Announcer: Welcome to Business Life 360 with Kristi K., where we cover trends and impact in the world of business.

We get to know CEO leaders and innovators, and we see firsthand how business and life connect.

Business like 360 with Kristi K. is made possible in par by KeyBank National Association trustee for the Walter E Cahoon Memorial Fun and ProMedica Toledo Hospital, celebrating 150 years of serving our community.

Also by viewers like you.

Thank you.

Kristi: Hello and welcome to Business Live 360.

I'm your host, Kristi K.. You know that I'm business live 360.

We love talking business technology and innovation.

The glass industry continues its exponential growth.

Industry experts say that by 2029, the global market value for glass bottles and containers is expected to reach nearly $97 billion.

And with glass packaging considered a more recyclable, reusable and sustainable alternative to plastic, some analysts expect the packaging business to grow from 55,000,000,000 in 20 22 to 80 8,000,000,000 in 2032.

And industry statistics say that flat glass also is expected to be a $400 billion industry by that same time.

Well, right here in this region alone, Owens-Illinois, Owens Corning, Libbey NSG, Pilkington and for solar, our glass and solar powerhouses, there is an organization in our region called the Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium that has brought these fiv leading corporations together, along with academia, government, labor and community entities for one of the biggest glass industry partnerships ever to exist.

And the state of Ohio ha come on board in a multimillion dollar wa to seal the success of the deal.

On this episode, we'll talk with a consortium and corporate executive, as well as the director of the State of Ohio Department of Development, to learn more about the growth and expansion of this exciting initiative.

So kick back, relax, and come along with me.

This is business life.

360.

And right now, I have the privilege of interviewing the director of the Ohio Department of Development, Lydia michalek.

Lydia, it's great to have you on business live 3060.

Lydia Mihalik: Thank you so much.

This is so excitin and what a great space I know.

Kristi: Here we are at the HQ of Owens-Illinois.

So great to be at the headquarters.

Lydia Mihalik: I thank you so much for having me.

Kristi: Youre doing such great things at the state of Ohio, and we really would love to talk more with you about some of the investment that you have made in innovation and business.

Lydia Mihalik: Sure.

So, in this last round of budgets, the governor, governor DeWine Lieutenant Governor Hugh Stead prioritized innovation and the creation of innovation hubs all around the state of Ohio.

We've had some tremendous success in our major big cities and each area focusing on something that's really unique to those specific, spaces.

And now we're able to extend that investment in the development of these innovation hubs in Ohio's mid-size cities, in Ohio's legacy cities.

So to speak.

Kristi: So let's pull back and look at some of the broad goals for the state of Ohio and what you're looking at in your particular Department of Development.

And then I want to drill down a little bit more.

Lydia Mihalik: From the beginning.

We've really been focused on creating an environment throughout the state of Ohio, no matter where you happen to be, that is conduciv for private sector investment.

And quite frankly, the private sector has absolutely, taken off in a lot of really great ways.

As the lieutenant governor likes to say, you can't have made in America without Made in Ohio.

Kristi: This is true, I love that.

Lydia Mihalik: So we're doin a lot of really exciting things to help support communities, to be prepared for that private investor, investment and whether it is existing businesses in Ohio or brand new investment like the one we have in Intel, down in central Ohio there's so many exciting things happening across ou great state, and I'm just happy to be a part of it.

Kristi: And tell us a little bit more now about the commitment, specifically as it ties to innovation, the glass industry and some of this consortium.

Yeah, some of the dollars that have come in for that.

Lydia Mihalik: Yeah.

So it's a $31.5 million investment in the collaboration of these teams, bringing the private sector, several, glass industry manufacturers here in, in the region.

It's also bringing together, you know, universal ATX, Bowling Green, UT those are all working in conjunction also, with our with our two year institutions, and then, you know, the public sector, is supporting it as well.

And quite frankly, when you get all of those elements of a community working together towards a shared vision, prosperity is sure to happen.

