Ohio invests $60 million into Youngstown’s aerospace, 3-D printing industries
Toledo, Akron, Dayton and now Youngstown are all boosting their state’s roles in international innovation and bringing new jobs to the area for future industries.
The City of Youngstown has been chosen as the fourth Innovation Hub in Ohio. Over $62 million will be invested to make the Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense.
“Aerospace is the future,” said Gov. DeWine. “When I became governor, we asked JobsOhio to add to their sectors in aerospace. We have to make more things right here. We particularly have to make more things that have to do with our national defense right here, right in Ohio, right in Youngstown.”
The purpose of the Innovation Hub is to transform the region into the global epicenter for additive manufacturing, which is 3-D printing, and officials hope it’ll bring 450 new jobs to the area.
“This is a real tribute to Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley,” said Gov. DeWine. “This is only the fourth one of these that we have placed in Ohio, and we couldn’t do it unless the community is ready to move. This just takes it to the next level.”
It’ll be located in the former Vindicator II building on West Front Street in Youngstown and bring hundreds of new jobs to the Mahoning Valley.
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Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown thanked Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for “helping further the vision for the future of Youngstown.”
“The Innovation Hub is not only an anchor to the other economic investments we’ve made to bring our downtown back, but it cements Youngstown as the national leader in additive manufacturing and creates technology-based jobs right here that will attract and retain the best and brightest,” Mayor Brown said.
Gov. DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik recently held a press conference at America Makes alongside local representatives and officials.
“We think that this could be the final thing that pushes us over the top,” Tressel said. “It’s going to give us a chance to really dial in with the aerospace industry.”
Tressel said partners like Youngstown State University and America Makers have been laying the foundation for the Youngstown Innovation Hub since 2012.
“Some of the technologies needed are industrial maintenance, some of them are robotics, some of them are in the 3d printing research areas. Our engineering students already have that infrastructure in place at YSU,” he said. “It’s incredibly moving to see their hard work pay off. I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Rep. Lauren McNally (D-Youngstown) described the project which took shape in 2023 as a “game-changer.”
“This innovation hub is a direct result of two years of hard work in the shadows by so many people who believed in what this city could be,” Rep. McNally said. “It’s a reminder of what happens when we all put in that effort, even when it’s tough and when no one is watching.”
The Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense will be led by America Makes.
Where did the $62 million investment into additive manufacturing come from?
$26 million from the Ohio Innovation Hubs Program
$36 million in local, federal and private investment
- The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also is contributing $1.2 million through a program that offers grants for economic development projects that benefit regions impacted by decades of coal mining.
“Building on the region’s deep manufacturing roots, Youngstown has spent the last decade establishing itself as a leader in the research, development and commercialization of additive technology,” said Gov. DeWine.
