A traditional shopping mall can be defined as an enclosed site featuring “anchor” retailers such as department stores and a cluster of smaller speciality shops facing inward, not outward toward the street. Shopping malls are often multi-level and highly walkable, and they offer amenities such as food courts, hair salons, and movie theatres.

There were more than 1,500 shopping malls in America in 2005, a figure that dropped to around 1,150 by 2022, according to the Q3 2022 article, The Economic History of the Shopping Mall by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Today, depending on the terminology used, there are perhaps 700 large-scale malls left in the United States.

Shocking as this decline might be, there’s been a recent surge of public interest and spending at shopping malls, albeit mostly at higher-end centres. Social media, new shopping trends, and clever reuse of empty space are also helping rejuvenate a once-revolutionary retail model.

A century ago, downtowns dominated the retail landscape, featuring the grandest department stores and the widest selection of small shops. Retail outlets in urban cores were often quite distant from one another, however, and downtown parking was frequently inadequate or nonexistent.

Austrian émigré and architect Victor Gruen came up with a clever alternative to this arrangement. Gruen designed the Northland Center, a retail mecca that opened in 1954 in Southfield, Michigan, just outside Detroit. According to the Richmond Fed, it was the first shopping centre to pair a department store with smaller retail stores.

Gruen’s innovation was to bring the downtown retail sector to the suburbs but do it better: the Northland Center offered consumers ample parking, a multitude of stores in one place, and the opportunity to perform an array of chores (food, clothing, and hardware shopping, plus a visit to the hairdresser) in the same locale. Gruen would go on to design other malls as the retail concept he championed exploded in popularity.

The rapid expansion of shopping malls has been attributed to shifting demographics, as city dwellers moved to new suburban housing developments after World War II. This is only part of the story, as shopping mall construction was also fuelled by changes to U.S. federal tax laws. In 1954, eager to stimulate postwar building, Congress sped up the depreciation process for new construction projects, allowing developers to write off expenses faster. This coincided with the birth of the modern shopping mall and led to a wave of investment money flowing into new mall construction (accelerated depreciation rules gave investors a great tax break, and they could then sell the property for a profit down the road).

Between 1961 and 1970, some 240 shopping malls were built across America, states the Richmond Fed article.

While department stores served as the initial anchors in enclosed shopping malls, malls also sported eating and entertainment venues. In the process, shopping malls took on cultural as well as economic significance: “For countless Americans—especially those who came of age in the postwar years—malls were the new town square: a place to shop, eat, gather and meander. Envisioned as perfectly pristine, cast against the gritty danger of urban centers, the American mall became the image of suburban consumerism,” states the November 25, 2014, article, The Death and Rebirth of the American Mall in Smithsonian magazine.

By the late 1970s and 1980s, shopping malls were so ingrained in American culture that they served as the backdrop to prominent movies such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and even Dawn of the Dead (in which survivors of a zombie plague hide out in a mall).

From this peak, problems set in. By the mid-1980s, many first-wave malls were showing their age, with creaky infrastructure and a tired ambiance. Another problem was that supply exceeded demand; the forces that drove shopping mall construction produced a glut of such sites. Many communities ended up with multiple malls within a short distance of each other. Bigger and flashier malls survived this intense inter-mall competition at the expense of more low-rent operations.

The Great Recession of the late 2000s hit shopping malls hard. While many U.S. malls had relied on department stores such as Macy’s to serve as lures and anchors, middle-class consumers began patronizing more budget-friendly stores such as Kohl’s and Target, states the Richmond Fed article.

A decade or so later, the world was rocked by COVID-19, which was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Public places, including shopping malls, either closed or instituted regulations such as mandatory masking and social distancing. Mall attendance plummeted.

Economics and illness aside, shopping malls also faced huge challenges in the form of big box outlets and e-commerce.

Unlike shopping malls, big box outlets feature only a handful of mammoth retailers such as Walmart, IKEA, and Home Depot. The big box shopping experience is purely utilitarian: consumers arrive, acquire products, and then depart in their cars. Big box outlets aren’t designed for lingering, and standalone big box stores usually lack food courts and similar amenities.

Spartan as they are, big box outlets and standalone big box stores became hugely popular with the public. Such sites are extremely accessible (customers can park in front of the big box store of their choice and avoid navigating the sometimes maze-like corridors of shopping mall interiors), and prices are low because products are stocked in such massive quantities.

If big box stores offered a physical alternative to traditional malls, the internet opened up a digital shopping option. Back in 1995, American consumers made $2.11 trillion worth of in-store purchases versus $0.05 trillion in online purchases. While in-store spending rose over the decades, e-commerce soared, topping the $1 trillion mark in 2021, according to Capital One Shopping Research. In 2025, in-store spending stood at $6.087 trillion in America, while e-commerce represented $1.431 trillion in spending.

Sales data indicates a sharp generational divide. While 60 percent of Baby Boomers (defined by Capital One Shopping as people born between 1946 and 1964) prefer to shop in-store, this holds true for only 37 percent of Gen Z adults (people born between 1997 and 2012).

Rather than trying to resist e-commerce, shopping malls have learned to embrace it. A new shopping habit has emerged in which consumers discover products online, often on a retailer’s website, but purchase them in a store.

“Online ads and social content have a powerful effect on creating retail desire, but they also provide an incomplete sensory experience that no virtual try-on can match. Following an engaging online interaction with an equally satisfying physical shopping experience, traditional retailers evolve from bricks-and-mortar to ‘clicks-and-mortar,’” reads the article, The Fall and Rise of the American Shopping Mall, published April 22, 2025 in Total Retail magazine.

Influencers on TikTok and Instagram, in particular, frequently post content from shopping malls, highlighting products and discussing their overall retail experience.

Malls can also reinvent themselves by tapping into ethnic diversity with a broader array of stores and food options, and by repurposing space. Some malls have filled the gaps left behind by shuttered department stores with gyms or outlets such as Dave & Buster’s (a blended sports bar, restaurant, and arcade chain), notes the Richmond Fed article.

Research and advisory firm Coresight Research is downright giddy about the future of traditional shopping malls. “American malls are entering a structurally stronger phase, with improving occupancy, rents and net operating income (NOI), although this growth is increasingly concentrated in top-tier, well-located assets,” reads the May 2026 Coresight Research report, The American Mall Renaissance. By “top-tier,” the company means malls located in affluent areas that offer luxury retail brands (such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès) and new direct-to-consumer brands.

In-store shopping returned in force once COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, a trend that benefited top-tier malls. Year-over-year visits were up two percent at top-tier U.S. malls in 2025, and down 1.6 percent at their non-top-tier competition.

Thanks to increased visits, occupancy at top-tier malls rose from 92.8 percent in 2021 to 95.5 percent in 2025 (occupancy at non-top-tier malls also increased, from 87.0 percent in 2021 to 90.0 percent in 2025).

In addition to luring shoppers, high-end shopping malls are working hard to reclaim their position as social hubs as well as retail centres.

“While apparel remains a core component of the tenant mix, top-tier mall operators such as Simon are increasingly adding dining, entertainment, wellness, residential, EV showrooms, hotels and, in some cases, office or community spaces to create more diversified consumer destinations and revenue streams,” reads the Coresight Research report.

Given these developments, it looks like “hitting the mall” will remain a popular retail and recreational option long into the future, despite ongoing challenges.

The post The Future of the Traditional Shopping Mall<p class="company">Has the “Death of the Mall” Been Exaggerated?</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

In addition to these assets, there is a “close-knit business community here where relationships really matter. Handshakes go a long way. You just won’t find that in other locations. We want to build an economy that creates opportunities for current residents and employers and future generations as well,” she adds.

Approximately 69,000 people live in Stanly County, according to recent U.S. Census data, up from 62,494 residents in 2020. The median household income was $60,704 in 2024. The county is located roughly one hour from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport and is close to the Charlotte metropolitan area, which has an overall population of nearly three million people.

As Kazimir points out, there’s plenty of land available in Stanly County for companies looking to set up or expand. In particular, a pair of municipally owned sites, Riverstone Industrial Park and Albemarle Business Center, are primed for new tenants. Riverstone is a 24-plus-acre greenfield site with easy access to Interstate 485 and an abundant supply of natural gas (courtesy of the Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc.).

The Albemarle Business Center is a 282-acre Class A industrial park fronting North Carolina Highways 24 and 27 and United States Route 52 (a national highway stretching over 2,000 miles across the central and southeast regions of the country). Zoned for heavy industrial, the Center offers sites ranging from five to over 120 acres and can accommodate buildings reaching one million square feet in size.

These two sites represent “really important recruitment assets for us. We’ve also got all different types of private property options as well,” notes Kazimir.

Property and sales taxes in Stanly County are low, as are utility and construction costs, and companies thinking about putting down roots in the county can take advantage of various incentives including tax breaks, training grants, and a streamlined licensing and permitting process. “Our role is to understand what the company’s needs are. Then we can identify some eligible programs. We do have a very aggressive performance grant policy here in Stanly County. It’s very much dependent on a company’s size and scope,” Kazimir explains.

There is a common denominator to all the EDC’s work: “The goal here is to reduce the barriers to investment for companies,” she adds.

