ district and is stocked with creative, camera-ready spaces.

Moran spoke to Crain’s from the studio’s Moss Room, in which real moss walls provide a backdrop to two rattan recording chairs, each with its own microphone. e nearby Mompreneur Guide Room is where she does her own podcasting. It has three pre-equipped recording areas and backdrops that are customizable to accommodate individual business branding, she said.

e nal recording space, the Leopard Room, boasts a bolder aesthetic with plants and a palm-leaf background that can be shielded by neutral curtains when necessary.

e studio also has a cozy common area open to those who rent studio time, Moran said, and available for “small meetings, team gatherings or networking events.”

“We want to encourage customization, so we tried to keep the spaces as minimalist as possible,” she said. “Another interesting di erentiator is that our creative director services are included. If you come for two hours and you want to spend two hours picking our brain, guring out what to do for your podcast or your content or how you should style your backdrop, we’re here for that. But, if you want to just sit down, plug in and record for two hours, you can do that, too.”

e studio is equipped with “top-quality” mics, mixers and video equipment, according to Moran. Users can create video reels, produce online courses and do a variety of other social media content in addition to podcast pieces.

She believes, however, its secret sauce is “batching.” Clients are encouraged to reserve a space for two or four or even eight hours

and bang out as much content as they can in the quiet (i.e., kidfree) environment. ink of it as a creative haven, Moran said.

“As moms, we need to get it in when kids are not screaming behind the door in another room.”

Batching was a technique that helped Moran persist in her own podcast. About half of newbies succumb to what has become known as “podfade,” many producing less than seven episodes.

“Accountability, consistency, creativity really come into play,” she explained. “ e rst two seasons of my podcast, I did batch and I recorded them all and uploaded them and scheduled them. en if kids get sick or you’re in a creative rut, you’re not scrambling the night before to record something or edit something. We’ve got enough stress, too much, to add on top of it.”

Cleveland Heights resident Stephanie Trzaska is one local mompreneur excited to get into Moran’s studio. Trzaska has been planning to launch a podcast as part of her Little Scraps of Magic digital community, which aims to connect and inspire moms and moms-to-be. She’s especially drawn to the “beauty” of the space and access to state-of-theart equipment.

“ ey o er everything from like helping you narrow down your focus and batch out your episodes to doing the recording here where you’ve got great lighting, great recording equipment and acoustics,” she said. “I can just do the talking and let them focus on all those other elements.”

e Mompreneur Co. Podcast Studio o cially opened in July. Moran said that in addition to scheduled “mompreneur” tours, the studio is gaining exposure through her podcast interviewees who come into the space, “often amazed.”

“ ey either know somebody that can use the space or can think of 10 ways that they can use it,” she said. “So, we are really focused on getting people in the door.”

“It’s essential that we diversify the pipeline of our future health care workforce, including nurses, to better represent our patients and the communities we serve,” said Dr. Tom Mihaljevic, the Clinic’s president and CEO, in a statement. He added, “We are grateful for the Howleys’ continued support and passion for increasing diversity and equity in our next generation of caregivers.”

e ASPIRE program, launched in 2017, was the brainchild of Kelly Hancock, the Clinic’s chief caregiver o cer, and Lorie and Nick Howley. e Howley Foundation has committed more than $20 million to date, and the program has received funding from other donors, including former KeyCorp CEO Beth E. Mooney and the KeyBank Foundation.

e Clinic is accepting nurse scholar applications from high school juniors through Oct. 1. To learn more and apply online, visit clevelandclinic.org/ASPIRE.

yB Judy Stringer

Jillian Reece of Loveleigh Loops gives the Moss Room recording area a spin. | CONTRIBUTED

Moran

“As moms, we need to get it in when kids are not screaming behind the door in another room.”

Megan Moran

TALKING TRASH

How Progressive Field gets cleaned between games

credible, but at the same time, our sta is like, ‘Enough.’”

High up in Progressive Field’s upper deck, in front of those reviled right- eld shipping containers that once seemed like a good idea, the Cleveland Guardians’ assistant director for facility operations, Rosalie Morrison, peered up at the ominous sky and said — loud enough for Lake Erie to hear — “It looks dark, but I think we’re clear.”

Now. On the list of things a Clevelander should know not to say, this ranks far behind “Art Modell had no choice,” but well ahead of “ at’s OK, I don’t really like corned beef.”

Within seconds, the wind started gusting, the rain started falling and mid-March collided with late July, creating ideal conditions for someone who wants to spend the next six hours walking around with squishy socks, but not not-soideal for someone trying to rid the aisles of peanut shells and half-eaten nachos.

“Can we put in a request to get those little hats with the little umbrellas for when it rains?” asked a member of the cleaning crew.

“I don’t think they’d stay on your head,” Morrison said, laughing.

“You think I’ve got a fat head?”

“No, I just think the wind would blow it o ,” she said.

“Ah,” he said, waving his hand at the gust. “ at was nothing.”

It’s 5 p.m. on July 26 — about an hour after the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Kansas City Royals 8-3 to nish o a six-game homestand — and roughly 70 seasonal workers are already scattered across Progressive Field, doing a job that few of the 19,000 fans in attendance spent much time thinking about.

Maybe it’s time they did?

“I’ve been going to games my entire life, and I’ve seen the product on the eld, and I’ve seen people walking around working, but I never actually understood what getting the stadium ready day after day after day,” said Morrison, who is now in her fth season on the job. “It’s a grind, especially this time of year. By the time you reach the end of a homestand, people are dragging. ey’re hot. ey’re tired. e crowds have been in-

She laughed, then added, “I saw Slider today and he was struggling. I was like, ‘I don’t know how you did that.’”

e same could be said of cleaning an outdoor stadium 81 times a year — more, if there are postseason games — but it happens. Win or lose. Day or night. Rain or shine.

Snow or shine, too.

Here’s how.

Cleaning process

After every game, a crew ranging from 50 to 115 people do the job most fans refuse to do — pick up refuse. On a busy Friday or Saturday, sta ers ll at least one compactor, which equates to 10 to 12 tons of garbage

e Guardians’ cleaning crew is a combination of third-party laborers provided by Minutemen Sta ng and unionized sta ers. Cleanup time ranges from four hours for a small weeknight crowd to eight hours for those large weeknight crowds that tend to be, uh, well-hydrated. e July 26 game had an announced crowd of 26,699, but about 8,000 of those fans were disguised as empty green seats.

