About WIRE-Net

WIRE-Net is your accessible management partner providing support in manufacturing improvement and human resource management, training and education, advocacy for new investment in Cleveland and real estate/expansion services.

Mission | History | WIRE-Net Today | WIRE-Net’s Commitment | How to Get Involved

Mission

WIRE-Net strengthens manufacturing to create healthy communities and fuel economic growth.  We provide expertise that is responsive to manufacturing related businesses and their employees.  WIRE-Net connects leaders to each other and engages them in their communities.

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History

WIRE-Net was organized in 1988 to help manufacturing businesses—and jobs—stay in the community at a time when plant closings and downsizing were commonplace. Our staff went straight to the source, visiting almost 200 companies to better understand their challenges. We uncovered what local business leaders thought was working, and what needed attention.

WIRE-Net found that even though manufacturing companies, most with fewer than 100 employees, provided about 60 percent of the community’s jobs, they had been overlooked and under-appreciated as community assets. We helped businesses get organized to win attention from state and local government, and built relationships between business leaders and public officials. This helped us get streets repaved, improved neighborhood safety, and led to new programs like Cleveland’s Industrial Retention Initiative (CIRI) to support manufacturing. WIRE-Net also effectively blocked efforts to weaken industrial zoning on the west side.

Beginning in 1995, our focus broadened, and WIRE-Net began building a more comprehensive economic development approach that would help retain and grow Cleveland area manufacturers. WIRE-Net moved beyond the “outside the plant gate issues,” to new concerns over the lack of industrial land on which to build, and new capabilities to help business leaders “inside the gate.” In 1998, WIRE-Net expanded and welcomed the Bellaire-Puritas Development Corporation and the Westown Community Development Corporation as new community sponsors.

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WIRE-Net Today

WIRE-Net is the only organization exclusively serving manufacturers and working to strengthen the business climate for manufacturing in Northeast Ohio. Our local focus and our accessible, responsive staff mean each member gets fast, personal attention.

Consider the facts that make WIRE-Net your valuable management partner.

• More than 160 manufacturing and related members (as of July 2007)
  
• Each member gets personal attention from our professional account managers.
  
• Through our partnership with Cleveland Industrial Retention Initiative (CIRI), we raise industry awareness of available resources to help stimulate business and neighborhood investment, foster job creation, and improve business retention.

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Our Commitment, Our Vision

Although manufacturing techniques and the economy have changed many times over the past several years, WIRE-Net’s commitment to the success of manufacturing in Cleveland remains the same.
Since 1988, WIRE-Net has directly and indirectly contributed to:

• Manufacturers and jobs staying and growing
• Public and private investment in the infrastructure of the community
• Educational and training programs that produce better qualified job applicants
• Millions of dollars being invested into the local economy, creating a more viable place to work, learn, and do business

WIRE-Net is working to make Northeast Ohio a globally competitive region that’s a great place to live and work. We hope that you’ll join us.

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How to Get Involved:

WIRE-Net’s Board is drawn from our membership. Dozens of active members participate on one or more of our committees and provide direction, support and legwork to move our initiatives forward.

In addition to the committees below, we also encourage our members to participate actively on Business Advisory Committees with Max Hayes High School, the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology Academy at Max Hayes, and other manufacturing training providers.

Committees are currently active in each of the following areas:

Finance Committee: Represents the Board and provides financial oversight of WIRE-Net’s finances, ensuring that funds are used to support the mission, and that commitments to funders are honored.

Fund Development Committee: Provides leadership and volunteer energy for the Annual Fund campaign and events.

Manufacturing Assistance/ Employment & Training:   Ensures WIRE-Net's manufacturing assistance and workforce programs are responsive to the needs of local companies and identifies new opportunities for WIRE-Net to serve local companies.  Guides development, implementation, continuous improvement, and evaluation of WIRE-Net programs in these areas. Oversees the Manufacturing Innovation for the Next Decade (MIND) project.

Membership Committee: Supports member retention, member-to-member networking, and new member recruitment efforts of the organization.

Redevelopment: Oversees WIRE-Net's site assembly, redevelopment, and infrastructure investment projects.

For more information on any of these, or on the Board of Directors, please contact John Colm.