The main industries in Stanly are manufacturing (employing 4,730 people, according to DataUSA, health care/social assistance (employing 4,179 people), and retail trade (accounting for 3,385 jobs). Top employers in the area include the Michelin Aircraft Tire Corporation (a Michelin branch specializing in tires for airplanes), Fiberon (a composite decking manufacturer), Auria (a facility that produces engineered systems for vehicles), and Clayton Homes of Albemarle (a retail sales center for mobile and modular residences).

The county hopes to lure more companies within the metal/welding, aerospace/defense, and agri-business sectors. “Those are kind of the big three we actively go after and target to recruit,” says Kazimir.

Outside recruitment has been matched by initiatives aimed at bolstering the local economy. A new Trades Facility recently opened at Stanly Community College, for example. The Trades Facility is now called the Brown Building, in honor of Richard Lane Brown III, a revered state politician who was instrumental in launching Stanly College in 1971.

Comprising 31,600 square feet, the Brown Building features state-of-the-art equipment and classrooms to train students in plumbing, air conditioning/heating/refrigeration technology, and engineering, among other programs. “While other communities are struggling to find employees and workers in the trades, we are actively training the next generation,” notes Kazimir proudly.

The Brown Building has been in operation for less than a year, “so we’re not able to see the effects of it quite yet, until we get some graduates. I’m very excited for it and think it’s a huge case for workforce development in Stanly County and a great reminder of what can happen when we put our resources together,” she continues.

Stanly Community College has an array of other programs including accounting, animal science, information systems, business, math, marketing, and more, and the county is also host to Pfeiffer University, a four-year institution founded in 1885, with a main campus in the community of Misenheimer and a branch in Albemarle. Pfeiffer University offers undergraduate academic faculties of business, education, humanities, natural and health sciences, nursing, and social and behavioral sciences. Graduate-level courses at Pfeiffer U include a renowned Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MS-PAS) program. This program covers a range of healthcare-related fields such as surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedics, internal medicine, mental health, women’s health, and more, and many of its graduates go on to take jobs within the state.

“It’s really wonderful. They’re doing great things there and supplying North Carolina’s rural doctors,” says Kazimir. “A lot of our North Carolina PAs are going to rural environments after graduating, which is really great to see.”

The EDC promotes Stanly County with marketing campaigns, by attending trade shows, and by networking with site selectors looking for new industrial properties. The goal isn’t just to lure private businesses; Stanly County is also touted as an excellent destination for retirees. Pleasant weather, ample recreational opportunities, and a laidback ambiance are some of the county’s charms. As such, “retirement is part of our broader quality-of-life conversation,” says Kazimir.

Stanly County features a warm Mediterranean climate and plentiful forests, hills, vineyards, golf courses, and equestrian centers. Lakes Tillery and Badin offer swimming, fishing, and boating opportunities while the nearly 50-mile-long Rocky River Blueway is well-suited for kayaking and canoeing.

In addition to being welcoming to retirees, Stanly County is a family-friendly place, says Kazimir. The cost of living is low and houses are affordable (the median value of an owner-occupied home is $242,400). Prospective buyers can choose from an assortment of housing stock ranging from lakefront homes to Victorian houses, working farms, and country manors. The mean commuting time for Stanly County workers, meanwhile, is a little over 28 minutes.

Residents also benefit from a low crime rate and the lively Agri-Civic Center. Open since 1989, the Agri-Civic Center can seat 1,050 people while a lobby can fit 200 guests for private events. The Center has played host to live shows, graduation ceremonies, conferences, and wedding receptions.

Other county attractions include Juneberry Ridge, a huge site with over 400 acres of trails for cycling, mountain biking, and hiking, clay target shooting facilities, a conference center, cottages, and fishing ponds, among other amenities. Juneberry hosts a summer series of concerts, boasts a rainwater harvesting network, and uses renewable energy systems.

Recent community events in Stanly County include the 2^nd Annual Still Runs Harvest Hootenanny (a celebration with classic cars, food vendors, and live music) and “Sonatas in The Sanctuary,” an afternoon devoted to classic music performances at an Albemarle church. Albemarle is also the site of the Badin Road Drive-in Theater, one of the only remaining sites of its kind in North Carolina. This drive-in still lures big crowds with regular film screenings.

The county also played host to the Historic Badin Hardaway Pow Wow, a two-day celebration of regional Indigenous tribes. The area that today is Stanly County was once occupied by members of the Cheraw, Tuscarora, and Keyauwee tribes. Following European settlement, Stanly County was formed in 1841 and named after a prominent 19^th century North Carolina politician, John Stanly.

The population rose from under 7,000 people in 1850 to 15,220 by 1900. Growth continued and by 1990, approximately 52,000 people called Stanly County home. Farms in the area raised cotton, corn, wheat, and livestock, while industry grew apace.

While Stanly County is on an upward trajectory, it still faces challenges, particularly when it comes to the availability of buildings that can accommodate prospective businesses. As Kazimir explains, the county needs more speculative industrial development to meet the needs of companies looking to establish or expand operations. Addressing this gap will be important to translating the region’s advantages into continued investment and job creation.

While Kazimir would like to see Stanly County beef up its building inventory, Stanly County has a compelling foundation on which to build. Its strategic location near Charlotte, competitive business costs, available industrial land, and commitment to workforce development position it to pursue new opportunities while strengthening the industries already established in the region. At the same time, its affordable housing, recreational amenities, and close-knit community offer an appealing quality of life for families, retirees, and the skilled workers who will help shape its future.

By bringing together economic opportunity and a welcoming place to live, Stanly County is working to create an environment where businesses can thrive and residents can build lasting futures. For Kazimir, the region’s appeal is clear: “We’ve got something really special here in Stanly County. A hidden gem if you will.” With continued investment and a focus on sustainable growth, this hidden gem may not remain hidden for much longer.

The post A Hidden Southern Gem Seeks to Lure Businesses, Retirees, and Visitors<p class="company">Stanly County, North Carolina</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

“I think we are at the front end of a renaissance for Chester County. We have continued to have fantastic success with economic development. We’re not that sleepy little place some people think we are,” says Director of Economic Development, Robert Long.

There were 32,182 people living in Chester County in 2024, according to Data USA, and the average age of residents was 42.4 years. Manufacturing grew 70 percent between 2010 and 2020 and now employs almost half the county’s private sector workforce. Healthcare, social assistance, and retail trade are also prominent employment sectors, states Data USA.

Meeting the needs of business
Leading companies in Chester County include Giti Tire USA, a tire manufacturer employing roughly 1,000 people; Gallo, one of the largest privately held wine and spirits companies in the world, employing 400 people; Boise Cascade Company, a manufacturer of plywood and building materials employing around 400 people; and Carolina Poly Inc., an advanced materials firm manufacturing polyethylene film products with about 700 personnel.

In addition to a pro-business mindset, Chester County offers prospective companies an abundance of large sites. “If you’re in an industry that needs 50 acres, 100 acres, 200 to 300 acres, 1,000 acres—we have these sites,” Long tells us.

Chester County is well-served by railroads, with a short line railroad—the L&C Railway—that is linked to the CSX and Norfolk Southern systems. Having an extensive rail network means lower freight costs for companies, and the county also benefits from its proximity to Interstate 77, connecting Chester with Columbia, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina as well as the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. On top of this, Chester County companies can count on ample natural gas, courtesy of the Chester County Natural Gas Authority and supportive government officials.

“Our goal is, ‘How do we help other people?’ We’re friendly and easy to deal with. We want you to come here. We want you to be a good partner. We’re going to alleviate roadblocks and bureaucracy as best we can, and we’re going to offer incentives where we can,” explains County Administrator, Brian Hester.

These advantages have led to some big moves of late. On March 25^th of this year, IKO officially celebrated the grand opening of its two new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Chester, including a fiberglass manufacturing facility and a glass mat production plant, marking a transformative investment in Chester County and the area’s growing manufacturing sector.

“The project represents a capital investment of more than $500 million and stands as one of the largest Canadian foreign direct investments in South Carolina’s history. Located off Highway 9 at the site of the former PPG facility, the development brings new life to an existing industrial property while reinforcing Chester County’s position as a hub for advanced manufacturing.” Together, IKO’s two state-of-the-art facilities are expected to create approximately 200 to 250 new jobs, offering long-term career opportunities and contributing to the community’s economic growth.

Officine Maccaferri, an Italian environmental and land stabilization company, is also bringing 90 new jobs to the area and further strengthening the county’s growing manufacturing and industrial sector with a new facility in Fort Lawn, inaugurated June 5^th of this year. This facility will serve as Maccaferri’s multi-technology production hub in North America, strengthening the Group’s manufacturing and operational presence in the region.

The facility marks a new operational milestone in the Group’s long-term growth path in North America, confirming the United States as a priority market for Maccaferri’s global development. Integrating almost the full range of Maccaferri’s production technologies under one roof, the Fort Lawn facility “is one of the largest production sites and the most technologically advanced one within its worldwide network. It reinforces the Group’s role as a leading provider of environmental geotechnical solutions for the infrastructure sector, at a time when demand in the U.S. is accelerating on the back of sustained infrastructure investment.”

