Correction:
The name of Stark State College was corrected.
More than a century after Akron became the rubber capital of the world, a $51 million federal investment in rubber’s successor — polymers — will help reestablish the city as a national leader in industry and innovation.
The grant, part of a competitive national process, will give the city money to build up the region’s advanced materials manufacturing. Akron is one of just a dozen recipients of funds in the half-billion-dollar federal program meant to spur development in innovative industries.
“It really, really, reinforces the whole concept that Akron is the place to be if you’re working on polymers,” said Mark Smale, the executive director for Core Polymer Science at Bridgestone Americas. “It will bring people and it will bring ideas to Akron. Akron is the thought center for sustainable polymers.”
Steve Millard, the president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber, said he expects the grant to translate into 4,000 direct jobs and another $5 billion in economic impact.
The investment is a way to build upon Akron’s rubber and tire legacy, leaders said, and will likely be revolutionary for the city.
“The tires of yesterday are the polymers of today, and polymers are in every product,” said Para M. Jones, the president of Stark State College. “These kinds of announcements are transformational, very rare. I think it will attract more investment, for sure.”
Businesses and educational institutions involved in the grant will work to modernize ubiquitous polymer components to help create more sustainable rubber products, said Sue Bausch, the vice president for research and business engagement for the University of Akron.
“That’s what we’re trying to solve,” she said. “I’m hopeful this is the start of something great. It’s a major catalyst for forward movement.”
Bausch said images of piles of burning tires and floating plastic islands can be arresting to people and help engage adults in environmental issues. The University of Akron will be involved in K-12 education about sustainable polymers, helping to get students interested in making changes in the industry to help lessen its environmental impact.
‘Exactly what Akron needs’
Akron was one of four applicants to receive the top award of $51 million. Others, in Indiana, Illinois and Oklahoma, focused on biomanufacturing, precision fermentation and secure autonomous systems, respectively. The remaining eight innovation hub projects received between $19 million and $49 million for their projects.
The federal grant comes as part of a competitive process that drew applications from nearly 500 cities nationwide, said Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown called the award a “really big deal announcement” that represents “a major win for Akron” and Ohio.
“We fought every step of the way to make this happen,” Brown said in a virtual press conference.
“This is a big, big, big deal step,” he added. “Akron absolutely earned this one.”
The federal money will support the Sustainable Polymers Tech Hub, a consortium of business and educational organizations that have combined to focus on materials innovation.
Polymers used in manufacturing are often made of fossil fuels; the projects that will be funded with the grant seek to look for other sources or other ways to use existing materials as a way to make the manufacturing process more sustainable.
Mayor Shammas Malik said he was “just so excited” about the announcement, calling it “such a good day in Akron.”
“I’ve just been waiting to see an investment like this my entire life,” said the 33-year-old mayor and Akron native.
The funding will help create the type of jobs that will attract people to Akron, said Tina Boyes, Akron’s Ward 9 City Council member. While the grant money is not a magic bullet, Boyes said, it will help create opportunities for high-paying jobs in communities where people already live and will build on assets the city already has.
During a transitional period in Akron’s history, she said, the money will make a real difference in creating a new heyday for the city.
“This kind of thing is exactly what Akron needs,” Boyes said.
Creating growth well into the future
The award, from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, will go toward five late-stage innovation projects locally and a region-wide workforce development program. The money is also expected to jumpstart further investment in the region.
The projects that will be funded by the grant include several partnerships that look to improve the sustainability of polymers, which are often difficult to recycle and made from petroleum.
They are:
- A project, headed by Barberton’s Full Circle Technologies, will repurpose used tires into asphalt. It received $4.7 million in federal funds.
- A Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. proposal will develop ways to combine polymers at a liquid stage, rather than a solid stage, allowing the materials to mix better. It received $9.4 million.
- BioVerde, a California company, will create an Akron outpost to produce butadiene, a precursor to synthetic rubber. The process will use plant fermentation instead of fossil fuels to create a material with a new chemistry but similar properties. That project received $11.1 million and Millard said a planned manufacturing facility for the product will result in $400 million in private investment.