“I operate o in-park attendance, so as much as I love and support our ticket ops team, it doesn’t matter to me how many tickets you sold,” Morrison said. “I care about how many people are physically in the building. at helps me gauge how much trash, dirt, grime and dust we need to clean up.”

As for the cleaning itself, it’s a multi-step process that begins 30 minutes after each game. e rst step is called “the pick,” which involves Minutemen sta ers bagging up big items like cans, containers, wrappers, napkins and the like. (Pre-pandemic, pickers separated out things like aluminum cans for recycling, but that’s not possible at the current sta ng levels.)

e pickers set aside personal

cleared, the Guardians’ power blowing crew comes through each row, blowing smaller debris like peanut shells and popcorn down into the front row, where another set of Minutemen sta ers sweep it up.

And if there’s anything left, like dried nacho cheese? at’s for the pressure washers, whose operators start cleaning the entire bowl at 5 a.m. after night games. Ideally, the stadium is trash-free by then, but have you ever tried cleaning peanut shells on a gusty night?

as 45 minutes to clean the stadium. Consequently, the Guardians often request twice as many Minutemen sta ers to make sure the evening fans aren’t sitting in leftover salsa.

“It’s a lot,” said Victory Beltz, Minutemen’s regional manager for Cleveland. “But we get it done if it needs to be done.”

items like wallets, purses, keys and phones, but they’re free to keep promotional items that get left behind, like bobbleheads, tumblers and T-shirts. (Oh, and sunglasses. Lots and lots of sunglasses.)

Once the big items have been

“Peanut shells — man, those are enemy No. 1 for all of us,” Morrison said. “If we miss the peanut shells and our pressure washers wash them into the drains, it causes infrastructure problems. It’s not fun.”

Another thing that’s not fun? Rainouts. Especially ones that result in day-night doubleheaders, which are pains in the neck for cleaning crews who have as little

e Guardians’ in-house blowers make about $19 an hour, and their union contract is up for renegotiation after this season. Minutemen’s bill rate averages $22 an hour, with a typical sta er taking home around $15 an hour. (Project managers, supervisors and leads make more.)

For Minutemen sta ers, one of the job perks is that they get paid the following day, “which is extra appealing for anyone looking for a quick paycheck,” Beltz said.

A lot of Minutemen employees already have a full-time job else-

where and use the stadium gig to make some extra money on nights and weekends. About 70% of the crew is made up of the same people each night, Beltz said. Many of those same employees work Cleveland Browns games as well and will even travel to nearby cities, like the recent Taylor Swift concert in Pittsburgh. ( e Cavaliers and Monsters partner with Immaculate Cleaning, which is based in Willowick.)

As for the remaining 30% of sta ers at Guardians games, they range from people who only work certain shifts (weekends, for instance) to people who need temporary work to transients who are just passing through Cleveland on their way to someplace else.

“One of the things that’s appealing about working for a sta ng company is, you can miss a date,” Beltz said. “If it’s a seven-day homestand, you can work two

Joe Scalzo

“Peanut shells — man, those are enemy No. 1 for all of us. If we miss the peanut shells and our pressure washers wash them into the drains, it causes infrastructure problems.”

Rosalie Morrison, Cleveland Guardians’ assistant director for facility operations

days. You’re not going to get points against you for not working every day.”

Yes, the trash often stinks, as do the hours — particularly if you have to wait for extra innings or a Friday night reworks show. But the job itself isn’t bad, Beltz said. Plus, Morrison tries to provide extra perks, like sharing unused promotional items with Minutemen sta ers or ordering food for challenging shifts.

“ ere’s a lot of walking, but it’s really not that di cult unless you’re dealing with the elements,” Beltz said. “Sometimes it’s raining at 3 o’clock in the morning, but we’ve got all night to get it done.

“It looks like organized chaos, but it’s very orchestrated. ere’s a method to the madness.”

Finding help

Like pretty much every industry, the Guardians took a sta ng hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Major League Baseball played the 2020 season without fans, and had limited capacity early in the 2021 season.

Consequently, there’s still more work than workers, with the Guardians’ in-house sta operating at about 65% capacity, Morrison said. As for Minutemen? Well, they’re always hiring.

“We do a tremendous amount of recruiting,” Beltz said. “We have a job board hanging in our waiting area that talks about positions we

have available, and the baseball and football cleanup is always on there. It’s always been a big part of what we do, both before I came here and while I’ve been here. It’s part of who we are.”

And if you’re a workaholic?

ere are opportunities to handle multiple roles. One team leader, Efrem Moore, cleans bathrooms before the game starts, cleans the stadium during the game (for instance, the Guardians try to empty trash cans every three innings) and stays on afterward to clean up.

“I don’t know how he does it,” Morrison said.

James Jones can relate. He often works multiple jobs each day, setting up tables and chairs for an event at the convention center, say, before coming to Progressive Field for cleanup duty. Over the past nine years, he’s done just about every dirty job in the stadium. On July 26, it was driving a small dump truck around the stadium, picking up bags.

“I like to work,” said Jones, 43. “It’s not really hard. It’s something that has to be done. Everyone cleans up at their house. is is just like that for me.”

at said, Jones sometimes wishes fans would treat their home stadium like it was, well, home.

“ at’s the only thing that upsets me sometimes,” he said. “It’s like, why do you have to leave all these peanuts and popcorn everywhere?”

When asked if that was the worst job, he smiled and said, “No, the worst job is cleaning up throw-up. You get those $2 beer nights and someone gets too drunk down there. at’s the worst.”

Still, even sober fans leave behind a mess — and not just in Cleveland. Go to any ballpark, stadium or arena in America, and you’ll see the same scene.

But not in Japan. Back in November, the Associated Press ran a story about Japanese soccer fans bagging up their trash after each World Cup match in Qatar — to take home, not to the stadium trash cans — while the Japanese players left behind spotless locker rooms.

