CLEVELAND — A pair of distinguished guests were in Cleveland on Thursday to tour the new headquarters of the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) in the MidTown neighborhood.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown got a first look at the 53,000-square-foot facility called the Manufacturing Innovation, Technology & Job Center at East 63rd Street and Chester Avenue. MAGNET is scheduled to hold a community open house at the new facility on Friday.
“Students and businesses represent the first step to bringing supply chains back home where they belong – to America, and to Northeast Ohio, and we are going to make the technology of the future here in Ohio,” said Brown. “It’s about creating an economy that puts American jobs and American production and American workers first. It’s good for Ohioans, good for our economy, and good for our long-term national security.”
MAGNET is a Cleveland-based non-profit that helps small and mid-sized manufacturers grow through consulting support, assistance for start-ups, and workforce development.
In 2020, MAGNET bought the closed Margaret A. Ireland School from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Construction on what would become the Manufacturing Innovation, Technology and Job Center and MAGNET’s new headquarters began just over a year ago.
MAGNET says the center will be "a new home for all things smart manufacturing that will get thousands of people into great jobs, help build smart factories, supercharge physical product innovation, and boost the visibility of manufacturing as a career for thousands of students."
“In this new building, students will experience a world of hands-on technology and learn about the many manufacturing careers open to them. Northeast Ohio manufacturers will see how to best use Industry 4.0 technologies to grow their businesses,” said Ethan Karp, the president and CEO of MAGNET. “And start-ups will turn their ideas into prototypes, products, and profits. We are extraordinary grateful for all the supporters who made this building a reality and enable us to continue helping manufacturing in Northeast Ohio grow.”
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