Ohio designates Dayton as Aerospace Hub

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel announced today the creation of an urban revitalization partnership in Dayton to organize the city and region’s aerospace and technology assets.

Ohio’s first Hub of Innovation and Opportunity, Dayton’s Aerospace Hub, is designed to spur near and long-term economic growth in an industry of historic significance and strength. Dayton is home to many aerospace, sensor technologies, and advanced materials companies and by designating the area as an Ohio Hub, state leaders hope to attract new investment based on the area’s proximity to the University of Dayton and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

“To accelerate Ohio job growth and economic recovery, we must work in strategic partnerships toward a common vision,” Gov. Strickland said in a statement.

The Cincinnati-Dayton corridor is home to more than 180,000 aerospace workers who were awarded $2.8 billion in U.S. defense spending in 2004. The region also boasts seven institutions of higher education, specializing in engineering and technology fields. Top defense contractors already in the region include L-3 Communications, GE Aviation, Northrop Grumman and Honeywell.

Officials hope the Aerospace Hub designation will also encourage urban revitalization in Dayton through technology and commercialization-based economic development. The city was chosen as the first Hub because it presented a strong business case, producing a knowledge intersection – where aerospace companies and core research facilities can build mutual assets, and support emerging sensor and technology companies, strengthening our established industry cluster.

The Ohio Hub strategy is intended to leverage a region’s resources to attract clusters of connected businesses, encourage new investments and an influx of talented workers, and create new opportunities to grow jobs and develop Ohio’s key industries. The governor today also signed an Executive Directive requiring the Department of Development to establish an advisory group of aerospace and aviation industry leaders to assist with efforts to maximize aerospace and business aviation opportunities in Ohio.

“Ohio’s Aerospace Hub will bring Dayton’s physical resources and human talent together to create a whole that is much greater than the sum of the individual parts,” said Lt. Governor Lee Fisher, who helped create the Ohio Hub concept in the Ohio Department of Development’s Strategic Plan for Economic Development. “Building off the incredible aerospace assets in the Dayton area will catalyze dynamic and innovative new businesses in the community.”

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