Keeping quality of life affordable
In addition to attracting new manufacturers and industry, Chester County has become a magnet for new residents, particularly seniors. Seniors are often lured by the moderate climate—the yearly average temperature in Chester County is a balmy 60° Fahrenheit, with an average high of 71°F and average low of 50°F—in addition to the low cost of living.

Median household income in 2024 in Chester County was $52,458, up 2.43 percent from the previous year, while the cost of living was 3.8 percent lower than the U.S. average. Houses are reasonably priced, with a median property value in Chester in 2024 of $158,300 and newly constructed homes averaging in the $200,000s, according to Data USA.

As for property taxes, “We have not raised our millage rates in four years. We actually did a rollback in our millage rates last year, because of re-assessment, all the while expanding services,” says Long. A mill represents $1 of tax per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. The mill rate—or millage—is the amount of tax local tax authorities set on a property and varies depending on the neighborhood and surrounding area. The lower the mill rate, the less tax a property owner needs to pay.

When it comes to services, Hester proudly notes that the county recently raised salaries for deputies and hired full-time firefighters, and average response times for emergency medical services in rural locales have been slashed from over 40 minutes to just over 11 minutes. The county is served by the Medical University of South Carolina Chester Medical Center. “We were the first county in state of South Carolina to receive a grant for an ambulance,” he notes.

He is referring to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, run by the South Carolina Department of Commerce, which offers funds to local communities to enhance housing, living conditions, and economic opportunities. In addition to the ambulance, Chester County received a separate CDBG grant for a new firetruck, Hester adds.

Grants are one mechanism by which Chester County has been able to trim its budget while pouring millions into a capital reserve account; renegotiating contracts and cutting wasteful spending are other ways the county has saved taxpayers money.

Making moves
Major construction projects in the county include new residential apartments and a future facility in the City of Chester that will accommodate a courthouse, jail, and a center for law enforcement and first responders. There are also discussions about building a new hospital for the county, notes Hester.

Chester County officials recognize the importance of networking and promotion, and to this end, representatives maintain a robust social media presence, attend regional conferences, and are involved in the South Carolina I-77 Alliance. The alliance is a self-described “county-driven non-profit economic development organization,” made up of counties near the I-77 Interstate. Chester County officials have used I-77 Alliance connections to visit South Korea and several countries in Europe to tout the region and network. Chester County is also part of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, the 16-county, two-state regional group driving economic growth for the Charlotte region.

For his part, Hester was recently invited to speak at the Pendleton Farmers Society, a venerable agricultural organization founded in 1815 that counts state political and economic leaders as members. “They asked us to come and talk about what we were doing in Chester, about relationships with government and civic engagement and incentives for local producers,” says Hester.

Revitalizing the region
Certainly, county officials have not overlooked the importance of amenities to attract and retain residents. The newly expanded Rodman Sports Complex, a huge site with facilities for baseball, softball, and soccer, is one of the county’s most popular amenities. There are also ongoing streetscape initiatives to clean up litter and tear down decrepit buildings. Revitalization, with new retail, restaurant, and entertainment options, is top of mind.

“That has been a real strategic focus of ours: to take an area in our county—really, it’s centered around the City of Chester—and revitalize buildings and bring in restaurants. Our downtown is really starting to be a thriving area,” says Hester, speaking proudly of a historic post office which Chester County owns and plans to restore.

“It goes back to the overall quality of life. People want to live here and take [advantage of] job opportunities from companies growing and hiring here. It’s pretty amazing to see where we started a few years ago to where we are today,” adds Long.

A winding road into a bright future
Chester County was originally inhabited by members of the Cherokee and Catawba Nations, with European settlers arriving in the mid-1700s. The county was the scene of some major battles during the U.S. Revolutionary War, then experienced rapid growth after being connected to railroad lines in the 1850s. Union soldiers wreaked havoc in the county during the North’s sweep through the Confederacy during the Civil War.

By the late 19^th century, Chester County had undergone a transformation from a primarily agricultural region to an epicenter of the textile industry. This faded in the 1980s, and the county went through a rough patch, with rising poverty and unemployment. Since then, says Long, “We’ve done a really good job on diversification,” and there are big plans to leverage the area’s heritage to draw more tourists.

“We need to take advantage of the tourism that can be generated from our history: the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, and some of the unique history that’s here in Chester County,” says Hester.

For all that, preconceived notions continue to be a challenge, admits Long. People who are only vaguely familiar with Chester County might dismiss it as a tiny, rural locale, instead of the dynamic community it has become. “When people come for a visit, hopefully they say, ‘Hey, those guys are a lot more sophisticated [than I thought]. They were on the ball,’” says Long.

Going forward, county officials forecast further economic and residential growth. Buoyed by major manufacturing players like IKO and Maccaferri, Long anticipates the population of Chester will hit nearly 40,000 people by the next United States Census. That said, county officials want to avoid uncontrolled growth and “cookie-cutter” sub-divisions, adds Hester.

There is also, of course, a strong desire to retain the best traits of Chester County, even as the community expands. “We don’t want to lose our rural character,” Long emphasizes. “We like that rural character.”

The post This Small Community Has Big Development Plans<p class="company">Chester County, South Carolina</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

“Our area of expertise is bulk material handling equipment, so conveyors, apron feeders and belt feeders, and other related equipment,” explains IEM President Chuck Walls. “We design and build spile bar systems which act as isolation gates in mining operations. We also design and manufacture ball handling systems for mining operations and we build rotary de-barkers for forest product manufacturers. We build the biggest rotary de-barkers in the world.”

A spile bar system enhances safety in ore bins and transfer chutes at mines, while ball handling systems are used to store steel grinding balls for mining applications. As their name implies, de-barkers remove bark from logs. IEM has made de-barkers that can process 450 cubic meters of wood per hour or more.

The company’s main markets include mines, oil and gas operations, and forestry/wood handling. Cement and aggregate plants, port infrastructure, and grain handling facilities represent other sectors for which IEM has built products.

Forging a strong team
The business was founded in 1953 under the name Industrial Equipment Company (IECO). Half a century after the launch, John Hards and Joe Wurz purchased the machinery design and manufacturing division of IECO. The new owners changed the name of their acquisition to Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Ltd. and introduced an employee-ownership plan. At present, “maybe 95 percent,” of IEM staff own shares, Walls explains, with ownership of shares limited to employees only.

IEM has roughly 55 employees at present, up from around 50 at this time last year, and about half of these workers belong to the United Steelworkers (USW) union. The company typically hires newly graduated or junior engineers who can be trained in the company’s practices, such as its hands-on approach. “Our engineers can walk into the shop, see what they’ve designed, see how it’s being built,” says Walls. Here, shop floor staff can directly approach the engineers to refine designs or suggest ideas, a collaborative setup that gives IEM a competitive advantage over companies that perform engineering work in one country and manufacturing in another, notes Walls.

IEM is Engineering and Manufacturing ISO 9001:2015 certified and the company’s welding services are certified by the Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) to CSA W47.1 and CSA W47.2 standards, for steel and aluminum respectively. The IEM Vice President of Manufacturing is tasked with ensuring that quality benchmarks are met, while the company’s welding supervisor, who is certified in non-destructive testing procedures, conducts extensive weld-related tests.

Safety-wise, IEM employs toolbox talks and strict hazard-avoidance procedures, says Walls. Employees also rely on the company’s close-knit spirit to keep them safe. This is “not a big operation,” so everyone knows everyone else, as well as their spouses and children, says Walls. “We believe that the most important aspect of safety in any operation is—and it sounds corny—how much you care about the people you’re working beside. We find that our senior folks are always looking out for our junior people, making sure they’re doing things right, not taking shortcuts,” he continues.

Competing on quality
The company is based out of a 50,000-square-foot facility conveniently located near both Vancouver International Airport and major ports. While many of its clients are Canadian, IEM has sold equipment to companies with operations in Mongolia, Indonesia, and South America as well. It has also done “a little bit in Europe, and the U.S. of course,” adds Walls. “We specialize in mechanical design, while anything structural or electrical, we would subcontract out.”

IEM also stocks a huge number of spare parts, primarily to provide replacements for its own equipment. For example, it designs and manufactures specialized equipment for surface mining operators in Fort McMurray, Alberta, the epicenter of that province’s oilsands industry. Among other items, IEM supplies specialty equipment including plows, belt cleaners, and pulley cleaners. IEM uses a welding robot built to create wear parts that address the challenges of working with bitumen. Spare parts for such gear might be hard to find outside of IEM.

Walls acknowledges that competition within the bulk equipment handling space can be brutal. “We compete against some very, very large companies [including some] that manufacture all over the world, where the wages are much lower and it’s much cheaper to produce equipment… We can compete with them because of the custom engineering facet of our business,” he shares.

For example, “If you want an overland conveyor, to go from A to B, you go to [the competition]. But if you want three or four kilometers of underground conveyor that’s going to be attached to the ceiling of your mineshaft, you will come to us.”

IEM’s longevity also stems from its reputation for making quality products. “We can’t afford to produce sub-par equipment,” says Walls. “Our quality standards are very high, and we provide excellent after-sales service. What we find is, once we get a customer, they keep coming back. We’re not generally the cheapest when it comes to sticker price, but we compete very well on total cost ownership.”