“For Japanese people, this is just the normal thing to do,” Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu said. “When you leave, you have to leave a place cleaner than it was before. at’s the education we have been taught. at’s the basic culture we have. For us, it’s nothing special.”

If you’re saying to yourself, “ at would never happen in America,” you’re right.

But, Beltz said, it doesn’t need to.

“Honestly, whenever I go to a game with one of my friends and they go to take their box or their pop can and go to throw it away, I encourage them to keep it there,” he said, chuckling. “It’s job security. Our employees need the work.

“As far as leaving the mess, it’s kind of good for us.”

A crew of Minutemen staffers battles high winds while picking up trash after the Cleveland Guardians’ 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals on July 26 at Progressive Field. Crew members use power blowers to rid aisles of debris like peanuts and popcorn. | PHOTOS BY JOE SCALZO

Ariel Ventures af liate buys LaSalle Theatre

Stan Bullard

e LaSalle eatre in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood has just become the latest event center in the portfolio of Ariel Ventures of Cleveland, which operates three other venues in addition to its economic development and historic preservation consultancy.

“It’s a beautiful historic building,” said Radhika Reddy, managing member of Ariel Ventures, in a phone interview. “We love working with old buildings, and this is right up our alley because we already run event centers.”

rough Ariel Lasalle eater LLC, Ariel Ventures on July 27 bought the renovated 1927 property at 819 E. 185th St. for $900,000, according to online Cuyahoga County property records. e seller was an a liate of the Northeast Shores Development Corp., which had to dispose of the property as it goes through a shutdown process.

“ e property has 400 seats and can accommodate 600 people on a standing basis, so it’s a large event center,” Reddy said. “We plan to add concerts and live shows as well as operate it as an event venue.”

She said plans call for adding two chandeliers to replace dome lights to add more “pop” to the space, as well as upgrade the heating and cooling system.

e purchase is an investment led by Ariel Ventures, a minorityand women-led concern that includes Reddy, who is also Asian, as well as Lynn Selzer and Irene Zawadiwsky. e LaSalle, which

spans a block of frontage on East 185th, also includes commercial storefronts and ve apartments.

e property’s survival is a testament to the perseverance of Northeast Shores, the city of Cleveland and multiple nancial partners. Northeast Shores bought the dilapidated property in 2009 for $150,000 at a Cuyahoga County Sheri sale.

Although the theater’s new owner will have to cover costs of the property’s continuing operations, the $900,000 sale price is clearly less than what was plowed into restoring the structure when the renovation came together in 2016 at an estimated cost of $4 million. County records show the county assigns the LaSalle a market value for tax purposes of

$388,000.

Caroline J. Peak, president of Northeast Shores, said in a phone interview that Ariel met the community development corporation’s key goal for the sale because it will be engaged in the neighborhood, including working with local schools to set up an internship program for high school students with an in -

terest in theater and the events industry.

Other prospective buyers did not qualify financially, Peak said.

Ariel’s other properties and activity in the Cleveland business community, she added, meant it met Ward 3 Councilman Mike Polensek’s requirement that it not be sold to an out-of-town group that would flip the property.

In an e ort to deal with a spate of shootings and other violence that has occurred this summer in downtown Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Sheri ’s department and the Cleveland Police Department are partnering to increase patrols and tra c enforcement throughout the central business district.

Sheri ’s department law enforcement o cers “will be strategically deployed to maximize resources and provide increased visibility — with the goal of deterring criminal behavior and improving security,” according to a statement from the county issued Monday, July 31.

“I am assigning a team of eight deputies, one sergeant, and additional resources to assist the Cleveland police patrolling the downtown core,” Sheri Harold Pretel said in the statement. “ is collaboration will put a much-needed focus on deterring crime and building trust.”

e plan to use county law enforcement to bolster patrols comes

as concerns about a surge in violent and nuisance crimes are increasing around the city. Most prominently, a mass shooting injured nine, some seriously, in the Warehouse District on Sunday morning, July 9.

Cleveland City Councilman Kerry McCormack, who represents part of downtown, said he has seen an upward trend in violence this summer compared with past years.

“We are seeing more issues with crime in downtown as it is seeing more residents live there,” McCormack said. “What we are hearing is that many of the incidents are between people who know each other and have a ‘beef,’ but that does not make it OK. A shooting is still a shooting.”

is is not the rst time the city of Cleveland has partnered with other law enforcement agencies. In the spring, the Ohio State Highway Patrol joined with CPD to help deal with the city’s non-street-legal vehicles and other tra c problems.

Downtown Cleveland Inc., formerly the Downtown Cleveland Alliance, has rolled out a safety ambassador program that employs

trained, unarmed people to provide escorts and safety assistance to visitors, residents and businesses.

“It is really a multifaceted approach having other jurisdictions along with CPD, which is still the primary force in the city, but we know that their o cer numbers are down,” McCormack said. “ e downtown ambassadors are specially trained to de-escalate and help with quality-of-life issues.

ey can provide direct intervention if needed, and we are working to expand that program. It does not

address gun re, but it helps with those smaller issues.”

In addition, McCormack said council this year approved nearly $13 million overall to address safety in the city, including $2.76 million for ShotSpotter, a gun re detecting program, and $1 million in federal funding for a downtown lighting project to enhance safety, as well as funding for more security cameras in and out of the downtown area. ose expenditures are part of the Bibb administration’s Raising Investment in Safety for Everyone (RISE) initiative.

“We wanted a good neighbor, and we have one. I’m very happy with the sale,” Peak said.

e other event centers operated by Ariel Ventures are Ariel International Center and Ariel Pearl, both in Cleveland, and Ariel on Broadway, which also is a hotel, in Lorain.

Northeast Shores has been in the process of shutting its doors for years after a prior board resigned, and it has no sta . Peak said Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, the nonpro t serving as an intermediary for corporations and foundations for city investments, has aided Northeast Shores in closing down.

Cleveland’s Courtwatch program is another way to stem some of the nuisance crimes that plague residents in the city, McCormack said. e program is designed to put pressure on judges to take into consideration a suspect’s volume of crime.

