It’s difficult to imagine how to not answer these questions affirmatively. That’s why it’s important to understand the resources available to you. As you may or may not be aware, agencies at both state and federal levels view the manufacturing sector as a key component of economic growth and offer a number of programs including training, funding, and loan offerings that can have a very positive impact on your business.

1. State & Federal
programs
that will help boost
the competitiveness
of small to mid–sized
manufacturers.

2. 2
Introduction
Could your organization benefit by accessing programs designed to
maximize profitability and efficiency?
Would learning more about how to access valuable savings in everything
from the research and development to production phases of your
manufacturing business help in any way?
It’s difficult to imagine how to not answer these questions affirmatively. That’s why it’s important to understand
the resources available to you. As you may or may not be aware, agencies at both state and federal levels view
the manufacturing sector as a key component of economic growth and offer a number of programs including
training, funding, and loan offerings that can have a very positive impact on your business.
In order to help you better understand your options, we have prepared this brief guide, highlighting a few of the
available programs. It should not be considered an exhaustive list, rather a sampling of what you can expect to
find if you look.

3. 3
State of Ohio Programs

4. 4
Energy Efficiency Program for Manufacturers
The multi–phase Energy Efficiency Program for Manufacturers was created to help Ohio manufacturers like
you reduce energy costs by diagnosing, planning, and implementing improvements at their facilities. Since
its inception, the program has contributed more than $24 million to Ohio’s manufacturing sector It has also
produced a combined annual“savings of 1,112,109 million British Thermal Units (gas, oil, other) and 79,256
megawatt hours.
The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's State Energy Program and Ohio's Advanced Energy
Fund, and designed to maximize efficiency in four phases. The Energy Efficiency Program for Manufacturers
defines these as:
Phase I is the identification of energy cost savings through a facilitated process which company
management examines how they think about energy within their business systems.
Phase II is the development of an energy plan that combines changes in business process methodologies
with the identification of cost–effective measures through the completion of a technical energy audit of the
company's facilities.
Phase III is the installation of the energy cost savings measures and many companies are eligible for
financing through Office of Energy to implement these measures.
Phase IV is measurement and verification of the energy cost savings measures.
The savings that can be accrued through being as efficient as possible when it come to your company’s energy
practices can be substantial.
Energy rates will continue to increase. Take effective countermeasures to ensure your business’s success
and maximize energy efficiency. For more information, please visit: http://development.ohio.gov/bs/bs_
energyefficprograms.htm.

5. 5
JobsOhio Manufacturing Resources and
Incentive Programs
Founded as“a private, nonprofit organization that promotes job creation and economic development for
Ohio,”JobsOhio provides assistance in a wide variety of areas, including:
Loan and grant programs
State tax credits and abatements.
State financing,
State grants, and
State economic development programs.
For more information, please visit: http://jobs–ohio.com/manufacturing/ AND http://jobs–ohio.com/
funding/.

6. 6
The Ohio Development Services Agency
(ODSA)
Focused on supporting businesses, individuals, and communities throughout the state of Ohio, the Ohio
Development Services Agency is a great source for a wide variety of bonds, grants, loans and tax credits created
to help Ohio companies grow.
Governor Kasich formally changed the name of the Ohio Department of Development to the Ohio Development
Services Agency in 2012. This move signified the implementation of Ohio’s new economic development strategy;
part of which improved access to development capital for small—and minority—owned businesses.
ODSA provides a list featuring more than thirty programs that provide grants, training, and other forms of
assistance to manufacturers.
For the complete list, please visit: http://development.ohio.gov/bs/bs_busgrantsloans.htm
"...the Ohio Development Services Agency is a great source for
a wide variety of bonds, grants, loans and tax credits created to
help Ohio companies grow."

7. 7
The Ohio Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (Ohio MEP)
The Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Ohio MEP), of which PolymerOhio/OH!Manufacturing
are members, is a non–profit organization whose mission is to support the growth and prosperity of the
manufacturing community.
The partnership is broken down across all of Ohio into regions covered by six organizations. PolymerOhio serves
manufacturers in the 11–county Central Ohio region.
Ohio MEP supports manufacturers by providing the products, services, and assistance that are dedicated to their
productivity, growth, and global competitiveness.
Since 2004, the Ohio MEP program has been working with specialized nonprofits to provide low–cost business
and technical assistance to small—and medium—sized manufacturers.
More specifically, the Ohio MEP accomplishes this by
Connecting clients with resources that can help address their operational challenges.
Providing a mix of free and for–fee services that draw upon the deep industry and functional expertise of
OH!Manufacturing consultants and external partners.
Enhancing product development and commercialization.
Improving operational efficiency and effectiveness.
For more information, please visit: https://development.ohio.gov/bs_thirdfrontier/mep.htm