Wins and challenges
Clearly, clients like what IEM has to offer, as the team has taken on a number of major projects over the decades. The company was hired to build conveyors and galleries—the enclosed structures that go around conveying systems to provide protection from the elements—for a company operating in Nunavut, Canada. Construction was done in sections, which were fitted together in IEM’s shop then painstakingly shipped to the client via barge and ice highway, among other methods. “That was a pretty cool project and quite challenging,” recalls Walls.

IEM has also built cable reel structures for storing ship cables for a major maritime company in British Columbia building supply ships for the Canadian navy. IEM has also designed and manufactured massive de-barkers for a forestry business in Michigan and a pulp and paper companies in Alberta and B.C. Company engineers frequently attend mining and other industry trade shows to meet existing and potential customers face-to-face.

Given the nature of IEM’s work, it is no surprise that Walls cites “the cyclical nature of the natural resources business,” as the company’s biggest challenge while, interestingly, tariffs imposed by the White House have benefitted IEM in some ways. The company has taken on some non-American customers that are eager to find suppliers elsewhere. “We just signed a contract with a small company that builds water treatment systems. They were looking for an alternative tank supplier [to their normal U.S. supplier], because they sell both into the U.S. and Canada, and it’s much simpler for them to have [their systems for Canadian customers] built in Canada,” says Walls.

Embracing the future
Going forward, the company is looking into using artificial intelligence (AI) in its operations. Design work is currently performed with 3D design software, and IEM is open to new technology. “We’ve contracted an AI expert to come in this summer and train some of our people,” Walls shares. “They will look at some of our manufacturing processes and our drafting to see if there are some opportunities to improve quality and efficiency.”

As for the business itself, he personally would like to see the company grow over the next five years, perhaps through acquisitions. One plan would be to buy a fabrication firm, then incorporate IEM’s engineering methodologies into the work practises of the new purchase. Vertical integration is another possibility under consideration. “We spend a lot of money on painting, for instance. As the company starts to build some capital, I wouldn’t mind seeing us invest in a paint company or another kind of supplier to us, and running the companies separately, but owned by IEM.”

Given the company ownership model, any decisions regarding the future must be endorsed by an employee-run board. Naturally, the board is averse to risky ventures that might jeopardize the future of the business if things do not go as planned, notes Walls—and he is fine with this, viewing employee-ownership as a strength.

“It’s nice to work for a company where, when we succeed, all the employees succeed with us—not on a figurative level, but on a very real financial level.”

The post A Reputation for Quality Products and Custom Work<p class="company">Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (IEM)</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

For decades, the tunnel served as an exit channel for water used to generate electricity. Today, tourists in raincoats can walk its length and emerge at a platform to view the Horseshoe and American Falls at close range. While inoperable today, electricity generated at the plant once illuminated communities in Ontario and neighbouring New York State.

Hydropower is the official term for electricity produced by flowing or falling water. Given that North America is blessed with abundant lakes, rivers, and other waterways, it is no surprise that hydropower is such a common energy source. In 2022, hydropower accounted for 64 percent of all electricity generated in Canada—up from 59 percent in 2005—and six percent of electricity generated in America, although the U.S. figure was once much higher. The future of hydropower seems assured, especially in Canada, which has over 500 generation stations and strong interest in the sector.

The concept behind hydropower is simple. Flowing or falling water is fed through a pipe called a penstock to spin blades on a turbine. This spins a generator, converting the action into electricity. After serving its purpose, the still-clean water is directed out of the plant.

Hydropower plants can be built at existing rivers and waterways or near manmade dams and reservoirs. These sites generate electricity in a non-polluting fashion at a low cost in the long run. A well-built hydropower station can last for decades and utilizes a renewable power source that is available in vast quantities.

While water power has been used for millennia to turn water wheels to grind grains into flour, hydroelectric power is a more recent development. It took technical innovations such as turbines, dynamos, generators, and alternating current transmission to make hydropower a practical reality.

Canada’s first hydraulic generator was installed at Chaudière Falls on the Ottawa River in 1881 by the Ottawa Electric Light Company. British Columbia got its first hydropower plant in 1888, with Newfoundland establishing its first plant a decade later. Unsurprisingly, Niagara Falls, which straddles the Ontario/New York State border, became an early epicenter of hydropower activity. Originally called the Canadian Niagara Power Company generating station, the facility opened in 1905 and produced electricity for over a century before it was decommissioned.

The famous Sir Adam Beck I Generating Station, the largest of its kind on the planet for a time, became operational in 1921. Today, the Adam Beck complex can generate roughly 12,300 gigawatt hours of power each year using water above the falls. Once it has been run through the turbines, this water is released back into the lower part of the Niagara River.

The provinces of Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador currently generate between 94 and 98 percent of their electricity from hydropower. These provinces also host some spectacular hydro sites such as the James Bay Project, a massive complex in northwestern Quebec. Construction work for the latter began in the early 1970s, with the first phase costing over $13.5 billion and requiring the diversion of major rivers to create dammed reservoirs.

The Robert-Bourassa generating station, a centerpiece of the James Bay Project, is today among the world’s largest hydro plants. Completed in the early 1980s, it measures nearly 500 meters in length with the installed capacity to produce over 5,600 megawatts of electricity.

The province of Quebec has invested heavily in hydropower and aims to increase capacity to four gigawatts by 2035 through upgrades and new builds. Other provinces have big plans as well. Newfoundland and Labrador, for example, wants to build a new powerhouse at the Churchill Falls Hydroelectric Generating Station. Based on the Churchill River in Labrador and completed in 1974, this complex is already one of the biggest underground hydropower stations on the planet. Once this and other initiatives are completed, the province hopes to boost its already impressive 7,280 MW annual output.

While hydropower accounted for only 27 percent of electricity generated in Ontario in 2022, the province is eager to increase this total. The Ontario government has announced $2.6 billion in funding to refurbish and expand a dozen hydro stations, including the Sir Adam Beck complex in Niagara Falls.

The federal government in Canada is equally bullish about hydropower, offering billions of dollars for clean energy programs—including hydroelectricity—and investment tax credits for the sector.

In the United States, the first commercial hydropower plant was opened in California in 1893. Other major U.S. milestones include the massive Tennessee Valley Authority project, a New Deal initiative of the 1930s to control river flooding that also entailed building dams and establishing hydropower plants to bring electricity to poverty-stricken regions. And the majestic Hoover Dam—one of the famous structures of its kind in the world—was finished in 1936 on the Colorado River abutting the border of Arizona and Nevada. The following year, hydropower generators at the Hoover Dam site began generating electricity.

The Hoover Dam was soon surpassed by the even vaster Grand Coulee Dam which is based on the Columbia River in Washington State. Finished in 1942, the Grand Coulee Dam is now the largest hydropower producer in the U.S., with a summer capacity of 7,079 megawatts.

This era was something of a golden age for hydropower in the United States. By 1940, hydropower was generating roughly 40 percent of all electricity in America. Over the decades, this percentage dropped significantly due to the introduction of other electricity production sources, such as nuclear power.

In 2022, the United States generated a total of 4.23 trillion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, of which hydropower accounted for six percent. With 2,252 generation plants in total, the American hydropower sector is largely centered in western states. In 2023, a quarter of America’s conventional hydroelectricity was generated in Washington State, followed by California with 13 percent, New York with 12 percent, Oregon with 10 percent, and Alabama with four percent. Washington uses hydropower to generate nearly two-thirds of electricity used within the state, while Idaho and Oregon also rely heavily on hydropower for their own electricity needs.

Hydropower in the U.S. has received a boost from federal legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Both statutes contain tax credits and other provisions to incentivize the hydropower industry to upgrade its fleet and build new plants.

For all that, hydropower has been on a decline in America. “We expect U.S. hydropower generation will increase by 7.5 percent in 2025 but will remain 2.4 percent below the 10-year average in our May Short-Term Energy Outlook. Hydropower generation in 2024 fell to 241 billion kilowatt hours (BkWh), the lowest since 2010; in 2025, we expect generation will be 259.1 BkWh,” states a May 19, 2025 “In Brief Analysis” posted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In a similar fashion, “We expect hydropower generation in the Northwest and Rockies region to be 125.1 BkWh, which is a 17 percent increase compared with 2024 and four percent less than the 10-year average,” continues the analysis.

Part of this decline can be blamed on weather conditions. While some regions of the U.S. have experienced excessive rain in recent years, other areas have endured droughts and lower than normal rainfall. The paucity of precipitation means there is less water available for electricity-making purposes.

There are other drawbacks to hydropower as well, including flooding and the forced relocation of residents to make way for dams, reservoirs, and power plants. Cree and Inuit peoples were outraged when the Quebec government announced the James Bay Project without consulting them first, although negotiations did eventually take place. This anger is understandable, given some communities had to be moved and over 11,500 square kilometers of wilderness was flooded. When Phase II of the James Bay Project began in the late 1980s, opposition from First Nations groups was particularly fierce.

Dam overflows and collapses can cause catastrophic death and destruction as well.

Going forward, hydro proponents are working hard to ensure their projects are as safe as possible and implemented in collaboration with people living in the affected areas.

The Ontario government “is committed to consulting with Indigenous communities and honouring existing agreements related to hydroelectric development,” states Made-in-Ontario Northern Hydroelectric Opportunities, a 2022 report.