“Far too often, people who commit a mass amount of crimes — we have incidents where one person breaks into 150 cars in a week — and the judges just release them, and most often they are picked up the next week again breaking into cars,” McCormack said.

e councilman wants judges to take into account the volume of crime when dealing with that type of recidivism.

“ at volume of crime does have a community impact when the same person or people go back into the community and wreak havoc again and again,” he said. “ ey have to be taken seriously, because the residents pay the price when people continue to recommit crimes.”

e city/county partnership is a leadup to Cleveland’s inaugural Public Safety Summit, scheduled for Aug. 23. City leadership and local law enforcement unions will meet to strategize on a CPD recruitment and retention strategy.

“ e city is taking it really seriously. No crime is acceptable,” McCormack said.

yB Kim Palmer

Cleveland

partners with Cuyahoga County Sheriff to combat crime downtown

An af liate of Ariel Ventures of Cleveland has acquired the LaSalle Theatre property on East 185th Street in Cleveland and will continue to operate it as an event center. | DAVID J. SCHWARTZ AND CLEVELAND NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRESS

Pedestrians walk past a Warehouse District parking lot at the northwest corner of West Third Street and St. Clair Avenue. A July 9 shooting in the area injured nine. | MICHELLE JARBOE

“We love working with old buildings, and this is right up our alley because we already run event centers.”

Radhika Reddy, managing member of Ariel Ventures

As Canton takes the NFL spotlight, Hall of Fame Village is ( nally) ready

In late July, just before Canton became the center of the NFL universe, the Hall of Fame Village hosted about 2,000 ag football players at its ForeverLawn Sports Complex.

e complex, which is located on the south end of a campus that’s bigger than the Mall of America, features seven turf elds, one grass eld and a great view of the Village’s massive 100,000-square-foot dome, the Center for Performance.

What it (apparently) doesn’t have is a good enough view of the 125-foot-high Red Zone Ferris wheel that used to be at Cleveland’s I-X Center and now sits on the other side of the dome alongside two other rides in the Village’s Play-Action Plaza.

Because if you had mentioned the word “Ferris,” you’d have been tempted to add, “Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?”

“I would say that 90% of the folks out at the ag football tournament were from out-of-state, so I gave out BOGOs (buy-one, getone free coupons) for the rides to create awareness, and they were like, ‘Where’s that?’” said Anne Gra ce, the Village’s VP of public a airs. “Because if you don’t come into the campus on this (north) end, you don’t necessarily see it.”

Slowly, Gra ce’s work paid o

and people started migrating toward the plaza and enjoying the rides.

But it took time.

“You’re like, ‘How can they not see the wheel?” said Michael Crawford, the Village’s chairman, president and CEO. “But they get xated on what they’re here to do.

“It’ll get better and better as more people know what we’re doing.”

As you’ve probably realized by now, this anecdote isn’t just about ag football players. After years of delayed projects and broken promises, the Hall of Fame Village

is no longer a giant mound of dirt, encircled by fencing showing fancy artist’s renderings of what’s to come.

Instead, it’s a sports and entertainment destination, one with restaurants and rides and elds and programming, both football-related (like last ursday’s Hall of Fame Game and enshrinement and this spring’s USFL season) and not (like last weekend’s Zac Brown Band concert and October’s Bill Burr show).

In short, it’s a destination.

Or, at least, it’s ready to be.

“ e biggest thing that I still

hear from people in the Cleveland area is, ‘Gosh, we didn’t know you guys were doing these things,’” said Crawford, whose company is currently building an indoor water park and Hilton hotel set to open in fall 2024. “Now we’re getting to a place where we’re adding critical mass, so if you decide you want to take a new adventure somewhere, we’re here.”

at’s what made this past weekend so important. e Hall enshrined nine inductees on Saturday, Aug. 5, headlined by former Browns left tackle Joe omas. His former team also played its rst

Hall of Fame game since 1999, when the expansion Browns used Phil Dawson’s overtime kick to beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 at then-Fawcett Stadium, which has since been transformed from a high school stadium into the NFL-level Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

While the weekend was a big moment for the Browns — ursday night’s game against the Jets was broadcast nationally on NBC, while ESPN and the NFL Network both carried the enshrinement — it was also a big moment for the Village, whose success depends on becoming a regional draw. Canton needs fans from Cleveland (and Akron and Columbus and, heck, New York) to come away impressed — and to tell their friends.

“If the Browns had come two years ago, it’d be like, ‘You took your shot too early,’” Crawford admitted. “But having them here now is meaningful for us.”

Added Gra ce, “For a lot of folks, we have one shot to make that rst impression. We’ve made a very concerted e ort to make sure the customer experience — from the minute they step on campus — is re ective of excellence. We want them to be repeat customers.”

e Browns already are, having held a practice in Canton last year. (Ohio State did the same in 2021). But the Village can’t just rely on

yB Joe Scalzo

Aerial Images of the 2022 Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

Don Shula’s American Kitchen is one of several restaurant and retail options at Canton’s Hall of Fame Village.

Ohioans to survive. Just as New Yorkers don’t visit the Statue of Liberty (and many Clevelanders skip the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), many locals consider visiting the Hall of Fame to be something tourists do.

But, in fairness, it IS something tourists do. e Hall of Fame museum routinely draws visitors from all 50 states on a monthly basis, and the Village was designed to turn their three-hour visit into a six-hour visit, one that includes dinner at Don Shula’s American Kitchen or Brew Kettle, dessert at Smoosh Cookies and maybe even a stop at the football-themed Build-A-Bear Workshop.

While the Hall and the Village are separate entities — the museum is a nonpro t, while the Village is a publicly traded company — they both rely on television to build that national awareness.

ursday’s game was one of 17 times the Hall will appear on national TV this year, from Saturday’s enshrinement to Friday’s Gold Jacket Dinner to this spring’s USFL games to the Women’s Football Alliance championship game to even the American Cornhole League, which held a charity proam in Canton in mid-July that was broadcast on ESPN.

“I had people from L.A. calling me and going, ‘Is that your (cornhole) stu (on ESPN) that you’re doing?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah,’” Crawford said, chuckling. “It’s a lot for a company our size. We can’t pay for that kind of marketing.”