Kristi: And glass is everywhere we look.

It absolutely staining the glass industry.

And, you know, we've talked before with some of the others that we've interviewed for this particular episode about the fac that these glass manufacturers that are a part of the consortium aren't necessarily competitors.

Lydia Mihalik: No.

Absolutely not.

They all have thei their little niche, so to speak.

And so whether you're talkin about about beverage containers or solar panels, it really runs the gamut.

And we're just really happy that they're coming together, bringing those like minded research, folks here, and then also trying to to get more talent attracted in or developed here in the region because, look, these companies can only be as strong a the people that work for them.

And so making sure that we have that talent, not only today, but well into the future i definitely a goal of this hub.

Kristi: Yes, for sure.

And tell us more about the impact this will have on private and public partnerships and collaborations within the region.

Lydia Mihalik: So it's a that's a great question, like why is it that we're doing this?

And quite frankly, we want that legacy of the glass industry to continue to to be strong, but to also to innovate, to develop the things that we need to live and work in the communities that we call home.

And when companies do well, communities do well.

And so we'll continue to see, a long, a long runway of success related to this particular hub.

Kristi And now, in addition to glass, what are some of the othe business and industry, sectors, if you will, within the stat that you see truly innovating?

Lydia Mihalik: Yeah.

So we've we've done three Innovation Hub awards.

To date, Toledo was the first.

It was the best proposal that we had.

We were really excited about that.

And I. Kristi: Love hearing.

Lydia Mihalik: That.

Well, you should, you know, as someone who is, you know, a neighbor here in northwest Ohio just to your south, a bit in Findlay.

Kristi: Former Findlay mayor.

Lydia Mihalik: That's right.

I'm, I'm really proud of what came together to get this hub, accomplished.

But it's not just in Toledo.

Dayton.

Also, it has their on mai innovation hub, really focused on the defense industry, on information technology, health care.

Those are all things that have been really strong, in the Dayton region.

And, we're lookin to see big things out of them.

And then, over on the eastern side of the state, our friends in Akron have a new polymer hub which really makes sense again, one of those cities that has a long history, in polymer, rubber, plastics, of course, a lot of tire corporations, there in that, in that particular, part of the state.

But again, legacy industry, in polymers, we want that to continue to be dominant on a global scale.

So this investment helps fuel that collaboration and give them the resource that they need to be successful.

Kristi: Now, sort of tangential to all of this is really the strategic endeavor of involving career centers and community colleges.

Tell us a little bit more about that and how the workforce of the future is truly being developed through some of these innovative endeavors.

Sure.

Lydia Mihalik: So in Ohio, we are creating jobs faster than we can find people to fill them.

And the jobs that we're creating, requir some really tech focused skills, in engineering, in health care, in science, all of those things are really important, but don't necessarily require a four year degree or an advanced degree.

And so we've been really intentiona about listening to the industry.

I think this administratio absolutely deserves recognition for actually listening to what industry needs.

And so we fill that ga to help people upskill with our, industry focused credentials, our tech focused credentials with tech cred.

Those are for incumbent workers.

So workers who may, you know, work for a particular company that are looking to get better and to raise their status, in life and support their families.

And so this, this program helps do that.

And then we also hav an individual, micro-credentials assistance program which is really for those folks, very similar to the tech grad program, but it's for those folks who may be unemployed, underemployed, or disadvantaged in some way, and they can access that credential for free at no cost to them through one of our, our, our institutions here in the state of Ohio, career and technical education has never bee more important than it is now.

This administration has been doubling dow on not only investing in people, but also the place where they get, the education.

And I'm really proud of the work that's been done today.

Kristi: I'm curious to know how the state slogan came to fruition.

Ohio, the heart of it all.

Yeah.

Lydia Mihalik: So great.

It's a it's a great, slogan.

It came back and look, we were, for several years, we encouraged Ohioans to find it here.

And we needed a transition something that, more effectively communicate to everyone, that no matter what you wanted to do in life, no matter what you wanted to experience, that you could have i all right here in Ohio directly.