Some advocates dream about taking existing infrastructure a step further and using hydropower to create hydrogen for energy applications. They suggest placing electrolyzers—devices that split water into oxygen and hydrogen—near hydropower plants. Doing so would “provide access to the main inputs needed (electricity and water),” for hydrogen production, notes U.S. Hydropower Market Report 2023, from the U.S. Department of Energy—in other words, using clean energy to produce more clean energy, based on the raw power of water.

The post Hydropower: Harnessing Water for Electricity<p class="company">The Past, Present, and Future of a Clean Energy Giant</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

For all of its manufacturing prowess, the company’s success can be largely attributed to its client-centered approach. “We put the customer first,” says Sales Manager, Francie Williams. “That’s why we have the customer retention we do, and why we’ve been in business so long.”

Being relatively small, the company is nimble and highly responsive to client needs. Flex Technologies also has a loyal, dedicated workforce and invests in the communities in which it has a presence.

In addition to the company headquarters, it operates an extrusion plant in Midvale. Injection molding and assembly work is done at sites in Mount Eaton, Ohio and Lafayette, Tennessee while a division called Polyflex, based in Baltic, Ohio, specializes in polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This process entails blending PVC resin with various additives to create custom plastic material.

All work is self-performed, a major point of pride for the company. Being vertically integrated makes things more convenient for customers and is “pretty much our main selling point for the bigger assemblies with large customers,” notes Williams.

Flex Technologies’ products can be grouped into three main categories: assembled products, injection molded components, and custom extruded products. The assembled products category includes sunroof drain tubes, fuel line assemblies, vacuum, and PVC assemblies, as well as vapor emission assemblies and carbon canisters. These are produced through automated processes and then assembled by skilled manual workers.

Products in the injection molded components category include fuel vent valves, fuel line valves, fuel caps, specialized fuel delivery connectors, and specialized couplings. The company uses presses ranging from 85 to 440 tons and excels at shuttle molding—a technique to mold multiple components in a single cycle.

Tough and durable aeration tubing to inject oxygen into soil or water is a flagship product in custom extrusion. This category also covers protective boat moldings to prevent rub and clear PVC tubing, among other goods.

Flex Technologies’ capabilities range from on-site compounding and material customization to custom extrusion and injection molding, design and engineering, rapid prototyping and validation, assembly, testing, and quality assurance. The company also performs laser etching, 3D printing, in-house tooling, and welding, and markets served include marine, consumer, automotive, lawn and garden, and industrial.

“We ship worldwide,” Williams explains. “We have quite a few customers outside of the United States, but our main focus is the U.S. just because shipping costs are so high.”

Flex Technologies boasts both ISO 9001 and IATF 16949:2016 certification, the latter being a global automotive standard—in this case, for thermoplastic assemblies, spin welding, and manufacture of injection molded components. Dedicated quality assurance teams conduct inspections, tests, and quality checks, and the company’s guiding principle is “quality products, the first time, on time, every time,” she says.

To maintain quality, productivity, and efficiency, Flex Technologies works hard to stay on top of the latest technological developments. Besides 3D printers, it uses computer-aided design software and just purchased new CNC machines for mold-making. “We’ve been hiring mechanical engineers to help with making our processes better and improving the way we make, produce, and assemble, making it all more cohesive and faster,” adds Williams. “We’re always continuously working on improving the products.”

The company was founded in 1975 by Glenn Burket, and at first featured a tiny staff of roughly a dozen employees working from an extrusion plant in Midvale. It initially focused on making specialized tubing for the automotive sector. Three years later, the Polyflex division was established, and the business was able to achieve vertical integration. PVC compounds created by Polyflex are used for everything from toys and shoes to wires, cables, hoses, and molding, in the agricultural, automotive, fencing, and extrusion markets.

At present, Flex Technologies/Polyflex operates six compounding lines with an annual capacity of over 150 million pounds. The Polyflex division can perform color matching for customers who send in material samples and offers goods in a variety of colors, formulations, and formats, from highly flexible to semi-rigid. Polyflex complies with relevant U.S. guidelines as well as Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) regulations, two European Union standards.

Founder Burket served Flex Technologies for decades. He passed away in early November 2024, but many aspects of his original vision remain in place. For a start, all the company’s sites are still located in small towns, a reflection of Burket’s community-minded spirit. “Our founder [thought it was] very important to keep it local and to support local,” says Williams.

The company has been a long-time sponsor and supporter of community groups, local sports teams, and 4-H agricultural events. Burket was well-known for purchasing meat at local county fairs and then distributing it to his personnel.

In the same spirit, Flex Technologies proudly manufactures its products in America, and when possible, uses recycled materials, be it cardboard or reprocessed plastic (used thermoplastic material that has been cleaned, then melted down and extruded into pellet form to be re-used). Keeping production within the United States gives the company more control over quality and ensures shorter lead times, and the company extends this viewpoint to its supply chain, aiming to obtain its raw materials from within the U.S. This makes good business sense, given the chaos that engulfed global supply chains during the recent COVID crisis.

At present, the company has approximately 135 employees across all divisions. The workforce is highly diverse, represents a wide range of ages and backgrounds, and is proud to have a female leader in Chief Operating Officer, Rachel Tetreault. Anyone looking for a job here needs to demonstrate self-motivation and a positive mindset, says Williams, and once brought on board, the company offers staff an array of opportunities. While outsiders are more than welcome to apply for positions, Flex Technologies likes to promote from within. The company encourages camaraderie through special events such as the recent Easter Egg hunt at the Lafayette site in addition to celebrating personal milestones. An employee in the prototype shop, for example, was recently honored on her fortieth anniversary of working there.

Over the decades, Flex Technologies has received numerous industry kudos, the most recent being a General Motors ‘Customer Care & Aftersales Excellence in Supplier Performance Award’ for 2025. This honor was the latest in a series of awards bestowed by GM and other sources for work well done.

“We’re very, very proud every time we get any of these awards,” Williams says. “It is one of the biggest highlights for our teams to see these awards and they are very proud to receive them. It gives our employees a great boost to morale.”

The company does face its share of challenges, including supply chain woes despite domestic sourcing. “Right now, raw material prices are skyrocketing,” explains Williams. “We’re looking at increases that nobody has seen before, other than during COVID, for plastics and resins.”

Inflation has pushed up the cost of machinery, equipment, and software as well. Outside of purchasing, it also causes headaches on other fronts; when customers insist on sticking to quotes made a year or two ago that are now outdated thanks to inflation, profit margins suffer. All of this is compounded by upheavals within the automotive sector as the Big Three American OEMs cope with overseas competition and unpredictable markets.

For all that, Flex Technologies continues to innovate and is eager to create new offerings. “We have new products in the pipeline,” Williams shares.

She has a very positive outlook on the company. Within five years, she hopes to see the company “increase our portfolio, increase our sales, and absolutely keep our customers happy… We’ve been in business for 50 years. We’re looking forward to the next 50. To [reach our centennial] we are upgrading and improving and working to keep our quality high, keep our employee retention high, and to have a work environment that stays positive.”

The post This Specialty Plastics Firm Hits the Half-Century Mark in Style<p class="company">Flex Technologies</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

“Our mantra is connecting communities through resources,” explains Dr. Vicki King-Maple, Executive Director of OMEGA, adding that throughout the region, the association offers “an extension of institutional capacity within the 13 cities, 99 villages, and 179 townships.”

The OMEGA region is based in Appalachia, a huge swath of land spanning over 200,000 square miles from the Deep South through to New York State. Like much of Appalachia, the OMEGA counties are renowned for their natural beauty, which includes rolling hills, deep valleys, dense woods, and extensive waterways. Yet for all this proximity to nature, the OMEGA area is also situated near major urban centers such as Cleveland and Columbus. The region has endured economic challenges in recent years, which the association and its partners are working hard to address.

“Our area, much like other areas in Ohio, had a few years of industrial decline. That was a really big challenge for our community. At the same time, it bred a resilience here in our community that is really contagious,” says Tiffany Swigert, Executive Director of the Coshocton Port Authority, an economic development resource center for Coshocton County.

This resilience and future-facing attitude is exemplified by a huge redevelopment project at the site of the former Conesville Power Plant in Coshocton County. Opened in the late 1950s by the American Electric Power Company, this coal-fired plant was a fixture for decades. At its peak, the facility employed hundreds of people, and its soaring smokestacks were considered local landmarks, but due to rising costs among other factors, the plant closed in April 2020.

There are big plans now to revitalize the 2,000-plus-acre site, aided in part by $58.7 million the Coshocton Port Authority garnered from the All Ohio Future Fund, a statewide development program. A further $80 million has been invested in this endeavor by the Frontier Group of Companies, an industrial and commercial redevelopment firm that now owns the Conesville site. These funds are being used to remediate the land and upgrade water, sewer, and roadway infrastructure to transform the area into an industrial park to make it a hub for data processing, advanced manufacturing, and energy companies.

The Coshocton Port Authority also purchased a vacant building in the city of the same name to establish a venture called the Coshocton Collaborative. The collaborative offers co-working spaces with high-speed Internet and private rooms, a maker space with 3D printers, woodworking equipment, and other gear, and business incubation offices to give a boost to budding local entrepreneurs and creators.