And without that kind of marketing, it can’t become the type of destination that can eventually pay o its sizable debt. e Village will report second-quarter earnings this week, but its rst-quarter revenue was just $3.1 million.

at’s a 48% increase over the

same period in 2022, but its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was still a loss of $12 million, and the overall project is more associated with the red zone than its Ferris wheel.

It’s why the company’s board had to approve a 22-to-1 reverse stock split in December to prevent the stock from being delisted from the Nasdaq, and it’s why Canton residents have gone from asking, “Is this ever going to get built?” to “How are they going to pay for this?”

Crawford insists things are trending in a positive direction, “like we said it would,” and said most of the company’s debt is good debt.

“It’s 20- to 25-year debt at 4%, 5%, 6% interest,” said Crawford, a former executive with Disney and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

“I’ll take that debt all day long. I don’t need to restructure that.”

their parents) pack the Village’s outdoor elds and its dome, and Crawford’s team has tried to supplement major events with a diverse slate of programming, from weddings to meetings to private events to Kidz Bop concerts to the recently announced Taco & Tequila Fest featuring T.I., Rick Ross and 2 Chainz.

Canton will never become a tourist destination on the level of Las Vegas or Miami, but it’s not a North Dakota outpost, either. e city and the region are already bene ting from the Village project, Gra ce said, and the company is starting to compile data in hopes of getting more support from the city, the county and the state.

Still, Crawford admits the company made some tough choices to survive the pandemic, including taking on some shorter-term, higher-interest debt.

“We’ve already started to tell our

folks, those lien-holders, that we’re going to be coming to you,” said Crawford, who will focus more on pro tability once the water park and hotel open. “I think the good news is, they see this and they see the progress. ey see the revenue growth. ey see the cost management. at makes it a lot easier to have those conversations. ey say, ‘OK, you’re a little more trustworthy as a company. We’re willing to continue to go along with this.’”

Hall of Fame week will always be the biggest date on Canton’s calendar, but it’s no longer the only one. Young athletes (and

“Because the numbers are real,” she said. “Whether it’s the tax base, the bed tax, sales tax, property tax — all of those things. Roll it all up and, long-term, when you’re building on the backs of hospitality and tourism, those things don’t stress the infrastructure. ose folks come in, and we want them to leave as much of their wallet as we can grab and send them on their way.”

She laughed, then added, “With all due respect.”

Will it work? Time will tell. But Crawford believes it’s a good strategy, one that’s already been utilized from SoHo to San Francisco to Saudi Arabia.

“Communities all over the world realize leisure tourism is an economic driver,” he said. “You don’t have to add extra re. You don’t have to add extra schools. You don’t have to add extra supermarkets.

“People come, they stay, they play and they leave. And if you do it right, they talk about you and they talk about your city. It’s great money.”

The Forward Pass zipline and the Red Zone Ferris wheel (the former I-X Center Ferris wheel) are two of the rides available at the Village.

“Communities all over the world realize leisure tourism is an economic driver.”

Michael Crawford, Hall of Fame Village’s chairman, president and CEO

Downtown landlord Landmark goes with green electricity

“Why is the U.S. 100% dependent on Asia for its PPE?” asks Jacob Block.

John Carney, a member of the Carney family of Westlake that operates Landmark Management and its three downtown apartment buildings, emphasizes his seriousness when talking about a new initiative by the company on the electrical front.

“ is is not a gimmick,” Carney said in an interview. “And it’s not only about money. It’s about leaving my two young kids a better rock.”

By that he means how he sees sustainability moves in hopes of reducing the carbon impact of the company and in playing at least a small part in combating climate change.

And that is by using the company’s latest power contract with an energy supplier, Constellation, to opt out of so-called brown power sources to using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. It did so by having Ohio Energy Management of Cleveland negotiate its latest power contract to provide only green energy options.

As a result, renewable energy now turns on the lights and other electrical services in the public areas of Landmark’s buildings: the Shoreline on Lake Erie near downtown and the Bridgeview and Perry-Payne loft apartments in rehabilitated buildings in the Cleveland Warehouse District.

Stan Bullard Carney

Moreover, Ohio Energy is creating a web page that Landmark can use to promote the same green electricity to its own tenants as an option for electricity. Carney did not want to guess how many tenants may follow suit. But he said he will report on it in the months ahead.

e bulk power contract that Landmark got also cut its energy bill by about 30% from what it would have been paying, according to James Ziegan, the owner of Ohio Energy Management. Ziegan said there are about four such bulk power producers nationally who provide bulk electricity.

“We try to keep it out of getting into politics,” Ziegan said. “I focus on reduced spending, but (Carney) was very interested in pursuing this option.”

It is also a small part of Ziegan’s business, as 70% of his rm’s revenue comes from helping businesses use bulk buying to lower their electricity bills or installing energy-saving devices such as LED lighting through their reduced energy costs. He said it provides an alternative to the other approaches for funding such capital investment, such as bank loans or nding the money

in the business. Most of his business, 70%, is from leveraging energy improvements, and renewable energy sources make up about 30%.

Ziegan said the strategy allows companies to pursue a green option by contract rather than the more capital-intensive approach of investing in their own solar panels or windmills.

Going green through such a step is as much a decision of the heart as the head, observed

Chuck Schulman, president of Carlyle Management of Beachwood, an apartment owner and manager with four decades of tenure in the industry.

“Most people who are investing in green energy are not doing it for altruistic reasons,” Schulman said. “ ey’re interested in it as long as the economic incentives are there. e feeling among many people is, ‘If it works out, great.’”

It’s also a question of apartment operators having to juggle many issues, so there is not much time left to survey less than typical options, he said.

A reason that energy has become a topic in the multifamily and commercial realty business generally is because energy has grown so expensive, Schulman said. Current programs are available because a handful of energy consultants such as Ohio Energy have provided them, and many people have spent decades working to get renewable energy to work in the marketplace, including installing solar and other devices.

e bulk-buying aspect of electricity is now common among big-league landlords as well as some individual consumers.

Doug Price, CEO of K&D Group of Willoughby, said K&D has pursued energy contracts and hedging policies for more than a decade.

“It’s a question that just hasn’t come up,” Price said of pursuing green options in the contracts.