- Huntsman International will receive $6 million to take methane out of the environment, turning it into carbon black — a material used to color tires and other products — and carbon nanotubes, used in dirigibles.
- The Akron company Flexsys was given $10.1 million to create a safer material to help keep rubber products from degrading when they are exposed to the elements.
- The University of Akron will get $7.1 million for workforce development, including the creation of a lifecycle management process to help improve the understanding of the entire impact of the use of polymers.
- And the Greater Akron Chamber will have $2.6 million to connect partners and amplify the impact of the various companies and groups that are working through the grant.
The money will be spread out over five years, said Brian Anderson, the vice president of the Polymer Industry Cluster at the Greater Akron Chamber. Anderson said that, if successful, the investments can lead to wage and population increases, more patents in the area and increased retention of local residents.
That, in turn, will lead to more investment in and spending at area businesses, he said.
Already, he said, the University of Akron is a top destination for polymer degrees. The federal tech hub designation and the funds that come with it will help build industry density, Anderson said, leading to even more jobs.
“I expect it to help existing companies to grow, attracting additional companies here,” he said. “Our goal is to create a continuous engine of compound growth well into the future.”
The investment includes an additional $7 million in matching funds, bringing the total expenditure in the area to $58 million. Akron has also requested $35 million in state innovation hub funds that, if granted later this year, would be directed toward advancing the creation of sustainable and durable materials.
From rubber capital to polymer valley
Millard said polymers are key to a number of growing industries — from chips to medical devices to batteries. They represent advanced manufacturing opportunities that will mark a growth space that the city wants to be in, he said.
In the 1930s, Anderson said, the federal government invested in a consortium of local rubber companies, helping them invent synthetic rubber and solidify their businesses. This grant will provide a similar jumpstart, he said, helping transition Akron from the rubber capital to polymer valley.
“From a regional standpoint, I think it’s going to be kind of a beacon and a lighthouse,” said Raymond Somich Jr., the global director of external and government affairs at Synthomer. “It takes big thinking, and it takes big investments to make change.”
Synthomer is working in consumer goods such as diapers and food packaging as well as with tires, adhesives and polymers, Somich said. He said Synthomer has provided some of the local match dollars, and the company expects to continue to grow in the area, including by upgrading and expanding its facilities. This investment, he said, will help them do that.
Both Somich and Hans Dorfi, the senior vice president of product development at Bridgestone Americas, said the ability for companies to partner on research will be a boon to businesses and innovation. Dorfi said a number of companies have pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050; these partnerships will help them get there by improving recycling options and the sustainability of manufactured materials.
The federal dollars represent seed funding that can really push continued investment in the area, he said.
“It sends a very strong symbol that Akron is the place,” Dorfi said. “It will create an innovation ecosystem, and new startups will come to Akron.”
Dorfi said he hopes that is followed by venture capital dollars to further spur the industry forward. He called the grant “fantastic news” for the city, saying Bridgestone’s job now is to spread the word.
Building on the legacy of tire building
The University of Akron will lead the workforce development piece of the award, and Bausch said the school is developing an expertise in lifecycle analysis — looking at the entire impact of a product, from sourcing to use to end of life.
That expertise isn’t available locally, she said, and will help industry. So will plans to upskill and reskill existing employees as well as train new workers to work with polymers, from certificate to doctoral programs. Much of the money will go to reducing barriers for students, she said, including by helping pay tuition.
Such an educational focus will make Akron “a lot more attractive for bringing businesses in,” Bausch said. She said the award will help the city get nationwide attention.
Jones, the Stark State president, said she’s as excited as anybody to participate in helping residents be prepared for the jobs that will come with increased investment.
“It’s just such a wonderful opportunity to build on the legacy of tire building,” she said. “I think the entire community and region are excited about this.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misconstrued the University of Akron’s role in solving issues related to rubber and plastic pollution. The story has been updated.