Kristi: And, Hallock, thank you so much for being in business life to 360 and all of the effectiveness in what you're doin is just really showing through.

Congratulations and thanks again for being here.

Lydia Mihalik Thank you so much for having me.

Kristi: I now have the honor of interviewing Roger Smith, a 35 year tech veteran and former Owens-Illinois director of technology development.

His expertise in the technical direction organization implementation in manufacturing systems, specifically in glass bottle manufacturing, brought him to his latest role of President of the Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium.

Roger, welcome to Businesslive 360.

It's great to have you here.

Roger Smith: Thanks.

And it's great to be here.

Kristi: Well, listen we're interested in hearing more about the consortium, and you're an expert when it comes to the manufacturing process, specifically as it ties to glass.

So give us a little bit more explanation on how the consortium got started and kind of what the goals were down.

Roger Smith: No, that' that's a great question.

Right.

So some local economic development folks, knew that there were some, public grants available both at the federal level and the state level.

And, they wanted to put, innovation Consortium togethe to really go after those grants.

So we needed to put a strategy together.

I, was nearing the end of my career at a white glass, and they asked me to take a look at it.

So we ended up putting a consortium together of, four glass companies and a solar company, a couple of universities.

Went to community college and a number of economic development organizations to try to apply for those grants.

Kristi: Tell us more about the goal of the consortium.

Roger Smith: Yeah, that cam out of the strategy work.

Right.

And especially with some guidance from from the state, since we're such a hub for glass we're known as the Glass City.

We decided to focus on the common problems of the glass industry.

Right.

So, we have four glass companies in the city.

They all, serve different end markets, right?

So they don't necessarily compete.

Seems like a great opportunity to solve the the industry's common problems.

Kristi: Tell u what those companies are though.

Roger Smith: So the companies are one glass obviously.

Owens Corning Libbey glass and Pilkingto North America division of NSG.

Kristi: Tell us more abou the R&D goals of the consortium.

Roger Smith: Yeah, the R&D goals are are very specific at this point.

It's, it's about, sustainability, energy reduction.

So we're we're trying to work on alternative fuels for glass furnaces that will lower the carbon footprint.

Electrification.

We're working on recycling.

So how to get more through the recycling system?

Because recycle glass, lowers energy and and extends furnace life.

And, but the probably the biggest pillar, the one thing I'm reminded of constantly i that we all compete for people.

So the biggest pillar is, talent development.

And that really extends from from secondary school all the way up to PhDs.

So this area use a, a substantial amount of PhD, candidates for research in glass science, in physics and photovoltaics.

So we're intending to try to try to help, beef those candidates up as well.

But for the majority, we just need to keep kids interested in Stem so that they can enter internships and become engineers and scientists for the region, because we're short of those folks now.

Kristi: Well, and what I really like about the consortium, as well as you're working with academia and really hoping, I am sure to bring some of those students, whether it's through th engineering departments, etc., into the field of glass and the glass industry.

Roger Smith: So we're known as the Glass City, but we don't have a great glass science program.

So we actually are supporting the University of Toledo in recruiting a glass science research professor.

Now.

So we're we're depending on the universities.

Yeah, the University of Toledo Bowling Green State University to help us with research in the critical areas.

Things like glass science, energy, artificial intelligence, coatings, but we're also depending on them for Stem interns to populate the internship program, to provide more Ste candidates to in local industry.

Kristi: So really building in a nice pipeline hopefully.

Theoretically.

Roger Smith: Theoretically.

Yeah.

Yeah.

In the, in the kids, the you know, the interesting thing when I started working because I know nothing about education from K through 12, I started working with local education folks, folks like the Toledo Public Schools who helped us out as well.

And I learned quickly learne that you can't engage students when they're juniors i high school and hope that they want to be Stem candidates, right.

You have to actually get tools in the hands of elementary student to keep them interested in Stem.

So we're still developing that K through 12 program.