For the Carneys, it was a case of looking at energy options when the contract for one of its buildings, the Shoreline, came up for renewal. It also was an oshoot from having replaced older lighting systems in its 1990s-vintage rehab projects with more current LED lighting technology.

e family also wanted to take a long view. It might have saved a little more money by including brown energy options.

“We feel we’re saving a lot of money anyway — let’s pay a little more and go green,” Carney said.

He’s the man who has made this all happen. He got the idea for it after working for East Coast venture funds involved with medical equipment and brokering PPE in the early days of the pandemic with connections and pathways he’d established.

Block is the guy who — with more than a little help from his assembled team and people including Jim Hull of Summit Glove in Minerva — gured out how to set up a plant with nearly 50 miles of continuous-process glove production lines running inside a giant former Pier One warehouse, with more to be installed.

He’s also the guy who raised around $180 million in equity, debt and state funding to turn the entire thing into a reality. It’s already churning out thousands of gloves a minute, this very minute, with production lines that run 24/7, 365 days a year.

ose lines are amazing, even to someone like Hull, who is president of Summit Glove and has been around the industry since he was a kid.

Over the years, Hull said he has seen more than 30 glove companies in the region shut down in the face of Asian competition. But they never had an operation like American Nitrile and the size needed to compete like Block does, he said.

“Jacob’s lines are 800 feet long, and each has a mile-long chain. ... ey’re incredible,” which makes the Grove City plant among the larger plants anywhere, Hull said.

Block gave a tour of the plant, and the production lines are impressive. ey run from one end of the plant to the other in rows, feeding packaging stations at one end. Each line is three stories high, with a chain of ceramic hands that go back and forth for a mile before they complete their journey. Along the way they are dipped, cured in ovens, their cu s are rolled for removal and they are completed without aws, removed and packed in cases of 1,000 gloves each, all on a highly

SOLAR

From Page 1

And the solar set-up itself has changed the view of the structure. It stands on the building’s south side, above it on the slope Brush Road takes to Richmond Heights past the property at 26250 Euclid Ave. e 1,740-panel solar array faces east and west to maximize exposure to the sun.

Adding the solar installation also beat other options for that part of the sprawling property.

“ e parking lot needed improvements, but asphalt is very expensive,” Haim Mayan said in a phone interview. “So, we asked ourselves, why not use the parking lot infrastructure as an asset? ere’s more parking here than

automated system.

e system needs to be automated for the company to succeed, Block said. In terms of competing with Asia, American Nitrile has an advantage when it comes to energy costs, about the same material costs as its overseas competition, and higher labor costs. It will need to produce its gloves with less labor than its competitors to match or beat their prices, he said.

It’s also a matter of scale, which is why American Nitrile’s plant is so large — and why Block hopes to open more plants once this one is fully developed. He said he also might get a boost in the future, too, if the U.S. starts producing nitrile rubber domestically with projects now underway.

e Grove City plant currently has six, mile-long production lines in operation, two more about to come online and then another four that will be installed soon after.

Each line produces 25 million gloves per month.

at sounds like a lot of gloves, but compared with how many are used in the U.S., it’s not even a breath of mist across the top of the bucket, say both Block and Hull. Block gures his plant, at full size, will only be making a small frac-

the building will ever need because of outdated zoning codes.”

e Mayans had to receive a variance from the Euclid Zoning Commission to slash more than 180 spaces from the parking lot on the building’s back side, and it still has more than 500 spaces on the building’s front, or northern, side.

J. Scott Muscatello, Euclid zoning commissioner, said this was the rst request the city has received to replace part of a parking lot with a solar power installation.

“ e lot has probably never been lled,” Muscatello said. “ e building was built under old zoning codes which were put in terms of minimums as opposed to maximums. Medical use also requires more parking as clients come and go than other types of o ce use.

tion of the gloves used in the U.S.

At full production with 12 lines, Block’s plant will produce a little more than 3.5 billion ambidextrous gloves per year. While that seems like a lot, Hull said that’s

e zoning commission (in April) had no problem approving the change.”

Even with the Cleveland area’s famously cloudy skies, Amanda Mayan said the couple estimates the solar installation will provide 52% of the building’s electrical needs. ey estimate solar power will allow them to cut their electric bill by $135,000 annually at current electrical rates.

“ ere is a clear payback in a nancial sense, and this meets our personal value to support sustainability,” Amanda Mayan said. “And it’s a big item for some o ce tenants, particularly for nonpro ts, because their funders want to see sustainability.”

e project will bene t from solar tax credits and from being in a federal opportunity zone, which

still only about 2% of total U.S. demand.

Don’t believe it? You might think you don’t use nitrile gloves, or perhaps that you only use a few each year handling petroleum

supports such investments. For his part, Haim Mayan said the solar approach will ease the building’s vulnerability to future electricity price hikes.

e rate of growth of solar installations paused during the pandemic thanks to material price hikes and delivery hiccups, and then fell 13% in 2022. Still, the Solar Energy Industries Association trade group in Washington, D.C., estimates that a record number of installs for the rst quarter has put 2023 on track to have another record year for installations, surpassing 30 gigawatts of solar power. However, not all are fans.

Gino Faciana, president of corporate facilities management rm Pleasant Valley Corp. of Medina, said he worked with solar

ten, they wear more than one pair. So, in a single, routine trip to the dentist, you might create demand for two to six pairs of gloves. A doctor’s visit might require more, and the number goes up quickly for longer and more complex medical applications and for folks who see providers regularly for chronic conditions.

Block hopes to make more nitrile gloves than one plant can produce, but rst he’s focused on completing the Grove City plant and beginning to build market share, he said.

He’s getting help from Akron and its eponymous university, which has played a role in American Nitrile getting o the ground with engineering help from its polymer schools, thanks to an introduction by Barry Rosenbaum, a senior fellow at the University of Akron Research Foundation.

Rosenbaum connected Block to, among others, University of Akron professor and researcher Dr. Sadhan Jana. He and others at the school are working with American Nitrile and Ohio Penal Industries on a program that uses the university to provide associates degrees to people in Ohio prisons, and Block has said he’ll hire about 50 of those students for his plant.

But Jana thinks the university can do much more work with American Nitrile, not only to help it continuously improve its product and processes, but ultimately to revolutionize the gloves entirely.