The Port Authority paid for the building, in part, with grant money from the Appalachian Community Grant Program and a JobsOhio Vibrant Community grant, as well as the Coshocton Foundation and the Coshocton County Commissioners. The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia (GOA) were also instrumental, as ARC is a federal commission that has distributed billions of dollars in grants and targeted investments to invigorate the Appalachian economy since it was founded in the mid-1960s. OMEGA helped the Port Authority obtain capital stack grant funding, as it is itself funded partially through ARC, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), and state organizations, including the GOA and the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Over in Columbiana County, the Sustainable Opportunity Development (SOD) Center is doing similar work. Based in the city of Salem, the center is a non-profit entity focused on “traditional economic development,” explains SOD Executive Director, Julie Needs.

The center helps area businesses with site selection, grant research, expansion, retention, and workforce development, while the SOD training center hosts training sessions for local businesses, primarily in the manufacturing sector. Over the past eight years, more than 6,200 people have received training from outside facilitators.

Through the SOD Center, Salem houses Elevate Building Solutions, an administrative office created to fill a glaring gap. Salem and some surrounding communities lacked a municipal building department, forcing contractors to deal with the state building department, Needs recalls. A decision was made to offer a local alternative, and Elevate was launched in 2023.

Created through collaboration between Salem and the city of Columbiana, Elevate Building Solutions helps contractors with permits, inspections, zoning, and other regulatory issues. The focus is on commercial projects in Columbiana, Salem, and the Village of Leetonia, and residential services are also available for Columbiana. The results have been remarkable; a six-month average turnaround for plan review has been reduced to six days, says Needs.

While proud of these achievements, Needs is quick to credit outside collaborators for SOD’s success. “We couldn’t do what we do without an organization such as OMEGA as our partner,” she states. “Without the resources OMEGA provides, it’s not possible for us to do what we do.” To be even better positioned to offer assistance, the OMEGA headquarters is relocating into the heart of the region in New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas County.

Going forward, OMEGA and its community allies are very much in agreement on another point: economic development goes hand-in-hand with community development. “It requires cooperation and collaboration to build the robust, regional development ecosystems we are striving for,” King-Maple explains. “Ecosystems that foster job creation, entrepreneurship, economic growth, sustainable infrastructure systems, and scalable, people-centric models.”

The OMEGA team and its regional partners leverage and mobilize resources, and they demonstrate a unified voice through symbiotic efforts to create thoughtful solution strategies.

“I might be looking to attract a new employer to Salem. That employer won’t look to Salem unless we have the community assets that the workforce is going to want,” says Needs. This includes housing, retail, restaurants, parks and recreation, schools, and events.

To this end, a portion of the $31.6 million in recent funds OMEGA received from the Appalachian Community Grant Program is being dedicated to downtown improvements and building renovations in the city of Zanesville, Muskingum County. This county features business and industrial parks hosting clients such as the Dollar General Distribution Center, a logistics hub for retail outlets run by Dollar General Corporation, a Fortune 500 firm.

“We are incredibly proud of the momentum we’re seeing across Muskingum County. The growth, investment, and projects taking shape today are a direct result of strong partnerships and a shared vision for our future,” Muskingum County Commissioner, Melissa Bell, contributes. “We remain committed to building on that progress and continuing to bring meaningful opportunities, jobs, and quality of life improvements to our community.”

In neighboring Coshocton County, Swigert notes, “I can work my tail off to get a company to locate in this community, but if we don’t have a vibrant downtown and great parks and recreation and excellent schools, it’s not going to appeal to the families that are going to be working at those companies.”

Some communities in the OMEGA region, such as the city of St. Clairsville, were settled in the 1790s. With a population today of roughly 5,000 people, St. Clairsville has both a rich history and some structural challenges, a common combination in the region. “We’ve got a lot of towns that have 100-year-old infrastructure,” explains St. Clairsville Mayor, Kathryn Thalman.

As such, St. Clairsville is currently undergoing a major infrastructure upgrade involving a new sewer wastewater facility, among other projects. The mayor praises OMEGA, saying: “These people are exceptional. OMEGA has been a very integral partner for us, and I appreciate it.” She strongly supports collaborative development and has reached out to her fellow mayor in nearby Wheeling, West Virginia to discuss plans for economic growth.

“We want to bring industry back to this valley. It won’t be in St. Clairsville per se; however, it will affect this entire valley,” says Mayor Thalman.

Reindustrializing is part of a broader mission to build local opportunities. “For years and years, our students would graduate, go to college, fall in love with their college town or with a person in college, and we would really struggle to get them to come back to Coshocton,” says Swigert. “Our focus is not just attracting new businesses to the area but to retain the businesses we have here. It’s one of the biggest missions we have, and it involves a lot of collaboration.”

Another initiative, coming from a completely different perspective, aims to use the OMEGA region’s scenic splendor as a draw to build tourist revenue and perhaps even the permanent population. Tourism in the area “is truly an economic driver,” notes Diane Lautenschleger, who manages partnership development for the Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The tourism sector generated over $2.1 billion for the region in 2023 and supported thousands of jobs, according to OMEGA data, and revenues could rise even higher thanks to a new initiative called Ohio Foothills Wander Freely which aims to “connect travelers and new residents,” she says.

If the overall purpose of the Ohio Foothills project is to bolster tourism, impressing visitors into staying and putting down roots is another goal. “We know that when folks are looking to move to some place, it all starts with the visit. We want to make sure we are presenting the Ohio Foothills and the 10 counties in such a way that they are so attractive to folks, they start to think about how they could live here,” she says.

To achieve this, OMEGA and its partners will continue to back economic and community development, all the while emphasizing the area’s unique features. In addition to job opportunities, “you can step out your backyard and be fully immersed in some beautiful scenery,” notes Swigert—scenery that is augmented by a populace that is deeply connected with the region.

“We’re Appalachian. We are warm and welcoming. We believe we rise together,” says Lautenschleger.

“Success for the OMEGA region will continue to be driven by common sense, a common purpose, a common vision, and a common goal that is shared among our members and constituents,” King-Maple continues. “And while I am a catalyzer and a consensus builder, I recognize that neither I nor OMEGA are the single source, but instead the driving force in fulfilling our mission and mantra to connect communities to resources.”

The post Collaborative Economic and Community Development<p class="company">The Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA)</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

This first-of-its-kind synthetic burger was cooked by a chef named Richard McGeown. It was sampled by food critics Josh Schonwald and Hanni Rützler, who gave relatively positive reviews.

“There is quite some intense taste; it’s close to meat but it’s not that juicy,” stated Rützler, according to BBC News online coverage.

“I miss the fat; there’s a leanness to it, but the general bite feels like a hamburger,” added Schonwald.

The type of cuisine presented at the press conference goes by many names: cultured meat, in-vitro meat, clean meat, synthetic meat, cell-cultivated meat, or slaughter-free meat. As the name implies, cell-cultivated meat is derived from stem cells taken from live animals, and then grown into chewable portions in bioreactor tanks. It is a very different category than veggie or soy-based meat alternatives which are derived from plants.

Besides saving livestock from slaughter, cell-cultivated meat can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and speed the process of getting meat to market. Drawbacks include price, taste, texture, and public disdain.

Research and development for the burger served in London was paid for by Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google. This deep-pocketed source underlines the vast resources currently going into cell-cultivated meat. Such products are seen as a sustainable way of coping with rising meat consumption around the world.

“The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) anticipates that by 2032, global consumption of meat proteins will increase, as compared with 2020-2022, from 339 million metric tons of meat protein consumed to 382 million metric tons (13 percent increase). FAO attributes this potential increase in meat consumption to population growth and increased household incomes,” reads Cell-Cultivated Meat: An Overview published September 19, 2023, by the Congressional Research Service in the United States.

Creating cell-cultivated meat is a complicated process but can be reduced to some basic steps. First, a small number of stems cells—the building blocks for organ growth—are removed from a live animal such as a chicken, cow, or hog. Importantly, the animal is not killed during this process. Stem cells are then placed into bioreactors—large tanks that mechanically simulate the atmosphere found inside an animal body. Appropriate nutrients are also added during this stage. The stem cells diverge to form the basis of fat, muscle, or connective tissue—the main elements of meat. Cells are then separated and put through a procedure using scaffolding on which the meat grows.

“A scaffold is an edible material that supports the organization of meat cells into the desired shape, for example, a steak or mincemeat. The scaffold does more than just hold cells together. It also carries nutrients and helps them differentiate even further,” explains the article, Cell-based Meat and Other Cell-Based Foods posted December 3, 2025, on the European Food Information Council website.

If sparing livestock is the most obvious benefit of cell-cultivated meat, other advantages include a reduction in food-borne pathogens, improved food safety, and enhanced nutrition, as cultivated meat can be designed to have less fat and healthier attributes than traditional meat. Cell-cultivated meat requires drastically less land and water than farm-raised meat, and production is speedier and more convenient. It can take years for animals such as cows or pigs to reach maturity and be ready for slaughter. By contrast, the burger at the London press conference was cultivated over three months. As the technology improves, scientists will become even faster at developing meat.

