Chamber and Magnet Brand Conference Room
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The conference room at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber office downtown was branded Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting to recognize Northeast Ohio’s Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (Magnet).
The space, to be known as the Magnet East Conference Room, will serve as a meeting space for chamber and Magnet staff, peer organizations and regional businesses. Chamber members also can use the room at no cost. The conference table seats six, and users will have access to a kitchen just outside of the space.
For more than 30 years, Magnet, a nonprofit consulting group, has focused on growing the manufacturing industry by helping start-ups thrive and supporting small- and mid-sized companies transform with technology, innovation and talent.
“As technology revolutionizes the modern factory, Magnet will help the Mahoning Valley’s small and mid-sized manufacturers turn industry disruption into economic growth,” said Regional Chamber President and CEO Guy Coviello.
“We’re no longer content with stabilizing our economy,” he added. “Our focus is on expanding the Valley’s economy. MAGNET will help us do that.”
The Regional Chamber and Magnet have had a long-standing relationship through their economic and workforce development work, and in 2022, they entered into a formal contract for the chamber to generate greater exposure for Magnet’s services throughout the Valley.
Magnet President and CEO Ethan Karp said, “The Youngstown-Warren region has thriving manufacturers that are innovating and transforming every day. They continue to be the backbone of the economy with great family-supporting salaries and careers. We are proud to partner with the chamber and do our part to grow manufacturing locally, the lifeblood of the Valley and America.”
In addition to Magnet branding throughout, the room will highlight past Excellence in Manufacturing Award recipients, which were selected in partnership with MAGNET beginning in 2017. The award is given to longstanding companies located in Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties that have excelled in business, product development or workforce innovation. Past recipients include Boardman Molded Products, Haltec, Quality Switch, Panelmatic Building Solutions and Commercial Metal Forming. The 2022 recipient, Schaefer Equipment, a Division of Wabtec Corp., will be celebrated Nov. 3 at the Chamber’s Annual Economic Forecast Breakfast.
Pictured, from left: Michael O’Donnell, vice president of Operations, Magnet; Darlyn McDermott, director of Client Engagement, Magnet; Jim Gasior, senior vice president & corporate development officer at Farmers National Bank/vice chair of the Regional Chamber’s Board of Directors; Guy Coviello, president and CEO of the Regional Chamber; Ethan Karp, president & CEO of Magnet; and Michael Garvey, president of M-7 Technologies/member of Magnet Board of Directors.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
