As president and CEO of MAGNET: the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, Dr. Ethan Karp strides into his open office every day with two goals in mind — helping small and mid-size manufacturers achieve their full potential and growing the regional economy of Northeast Ohio.
“I have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of the community that I fell in love with when I came to Northeast Ohio five years ago,” he says. “Manufacturing is approximately one in five jobs, but it directly or indirectly impacts about 50 percent of the economy.”
On a larger scale, Karp says he is troubled by the disparity between residential income in Cleveland and that of wealthier suburbs. His civic and professional goals are often entwined, and he knows the resources he provides to local manufacturers are capable of creating more jobs — and thereby bridging the gap.
“While MAGNET’s mission focuses on manufacturers, it often goes beyond the businesses we serve,” he says. “We owe it to Northeast Ohio to help the community in a fundamental way that will allow everyone to access better jobs, better skills and an overall better quality of life.”
Prior to joining MAGNET in January 2014 as its vice president of client services, Karp was raised in Clarion, Pennsylvania, where he fell in love with science. He began taking college courses while still in high school, then embarked on an academic career path toward biochemistry and physics at Miami University in Oxford. After graduating, he earned a master’s degree and doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University in
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
But while Karp says he admires those who devote their lives to the sciences, he realized he wanted a career that played a more direct role in improving the lives of others. He found himself joining consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 2011, where he traveled across the country working with international companies, nonprofits, schools and hospitals on solving complex business problems.
It was at McKinsey where Karp “caught the bug” of civic leadership and began working with nonprofits and other agencies on economic development issues in Northeast Ohio. His drive to help others soon exceeded his duties at McKinsey, and when the opportunity arose to join MAGNET, Karp was eager to make a change.
MAGNET is a public-private partnership that brings tangible results to the ambiguous field of economic development. Funded by both the federal Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), and the state through Ohio MEP, MAGNET offers holistic consulting services at competitive prices to local manufacturing companies.
In addition to MAGNET’s staff of 50 employees, select large manufacturers, such as Lincoln Electric, Nordson Corporation and Swagelok, are on MAGNET’s Board of Directors and aim to help small and mid-size companies with the same mindset. Significant funders include the Cleveland Foundation, The Fund for Our Economic Future, JP Morgan Chase Foundation and other private philanthropies focused on economic and workforce development.
After joining the organization, Karp saw the potential in focusing on MAGNET’s PRISM (Partnership for Regional Innovation Services to Manufacturers) initiative. PRISM promotes a philosophy of “growth through innovation” and encourages manufacturers to take advantage of MAGNET’s unique brand of holistic consulting services. Through PRISM, manufacturers can harness the resources available to them at local academic institutions, the NASA Glenn Research Center and other partners in the fields of business, science and engineering.
“There is a real need within those manufacturers to innovate, come up with their next product, overcome growth barriers and find the talent they need so they have hope of growing in the future. That’s where MAGNET, through the federal and state MEP programs, comes into play,” Karp says.
“What MAGNET brings to them is both access to resources that the community has and practical one-on-one help to be able to make those company’s dreams a reality,” he says. “We’ve helped launch companies that started as a sketch on a napkin, and we’ve helped 200-person companies adapt to changing times. We help companies from one person to 250 people grow locally and compete globally.”
MAGNET is also in the process of launching its Early College-Early Career (ECEC) program, which represents a groundbreaking idea in the field of workforce development. Over the next few months, MAGNET will adapt the European style of manufacturing apprenticeships, bringing manufacturers, community colleges and universities together in a unique collaboration. High school students participating in ECEC would learn valuable manufacturing skills that would lead to college credit, a job offer upon graduation and the promise of a long-term, middle-class career.
As an organization that has been helping local manufacturers since 1984, MAGNET boasts many successes. In fact, the company’s building tour highlights its biggest triumphs with tabletop displays, posters and videos describing how MAGNET helped local companies improve and grow in the areas of product development, engineering, operations, workforce and sales and marketing.
Among these successes is LEFCO Worthington, a minority-owned Cleveland manufacturer of wood crates and pallets. The company experienced very high turnover and scrap rates but, through MAGNET’s assistance, was able to increase morale, improve safety and heighten efficiency — resulting in additional revenue, six retained jobs and a significant reduction in turnover.
“What we developed is a way we can match our business opportunities with individual talents and preferences, and that’s led to a significant reduction — really, the elimination — of our employees leaving our business,” says LEFCO CEO Larry Fulton. “If you’re looking for ways to grow your top-line, improve your operations or grow your profitability, MAGNET is an organization you can go to that’s going to provide you with the full cadre and range of support services that really help your business flourish.”
Area manufacturers have invested in automation and new technologies for their operations, allowing them to be more competitive in different markets. Eastern countries like China are often pinned as the culprits for snagging former U.S. manufacturing jobs, and hikes in new demands are changing the global landscape. Many publications and media outlets have projected the future of manufacturing to be uncertain, but Karp is convinced the sector will play a key role in Northeast Ohio’s future.
“It’s inconceivable to me that the United States could be strong without a strong manufacturing base,” Karp says. “If you can’t make the things you use every day, you are at the mercy of other countries to control everything, from your national security to potentially the economic output of your country.”
Karp also notes that while manufacturing jobs have declined in previous decades, the trend is not only slowing, but reversing entirely.
“Manufacturing is taking tremendously different avenues toward
success, and we are seeing a large percentage of companies who are making strides in attracting and retaining workers,” Karp says. “Between ongoing innovation and new opportunities, we are seeing more GDP and job growth in the region, which paints a very bright future for Northeast Ohio as a whole.”