Cell-cultivated meat could also solve storage problems in situations with limited space and minimal opportunity for resupply. Examples include long space missions, bunker situations during wartime, and isolated scientific or military bases. In such scenarios, meat products could simply be made on the spot so food supplies do not run low.

Cell-cultivated meat could be acceptable to vegans and vegetarians, and the concept might even broaden people’s palates. Using stem cells, scientists could in theory create choice cuts from endangered or rare animals without having to kill them. This in turn might put a dent in the exotic animal meat trade, which targets at-risk species to appease people’s taste buds.

As with any food products, regulatory approval based on stringent testing is required before this meat can be sold to the public. By mid-2025, four countries had granted such approvals, with a few other nations close to giving the okay.

Singapore proved to be a pioneer in this area, granting authorization for cell-cultivated meat sales in 2020, followed by the United States three years later. In July 2023, GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods began selling cell-cultivated chicken at Washington, D.C. and San Francisco restaurants, respectively. A year later, Israel approved the sale of cell-cultivated meat, followed by Australia in 2025. Legislators in the UK have also approved cell-cultivated meat, but only for pet food. Switzerland, Spain, and the Netherlands are poised to grant permission for commercial sales. In Canada, cell-cultivated meat is considered a novel food and subject to case-by-case health and safety assessments and approvals.

For all these regulatory and marketplace triumphs, however, there remains considerable pushback to cell-cultivated meat. The biggest hurdle currently is price; while the cost of making these foods has gone down considerably in recent years, it is still an expensive option. Part of the problem is that the kind of huge agribusiness infrastructure that supports the traditional meat sector is largely nonexistent.

The Congressional Research Service document points to a study that pegs the wholesale production cost of cell-cultivated meat at $28 a pound ($63 a kilo). To be profitable, such meat would have to retail at around $45 a pound (over $100 per kilo). Such prices might not deter dedicated foodies or wealthy environmentalists but would be extremely off-putting to average consumers.

Taste, texture, and an overall ‘ick’ factor also present major obstacles. The burger prepared in London initially had a pale appearance and bland taste. Beetroot juice and seasonings were added for colouring and flavour before the patty was presented to the food critics. But many people seem unwilling to even consider eating cell-cultivated meat, regardless of flavouring. Half of all respondents in a 2023 poll noted by the Congressional Research Service expressed little or no interest in consuming such products.

In May 2024, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis cited the ‘ick’ factor—along with off-the-wall conspiracy theories—in announcing a ban on cell-cultivated meat sales in the Sunshine State. Such products represent “the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals,” stated the governor. Yet while Governor DeSantis clearly is no fan, insect-eating, or entomophagy as scientists call it, has been an accepted dietary habit in certain parts of the world for thousands of years. Crickets, grasshoppers, ants, and beetles are commonly consumed in Mexico, Asia, and Africa.

Insects can be highly nutritious, are found in abundance, and might help address food insecurity, notes the paper Edible Insects as Future Food published September 2021 in the Journal of Future Foods. As with cell-cultivated meat, producing meals from insects rather than livestock could reduce water use and greenhouse gases while sparing animals from death.

For all that, bug-eating is generally regarded with intense distaste in Western nations, a fact readily acknowledged by the paper. Popular television programs such as Survivor and Fear Factor often feature gross-out contests where people are challenged to eat food items containing live insects, a taste trial portrayed as the ultimate ordeal. To some food pundits, such gruesome spectacles miss the point. Insects can offer another alternative to traditional, farm-raised meat, in that they can be ground into paste and turned into burgers, hotdogs, and sausages. Convincing Westerners to eat meat products made from creepy crawlies, however, might be a bridge too far.

Big Agriculture has been investing in insect-based food, but primarily as feed for livestock or pets. When it comes to human consumption, the big money is on cell-cultivated meat, not grasshopper burgers. The gamble is that once cell-cultivated meat becomes more commonplace, the public will become more willing to try it.

In June 2025, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of cell-cultivated seafood made by a firm called Wildtype. Wildtype had previously raised $100 million in funding, some of which came from Cargill, one of the biggest agribusinesses in the world. Between 2010 and 2022 alone, roughly $3 billion of private capital was invested in cell-cultivated seafood and meat companies, estimates a group called the Good Food Institute. All of which suggests that, in a few years, grocery shoppers and restaurant patrons alike will have the opportunity to select poultry, fish, pork, or beef that was raised in a factory, not on a farm.

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Arguably, the biggest new development has been the company’s initiative of pre-engineered, configured-to-order (CTO) products to complement its customized solutions.

For Grotnes, CTOs offer multiple benefits including “faster delivery times, common platforms of parts, and spare parts that can be used across different models,” explains Vice President, Jim Zielinski. That said, customer specs sometimes demand a tailored approach, which is why Grotnes will never abandon custom work. “The custom side will always be part of our business. It’s our DNA… but the organization is trying to align itself around repeatable platforms,” he says.

Grotnes continues to build machines for four main technologies: expanding, shrinking, roll forming, and spinning. Expanding processes involve shaping metal parts for pipe couplings, jet engine components, metal containers, and the like. Shrinking entails the exact opposite procedure and aims to reduce and shape parts for motor frames, conveyor rolls, and exhaust components. Roll forming involves bending hoops of metal, while spinning is a metalworking technique based on mechanical rotation. Closing tools, used to seal or close items such as pail lids or the tabs on large-size paint cans, are also becoming a growing category.

Monumental as the introduction of CTO solutions might be, there have been other big changes at Grotnes as well. For a start, the company is going through “a digital transformation” that entails “the leveraging of AI where it makes sense in the business,” says President Mike Walker.

To this end, the company will soon launch Grotnes’ AI assistant, a tool that could be compared to Amazon’s AI-enabled, voice-led personal assistant Alexa, but for internal use only. “There’s no gateway to the outside world. It’s utilizing AI’s ability to search our databases, our files, our drawings, our pdfs, to be able to respond quickly,” explains Walker. “We’re very careful right now to adopt it where it really adds value to the company… We’ve spent a significant amount of time really focusing on, ‘How does it add value and help our customers at the end?’”

It is quite the leap for a firm that traces its roots to 1898 and a decision by one Charles Grotnes to open a machine works operation in Chicago. That business initially focused on manufacturing metal rings to hold barrel staves together. The company founder and namesake invented a time-saving machine to shape and stretch these metal rings to an appropriate size, and things took off from there.

At present, Grotnes serves the oil and gas, general industry, automotive, aerospace, rigid packaging, forging, and tanks and appliances sectors. The company uses the term ‘tanks and appliances’ to characterize its work for the power distribution and appliance markets with the tanks in question being metal storage containers.

“We do metal forming machines for large tanks that are typically used for isolation transformers, so there’s the power distribution angle, and then, from the appliance standpoint, tanks for things such as water heaters, drums for washers and dryers, dishwashers, and things like that,” Zielinski explains. Over the past year, aerospace and automotive generated the most business, a pattern that is likely to hold steady in 2026, he adds.

He has noticed something of a resurgence in the market for catalytic converters, the devices that reduce harmful exhaust emissions from combustion engines. Since large, commercial trucks would require huge electric batteries, thus limiting payloads, concerns about battery size have stalled the drive toward vehicle electrification in certain sectors. With gas and diesel-powered trucks still dominating, the demand for catalytic converters remains high. This trend is good news for Grotnes, which has been a pioneer in making machines that are used in catalytic converter production.

The company has maintained its ISO 9001:2015 certification and is gearing up to get certified when the new ISO standard (9001:2026) is released later this year. As befitting an ISO-certified company, quality assurance procedures here are rigorous. The company utilizes a coordinate measuring machine and other inspection equipment to ensure that all parts are shaped and sized correctly. Completed machines are subjected to rigorous factory acceptance testing procedures at the plant. If the machine achieves these benchmarks, it gets shipped to a customer, and the system is then put through site acceptance testing at the client’s worksite to determine that everything is in perfect working order.

“ISO is a very big part of our business and really drives the quality in our organization. We embrace that in a big way, especially the continuous improvement side of it. Every employee in our organization is able to submit improvement suggestions regardless of their position in the company,” says Walker.

The advent of a configured-to-order line is further proof of the company’s commitment to continuous improvement, he continues. Offering pre-engineered solutions will enable Grotnes to “focus on a standard design and continue to refine it for our customers’ needs and bring additional value by bringing costs down and benefits up,” he explains.

Company officials are well aware that excellent equipment requires servicing and upkeep. As such, the team kicked off a preventative maintenance initiative called the Grotnes Service & Spares Club last year. Customers who join the club receive discounts on spare parts, labor, training, phone and remote support, and other maintenance measures. The overall aim is to keep client equipment in excellent condition.

At the time we last spoke, the company maintained sales and service branches in Monterrey, Mexico and Atlanta, Georgia. While the Mexican branch is still flourishing, the Atlanta operations have been relocated to Niles. This transition has drastically reduced turnaround times for some products; solutions that might have taken a month to produce and ship in Atlanta now take maybe 48 hours, according to Walker. The company continues to ship products around the world and works with European sales partners as well.