But we have to we have t keep students interested in Stem because manufacturing which we are in northwest Ohio, takes strong Stem candidates.

Kristi: So how many jobs do you anticipate you may be able to bring in?

And even the numbers of people that may move into the region based on kind of big picture goals for the consortium?

Roger Smith: Yeah, I was you know, I was shocked by this number, when we did th analysis and the companies did their analysis, we've promised the state will will provide 1600 new jobs and, everything that we've seen since then backs that up.

There are we have so many good Stem jobs available in this area and it's actually a shortage of candidates that that we have to fix.

Kristi: Really.

Interesting.

Why is glass so important?

Roger Smith: You know, glass has been around 3000 years and it is it will be around for at least another 3000 years.

It is the building.

It is a building block, fo almost everything we do, right.

It provides, food and beverages, without any contamination.

And it's endlessly recyclabl without losing any properties.

There's almost no other material like it.

It provides building material and and windows and windshields, and all those things both protect us and keep us comfortable.

Right.

So when you invest in new windows, that investment both in carbon and cost, pays for itself in a matter of months, but continues for 50 years.

When you invest in insulating, a building or a home, it pays for itself in a matte of about a month or two months.

And but it continues, to lower the carbon footprint and cost of operating that building, you know, for a long as that building's around.

And so glass is is an important building block.

It's often overlooked, especially by, you know, the folks in the government, because it's been aroun for so long, it's so successful.

What possible what possible problems are needed to be solved in class.

But we we have to continue to lower the carbon footprint, the energy usage, and make production more efficient.

Kristi: Well I can't think of anyone better to run the consortium.

So we are grateful that you are here today.

Thanks for joining us, and we're really looking forward to hearing more about the successes of the consortium as you move forward.

Roger Smith: Yeah, I appreciate you inviting me.

Thank you very.

Kristi: Much.

Thanks, Roger.

And now my guest is a technical director of the US office of Netherlands base Glass Technology company Celsius and a former Owens-Illinois management executive.

He's a glass scientist and has a glass container background.

Doctor Scott Cooper is helping to develop the direction of the Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium operationally and from a laboratory and training standpoint.

Welcome to Business Life.

360 Scott, great to have you here.

Scott Cooper Thank you so much for having me.

Kristi: There are so many exciting facets that are happening now in the world of glass.

And in northwest Ohio, not just Ohio is really at the forefront of so much of this.

So tell u more about your company, Celsius and how you came to open the U.S office from the Netherlands Corporate HQ, to serve as North American clients.

Scott Cooper: So what we do is we offer training to the glass industry, we offer lab testing, and we offer some reall sophisticated computer modeling, to help glass manufacturers ensure that the furnaces that they build to melt glass are going to be efficien and will make the right quality.

How it came to be that calcium came here, to the United States and specifically Toledo, it was 2022 and the international Year of Glass, and there was a lot of publicity and all of that happening, here.

But worldwide around that, the role of glass, in the world, the managing director and I just got together and he said, you know, we've been thinking about opening a US offic and we want it to be in Toledo.

So got back with him.

And, you know, it took a few months, but we we worked through it all an we're really happy to be here.

Kristi: Scott Glass is critical to so many sectors, whether it's food, construction automotive, it goes on and on.

How does session work with clients such as some of those and the consortium itself, to create a more sustainable future?

Scott Cooper Sustainability is a vital topic for all of the glass industry.

It's it's something that is top of mind at O-I, Owens Corning, Corning, all of them.

The where we come in is we really like to work in partnerships.

So we try to zipper in with their technical teams to help them where they need it.

And sometimes that's in doing certain lab testing, sometimes that's in training, sometimes that's, developing new sensors, for example.

So that's where we really look to work, meshed in with glass manufacturers as well as the vendors and suppliers.

And so the glass industry.

Kristi: So we know and you and I have talked off camera as well about some of the challenge in the glass industry, from jobs to decreasing the carbon footprint to recycling.