“A glove needs to be smarter,” Jana said. “It can expand its functions beyond what people are immediately thinking about.”

How can a glove be smart? Jana has lots of ideas for that, but some of the rst smart gloves will likely be able to detect certain chemicals or drugs, he said.

cal engineers, said he looks to Akron for technical help, engineering hires and ideas. He said he’s excited about some of the technologies Jana discussed with him and said American Nitrile plans to use them.

“We absolutely plan to manufacture it,” Block said of a drug-detecting glove. “It’s just a question of when the technology will be ready.”

Hull hopes to make further contributions as well. He’s hoping American Nitrile also will get into surgeons’ gloves, which unlike most medical nitrile gloves are hand-speci c to o er more dexterity. ey also cost a bit more and have a slightly better margin, Hull said.

Hull already has contributed a new hand mold to American Nitrile, in exchange for a small amount of equity in the company, he said. Block said those molds, patented by Hull, provide more nger dexterity than competing gloves, giving him another competitive edge.

Hull said he can help more, if needed, and is more than willing.

“We have more than 50 patents,” he said of Summit Glove.

his company here because he thought he would be close to the expertise and support he’d need to succeed.

He’s gotten it, too, he said. e state has helped, with a JobsOhio grant of $3.5 million. Hull has been more than generous with his time and expertise, and the University of Akron is proving valuable as a source of both technology and worker training, Block said.

It’s all in keeping with what drove Block to do this in the rst place, when the U.S. found itself short on gloves and other PPE in the pandemic.

“ ere’s no reason PPE can’t be manufactured here,” he reasoned then.

Block said he’s not quite done hiring for the Columbus plant, which currently employs about 150 people.

products or chemicals at home. ink again.

Every time a dentist, doctor, nurse, phlebotomist or other medical professional works with a patient, they put on gloves. Of-

installations for several years but dropped the e ort.

“I could not get enough savings for an adequate return on investment,” he said. “In Ohio, it helps shave some dollars from the bill. ere’s just not enough sunlight here unless you have a perfect location.”

e Mayans also improved their project’s ROI by using a construction company they operate to install the solar panels.

ey also have put four sta ers through a solar apprenticeship program because they plan to use it on other acquisitions.

“ ere are a lot of moving parts in this type of project,” Haim Mayan said, and constructing the array with their own crew helped retain control. Wiring the panels was set to be

For example, maybe a police o cer or EMS worker would have gloves that turn a di erent color when exposed to fentanyl, or even turn di erent colors depending on which drug or chemical they touched. at’s also in keeping with work done by others. e University’s Dr. Abraham Joy has invented technology that can be applied to wipes, enabling them to detect opioids.

Block, who already employs 15 engineers, including four chemi-

done by Friday, Aug. 4, and a few weeks after that FirstEnergy’s Illuminating Co. is scheduled to connect the array to the building.

The Lake View Enterprise Campus building was about 50% leased when Man Holdings acquired it 18 months ago. Amanda Mayan said they are happy with leasing and have leased about 40,000 square feet for a Regus location, which provides services to small businesses who rent space on a short-term basis.

“We feel that small tenants will grow and take o ce space in the building,” Amanda Mayan said. “We’ve seen it before with other properties.” She declined to disclose how much of the building is currently leased.

Block said he’s grateful for all of the local support he’s gotten so far. A Columbus native, Block moved from the New York City area to start

at number will go up to about 200, but probably no higher, he said. More people will be needed for new production lines, but fewer will be needed for packaging as that function is further automated, he said. en, he’ll start exploring opportunities to open a second plant.

“We’re just scratching the surface here,” Block said.

CLASSIFIED SERVICES

The 530,000-square-foot American Nitrile plant in Grove City (front center) was formerly a warehouse for Pier One Imports. | AMERICAN NITRILE PHOTOS

Jacob Block is founder and CEO at American Nitrile. DAN SHINGLER

But Chodzin, a private clientnancial adviser with Citizens Securities Inc., a division of Citizens Financial Group, isn’t so quick to let older men leave their spouses out of the conversation anymore.

“I used to defer to the man who’d say, ‘Why don’t we come and take a look at the numbers?

My wife doesn’t care, she doesn’t need to come along,’” said Chozin, a 40-year veteran of the industry.

“Now, I insist they bring their wife along. And that is a big change with me in just the last year-anda-half. It wasn’t always this way. For the most part, men tend to think that women aren’t interested in these discussions. Now, we don’t let them get away with that.”

ere’s a clear business case to be made for bringing women into nancial planning discussions that nancial advisories and wealth management rms are increasingly keen on. And they’re adapting accordingly.

A massive transfer of wealth is

playing out over the next several years between older men and their spouses, who are statistically likely to outlive their male counterparts.

According to a McKinsey & Co. report widely circulated amongnancial planners, baby boomer women could control an unprecedented $30 trillion in nancial assets by 2030 — a level that eclipses the GDP of the entire United States. Recognizing this trend, rms like Citizens and many others have been investing in people and training designed to equip advisers like Chodzin with the wherewithal to bring

Advertising Section

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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ACCOUNTING

Corrigan Krause CPAs and Consultants

Corrigan Krause CPAs and Consultants is pleased to announce Jim Suttie, CPA, joined our rm as a Director in our Assurance Services department. Jim is passionate about client service and helping clients succeed, however they de ne success. He is especially knowledgeable in the construction, manufacturing and professional services industries. Everyone at Corrigan Krause is thrilled to have Jim on our team.

ADVERTISING / MARKETING

LUMIS Marketing

LUMIS Marketing announces the addition of Jasyn Simpson as Vice President, Client Growth and Strategy.

SERVICES

Step Change Innovations

women into nancial planning discussions and the guidance on how to be thoughtful when working with them. Some of that simply comes down to encouraging women who may have been used to letting men run a conversation share their hopes and concerns for the future.

“ is is something that we are de nitely aware of. If a client is a couple, we strongly recommend both partners participate in those meetings,” said Marla Petti, a senior wealth adviser with MAI Capital. “Historically, the male just shows up. And they’re more interested in investments and performance and beating the market.

ey tend to be more risky. But women just want security. ey want to know, am I going to be OK (when my husband is gone)? Is my family going to be OK?”