Grotnes also runs a facility called Formitt Metal Labs as well as an in-house machine shop. Formitt Labs does prototyping and feasibility testing for customers as well as research and development. Recent equipment purchases for the machine shop, meanwhile, include a lathe and a wire electric discharge machine. The company’s five-year growth strategy includes the possibility of offering machine shop services as a separate business component for customers, a strategy that would build on already existing competencies. “We have customers who are not interested in a capital purchase and just ask us to do the production for them,” notes Zielinski.

In terms of promotion, Grotnes regularly attends trade shows. Last year, the company took part in FABTECH USA in Chicago—the top conference for fabricating, finishing, welding, and metal forming in North America, as well as Fabtech Mexico in Monterrey, Mexico. It also showcased its metal forming skills at the 40^th Space Symposium, a major aerospace event which took place in Colorado Springs, Colorado in April 2025. The company has revamped its website as well, with a view to adding updates regarding its configured-to-order (CTO) offerings.

All told, roughly 43 people work at Grotnes. Beyond the requisite education levels and skills, the company seeks applicants who can think on their feet and offer creative solutions. Personnel must be prepared to pivot in the face of challenges, think outside the box, and adapt to changing circumstances since “ours is a pretty fast-paced technology business,” says Zielinski.

Current challenges include dealing with the rising cost of materials, due in part to tariffs imposed by the United States and other nations. That said, “The biggest challenge for us continues to be the ability to hire the right people, and secondary to that, finding them. Every position in our company is really a skilled position,” states Walker.

To address this issue, the company instituted a four-year apprenticeship program which blends hands-on training with classroom learning. Apprentices attend evening classes at Lake Michigan College, which is based in Benton Harbour, Michigan and has a campus in Niles. The program just graduated its first apprentice, who specialized as an electrical technician, and apprenticeships are also available for machine builders and machinists. There are ongoing discussions about expanding the program to include engineering.

For a near-term forecast, Walker circles back to CTOs and AI. “Completing our journey on the CTOs is really critical to us,” he shares. “It’s not something that’s going to happen overnight; it’s not something that’s quick, because it’s got to be right.”

As for artificial intelligence, “We’ve come up with some pretty interesting initiatives,” he says. “Three years from now, I think we’ll [have a lot] to talk about… We believe it’s going to help us tremendously.”

The post Making the Machines that Run Industry<p class="company">Grotnes</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Some 29,052 residents live in the county, which encompasses roughly 500 square miles on the west side of the state alongside Lake Michigan. The City of Ludington is the county seat and, with a little over 7,600 people, it is also the largest community in the area. Median household income here was $64,748 in 2024 dollars, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Mason County features strong manufacturing, tourism, and educational sectors alongside a buoyant entrepreneurial spirit spurred by local competitions. The foremost industries in Mason County are manufacturing, which accounts for 19.6 percent of jobs, according to a regional economic profile; government, accounting for 15.3 percent of jobs; retail trade with 14.3 percent of jobs; health care and social assistance with 10.8 percent of jobs; and accommodation and food services with 10.0 percent of jobs.

The county is highly receptive to new business. “We are open to conversations with companies that would like to invest here, especially companies that can bring high-paying jobs for residents and can help increase our tax base,” says Lucas-Zimmerman.

County officials also work hard at developing local business talent. The alliance hosts an annual event in Ludington called the Momentum 5×5 Business Pitch Competition. During this competition, five aspiring entrepreneurs have five minutes each to pitch a business idea to a panel of four judges. The panel picks the entrepreneur they deem the worthiest, with a live audience acting as a fifth judge in the case of a tie vote. Winners receive $5,000 in this competition, which can be described as Mason County’s version of the popular television program Shark Tank.

Rizzo’s Bread, a sandwich, bread, pizza, and pasta outlet, won the most recent Momentum 5×5 Business Pitch Competition. In addition to the prize money, winners also earn an automatic top-10 spot in the Momentum Business Plan Competition, an even bigger contest. In the latter event, local entrepreneurs compete for the chance to win up to $50,000 in seed money and business supports for their company. Last year’s winner was a floral business called the Roots Peony Farm, and previous winners include the Starving Artist Brewery Company, a barn-based brewery, and the KandyLand Dairy & Creamery, an owner-operated dairy operation.

The alliance administers the Momentum Business Plan Competition with funding coming from various organizations including Pennies from Heaven, a private family foundation that provides funding for community and philanthropic ventures in Mason County.

Fun as they are, such events serve a serious purpose, which is to enhance the economic viability of Mason County-based companies. This, in turn, is a major part of the chamber alliance’s mission. “We are here to support entrepreneurs, from that early business planning phase to finding them seed money,” says Brandy Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber Alliance of Mason County.

The alliance has also proven extremely adept at forming partnerships that benefit all parties involved. “One of the things that surprises people is the cross-sector partnerships and alignments that we have,” notes Miller.

Among other partners, the alliance works closely with the Right Place, a regional economic development organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1985, and representing multiple counties, the Right Place aims to boost West Michigan businesses and communities by offering resources, research, and connections to its members and spotlighting state and local business incentives.

Partnering with the Right Place has enabled alliance staff to boost Mason County’s presence and forge ties with companies associated with the group. “We wouldn’t have nearly as many connections if we weren’t plugged in to this really important network in Michigan and the Midwest,” notes Lucas-Zimmerman.

Mason County’s knack for forming strategic partnerships “is definitely something that sets us apart, and I think it’s why we tend to be a leader in our region, because we have greater alignment and true collaboration. It’s not just on paper; we’re all sitting in the same rooms at the same tables. We’re aware of the big pictures—the strategic plans that each of our organizations has and where there are opportunities,” adds Miller.

The county puts a great deal of resources into its educational sector. It has a strong K-12 public school system and is the home of West Shore Community College. Open since 1967, the college offers a wide array of degrees and certificates in everything from computer support to corrections, business administration, emergency medical services, robotics, and neuro-diagnostic technology.

In addition to these courses, West Shore College houses the Summit Tech Center, a career and technical education (CTE) hub. The center is run under the auspices of the West Shore Educational Service District in conjunction with the college. Students at the center can avail themselves of a variety of CTE programs such as culinary arts, automotive technology, welding, agricultural science, and digital media.

Kids in the county also benefit from a savings account program called KickStart to Career (K2C). Under K2C, savings accounts are opened for kindergarten students in county schools to pay for college or career training down the road. KickStart to Career is sponsored by county community groups, financial institutions, and school systems. About 2,000 students from kindergarten to grade six currently have savings accounts thanks to the program.

The Mason County Promise, another educational initiative, covers the cost of tuition and fees at West Shore Community College for qualifying high school and homeschool graduates and recipients of a high school equivalency diploma. And over a quarter of all residents aged 25 years and up have at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Blessed with an outstanding location on the coast of Lake Michigan, Mason County is a popular attraction for tourists and seasonal visitors. In addition to offering miles of shoreline, much of it publicly accessible, the county features historic lighthouses, a maritime museum, and a cross-lake boat link to Wisconsin. “We have a very strong tourism industry here. A lot of people, for generations, have vacationed here,” notes Miller.

Ironically, Mason County’s very success in luring visitors is driving a severe housing shortage, arguably the biggest challenge currently facing the community. “There’s a housing crisis, not just in Mason County, not just in Michigan, but across the United States,” says Lucas-Zimmerman. “Our housing crisis is exacerbated by the fact that we’re a tourist destination. Case in point, in Michigan, about six percent of the existing housing stock is vacation or seasonal homes; in Mason County, about 24 percent of our housing stock is seasonal or vacation homes.”

While delighted to host tourists and visitors, the county wants to “make sure we have housing for the people who live here year-round,” she adds.

In 2023, the county authorized a comprehensive study to garner data about the housing crunch. An ensuing housing needs assessment report determined that Mason County faced a shortage of both for-sale and rental housing. More specifically, the county needed 1,566 for-sale units and 864 rental units in total.

To address this shortfall, a new group called the Mason County Housing Alliance was formed. Made up of representatives from municipal agencies, non-profit groups and philanthropic organizations, the alliance mulled over potential solutions to the housing crisis. Out of these deliberations, a five-year strategy for housing was born.

The plan features five goals including creating 1,000 new units of housing by 2030 and repairing 250 existing but aging housing units, since half of all affordable homes valued at $200,000 or less in the county are over 50 years old, according to the housing assessment. The third goal concerns affordable housing. “We really need housing at all price points to meet our needs,” Lucas-Zimmerman explains. The current median value of owner-occupied housing units in Mason County was $219,600, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Goal number four entails creating three new neighborhoods that encompass mixed income and mixed housing, with a focus on livability. “We wanted to create a sense of community for our housing efforts and make sure that people at all income levels have an opportunity to live in a walkable neighborhood, close to amenities,” states Lucas-Zimmernan.

The final goal centers on housing policies and zoning. The housing alliance wants to ensure the creation of a wide range of housing types, from single-family homes to duplexes, triplexes, and row housing.

All these goals, especially the first one, will be tough to meet, but Mason County is up to the challenge. “We wanted to set something pretty ambitious so we could focus our efforts and focus the community around it,” says Lucas-Zimmernan. Thankfully, ambitious benchmarks are nothing new for a county determined to continue punching above its weight.

The post A Midwest County Proud to “Punch Above Its Weight”<p class="company">Mason County, Michigan </p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.