So describe for us how Salesian will provide direction and help in the execution in terms of the consortium, to truly meet some of these kinds of challenges in the glass industry.

Scott Cooper: Right.

The top thing we hear from all manufacturers, the top challenge they have is knowledge and the workforc and having a skilled workforce.

One of the things that calcium does is we offer one of the premier trainings in glass manufacturing.

We've been doing this for over 20 years.

We've trained over 3000 people in the glass industry from around the world.

So once a year, we have a five day, wee long training, here in Toledo.

It's our glass technology training.

And we get people from Canada, US, Mexico, they come in to do that.

Kristi So we also talked a little bit then about decarbonizing the glass industry and the carbon footprint.

Tell us more about Celsius.

And we'll be working on that particular industry issue, if you will.

Scott Cooper: Right.

So nearly every major glass manufacturer has set really aggressive goals in reducing their carbon footprint by 2030, in the range of 25 to 50% reduction.

And that's within the next six years.

And this is a this is a heavy industry which is not easy to decarbonize.

So the Department of Energy recognizes this.

And they've been investin in developing and demonstrating new technologie to lower the carbon footprint.

Most of the carbon in glassmakin comes from the melting process.

So we're sourcing is going t help, is that we're going to be, we received a grant together, with others, for $3 million and a three year project from the Department of Energ to advance all electric melting, as a way to significantly reduces the carbon footprint.

So we're really excited to get started on this year.

Kristi: So, Scott, how important is recycling to the glass industry?

Scott Cooper: It's really critical.

It is probably the the quickest thing, the quickest win that we can get to lowering our carbon footprint.

But in this country we're behind in our practices compared to what's done, let's say in Europe, in this country, we recycle about 30% of the glass that we produce.

So we know that we have a long way to go.

And part of this innovatio consortium will be figuring out how do we increase that amount because the glass manufacturers that can use it really want that recycled content.

Kristi: I love the notion that foreign investment is in northwest Ohio and specifically in Toledo, Ohio.

This region is truly seen in many of the stories we've done here on Business Life.

360 but all parts of the globe really are starting to understand and see how relevant and impactful the glass industry is here in this region.

So for those who are living here in this region, described the reputation that we have here from a global perspective.

Scott Cooper: Well, I think let's talk into the world of glass, because that's that's really what I know.

So seeing had that rep has that reputation over in, in Europe, it was a division of Philips, which was really well known for lighting and television.

And they took their glass technology group out of Philips and essentially made it a national lab.

So when, when this group was looking to expand into the US, they kne they needed to be in the center of the glass world.

Kristi: Well, Scott, thank you so much for all you're doing at Salesian for the glass industry.

Your work is critical to helping create a sustainable, cleaner future for the glass industry and for the planet.

So we appreciate you being here on Business Life 360.

It's been great talking with you.

Scott Cooper: Thank you Kristi, it's been great to be here.

Kristi: The topic of glass never gets old, especially if you live in the Midwest.

The glass industry is a competitive, essential and impactful industr in all of our lives every day.

And with glass being an industry in the hundreds of billions of dollars, the power of lon lasting partnerships, innovation and sustainable has never been greater, more necessary and more relevant.

Proving it again, Ohio is the heart of it all.

And that's a wrap on this episode of Business Life 360.

So glad you joined us to learn more about the leading business, technology and innovation initiatives occurring right here in our region and across the globe.

I'm Kristi K., and I'll see you on the next business life.

Announcer: To connect with Kristi K. on LinkedIn at Kristi K. Hoffman.

And here are the business live 360 with Kristi K..

Conversation on FM 91 on Thursday mornings.

To watch previous episode and more, visit our website at August Bell 360 and listen to Kristi K's podcast, Business Life After Hours.

Wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Business like 360 with Kristi K. is made possible in par by KeyBank National Association trustee for the Walter E Cahoon Memorial Fun and ProMedica Toledo Hospital, celebrating 150 years of serving our community.

Also by viewers like you.

Thank you.