MAI has been training advisers as well to think more about women, correcting scenarios Petti would see all too often in the past, like advisers only talking to the man and never even addressing the spouse.

It’s not really rocket science.

may be worried about income after their spouse dies, or giving money to grandkids for college, or having resources for charitable giving.

Advisers often convey that women tend to be more nurturing and thoughtful about the future than their male counterparts, and it’s imperative to recognize that. Men are more likely to be concerned with overall returns, Petti said, which may in turn result in more risky behaviors when it comes to managing money.

ere are always exceptions to these generalizations.

Nonetheless, Ettinger notes that Luma has appealed to men who are thinking about what they want to leave behind to their spouses and who want their wives to participate in nancial planning discussions so that they’re prepared when the time comes to control assets on their own.

If nothing else, neglecting the needs of senior women and failing to engage with them may mean leaving business on the table.

ACCOUNTING

Pease Bell CPAs

We are pleased to announce Yisroel Segal, CPA will be joining Pease Bell CPAs as a Partner in our Tax department and will be overseeing our new of ce in Lakewood, New Jersey. He is an experienced CPA who has a passion for helping clients by offering ongoing business, tax, and accounting advice. As a dedicated professional, he has consistently met and exceeded the needs of his clients while developing long-term, trusting relationships with them. “With our amazing growth and the steady pipeline of new opportunities in our practice, I am excited to grow our leadership team with Yisroel helping to continue our path forward” said Kuno Bell, the managing partner of Pease Bell CPAs.

Simpson’s broad base of marketing knowledge includes nearly two decades of experience in brand strategy, market positioning, data-driven marketing, and media buying. His proven track record of developing innovative strategies for national and international brands will enhance the company’s expertise to meet clients’ needs. Simpson earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Akron.

CORPORATE SUBSCRIPTION

To learn more, email us at groupsubscriptions@crain.com

Step Change Innovations, Solon, OH, an ingredient accelerator & CPG curator, names Brooke Bains as Operating Partner for Emerging Brands and Chris Foltz as Retail Strategist. Brooke brings experience building & operating technology companies to lead their emerging consumer product business. She intends to realize her vision of creating best-in-class longevity brands that empower consumers to experience their best lives every day.

Bains

But as women become the “new face of wealth,” as McKinsey puts it, there’s a growing recognition of the need to be thoughtful about thenancial needs and priorities of senior women and to ensure they’re part of discussions that they perhaps weren’t as expected to engage with in the past.

Out ts such as MAI have also been more deliberate in recruiting and advancing women within rm ranks, recognizing that there are times when female clients may connect better with other women who may understand them because of shared experiences.

After all, Petti notes that many women tend to leave adviser relationships within the rst year after a spouse’s death or divorce. If a woman inherits an account from their husband, but the adviser failed to make a connection with the former, there’s a good chance that account will be lost.

Industry reports suggest that somewhere around 70% to 80% of widows leave their husband’s adviser within a year of their spouse’s death.

Foltz

Chris, former Innovation Of cer of Heinen’s Grocery Stores, will use his innovation & retail expertise to bring food as medicine to retail. He’ll execute his vision that grocery plays a vital role in an effective healthcare system that delivers holistic care, education, and a variety of whole, functional food.

TRANSPORTATION

Ohio Peterbilt

Ohio Peterbilt is pleased to announce the promotion of Mike Crawford to Vice President. Mike joined Ohio Peterbilt as Sales Manager in 2018 and has over 30 years of experience in the on-highway truck industry. Mike previously worked for Peterbilt, a PACCAR Company, in several different sales roles before joining Allstate Peterbilt in 2015, prior to its acquisition by Ohio Peterbilt in 2018. In his new role, Mike will oversee all functions of the company including truck sales, parts, and service.

“At the end of the day, what I want to be is a great adviser for anyone. I think that is the goal most advisers have,” Petti said. “But we have to recognize this trend and that it is important to service women and be good listeners and maybe take a different direction with them. Women don’t usually want to listen to what stock you bought, why you bought it, etc. ey want the big picture: Is it risky? Will I be able to provide for my family?”

Firms that fail to recognize the needs of women and connect with them in the nancial planning arena may very well lose accounts in the future. To be sure, retaining customers is just as important as collecting new ones.

Heather Ettinger, chairwoman of Fairport Wealth — an a liate of Hightower Advisors — is acutely aware of this. Sensing a need in the market, she founded Fairport’s Luma Wealth division in 2017, which is speci cally geared toward women.

“Even though women are more likely to want to work with an adviser, only about 20% do,” Ettinger said, referencing studies completed in partnership with the Family Wealth Advisors Council. “And why is that? When they meet with an adviser, 80% leave the meeting feeling misunderstood. And 78% of women have said they would be more interested in talking to a nancial adviser if they focused on improving their quality of life, not just beating the market.”

e key takeaway from those studies, Ettinger said, is to “not treat all women the same.” Some women

“If we can have that opportunity to have a relationship with them before that happens, they are much less likely to leave,” Petti said. erefore, for the nancial adviser, focusing on the needs of women may be as much about retaining accounts and assets as attracting new clients.

Ettinger notes how Luma — which is also marketed to Fairport customers — regularly hosts women’s events where the goal is to talk about nancial planning but without discussing products or fees. No selling goes on at those meetings.

Such e orts help support Fairport’s conversion rate for turning leads into full- edged clients, which she said is north of 70%.

Other rms do similar things, of course. Citizens, for example, hosts seminars for women in retirement who are most engaged when they’re connected with like-minded people, notes Maggie Wall, head of diverse growth segments for Citizens Wealth Management.

Women also tend to be even better sources for referrals than men.

Ettinger said female clients in general tend to recommend an adviser they’re happy with up, down and across generations.

Ultimately, she said, it’s about making women feel heard and understood.

And the rms that do that stand to reap the rewards of being good listeners.

“You have to think about aligning their assets with their goals and priorities, which may be different than men,” Ettinger said. “And, of course, you may have to adjust based on planned for and unplanned for life transitions. But that is what it is all about if you want to serve this market.”

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