8. 8
Federal Programs

9. 9
Research and Development Tax Credits
The Research & Experimentation Tax Credit or the R&D Tax Credit is an example of a money saver that is often
overlooked by manufacturers. These credits, first introduced in the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to
promote investment in America and incentivize the hiring of workers to conduct R&D, currently save firms more
than $10 billion a year.
Previously, standards for R&D tax credit qualification were narrow and difficult to navigate, but this is no longer
the case. Things began to change over the past decade, largely in part to Dow Chemical and others waging a
lengthy legal battle with the goal of broadening the standards of for what kinds of research qualify for federal
subsidies.
Now, small and midsize manufacturers that employ engineers or conduct product testing (on or off site) can
claim R&D credits. Other expenses allowed under the credit include expenditures involved with obtaining a
patent (like attorney’s fees) and expenses incurred while developing or improving products and processes.
The credits have become more attractive for many reasons:
Significant simplification of the system.
Credits can now be transferred in the event of acquisition.
Credits can be taken retroactively.
These can ease the burden on startups, because R&D costs from years when a company has zero income can be
carried forward and used to offset taxes on future profits.
For more information, please visit: http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2010/mar/20092122

10. 10
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
The U.S. Small Business Administration was founded in 1953 with the philosophy and mission of helping
Americans overcome the stresses of the Great Depression and World War II. Since that time, it has secured
millions of dollars worth of loans, contracts, and other forms of assistance for small business.
Extensive private–public partnerships between government agencies and the manufacturing industry have
fostered the creation of a network of programs and services to help your business get off the ground, expand,
and become profitable.
The SBA can help your manufacturing business from the get–go by providing information on a multitude of
matters, including:
Financing Small Manufacturing Businesses
Lean Process Improvements
Help navigating Environmental, OSHA, and Tax Regulations
In–Person, Start–Up, and Management Assistance
Aiding in Business Site Selection and Energy Efficiency Services
Learn more about the SBA, and how its network of resources can benefit your manufacturing business at
http://www.sba.gov/content/manufacturing.

11. 11
Investing in Manufacturing
Communities
IMCP is a new federal partnership designed to create a competitive
climate to inspire communities to invest in manufacturing. The IMCP
incentivizes economic development strategies that give you a leg up
when it comes to attracting global manufacturers.
They also offer a playbook that explains a three–step approach to
creating such a strategy and describes existing grant and technical
assistance resources that communities can leverage to their
advantage.
If you follow the steps listed in the IMCP Playbook and develop
and submit a winning manufacturing strategy, your community
could become one of up to twelve to receive designation as
a“Manufacturing Community.”Designated Manufacturing
Communities will receive preferable status when it comes to
consideration for $1.3 billion in federal money and assistance from
ten cabinet department/agencies.
To find out more about how to create and submit your strategy, and
what to do to turn where you live into a Manufacturing Community,
please visit: http://www.manufacturing.gov/imcp/index.html.
Advice from IMCP Playbook
Backbone: Build an organizational
backbone with the insight needed to
strengthen manufacturing and fully
support the work that follows.
Assessment: Conduct a community
self–assessment of the local industrial
ecosystem (i.e., the whole range
of physical, capital, and human
resource components needed for
manufacturing activities) to identify
current strengths and deficiencies.
Tune–up: Develop a comprehensive
and transformational tune–up strategy
that can be sustained over time.

12. 12
Small Business Innovation Research
Program (SBIR)
The awards–based SBIR program encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research
and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. It operates in a highly competitive
fashion in which small businesses gain further incentive to explore and increase their technological potential
and associated profits.
Manufacturers certainly don’t need extra incentives to make and sell the best products in the world, but if such
incentives are on the table you might as well grab a plate.
Each year, eleven federal agencies each with R&D budgets exceeding $100 million must allocate 2.8 percent of
that budget to these programs. Presently, there are eleven participating federal agencies.
SBIR Program Goals
Stimulate technological innovation
Meet federal research and development needs
Foster and encourage participation in innovation and entrepreneurship by socially and economically
disadvantaged persons
Increase private–sector commercialization of innovations derived from federal research and development
funding
For more information, please visit: http://sbir.gov/about/about–sbir.

13. 13
Small Business Technology Transfer
Program (STTR)
STTR is another program intended to broaden funding for innovation and R&D. One of the program’s primary
attributes is its expansion of public/private partnerships, which now includes joint venture opportunities for
nonprofit research institutions and small businesses.
A huge benefit and unique feature of the STTR program is something manufacturers value highly: collaboration.
Small businesses participating in STTR are required to formally partner and work with a research institution in
the initial phases. By mandating collaboration, STTR is able to narrow the distance between the performance of
scientific processes and the commercialization of the resulting innovations.
STTR Program Goals
Stimulate technological innovation
Foster technology transfer through cooperative R&D between small businesses and research institutions
Increase private sector commercialization of innovations derived from federal R&D
The STTR promotes collaboration and streamlining your commercialization aspirations. For more
information, please visit: http://sbir.gov/about/about–sttr

14. Conclusion
Although running your business while staying informed about everything you can do to improve is a challenge,
there are many resources out there to help your business run more efficiently and profitably.
That’s where PolymerOhio and our MEP arm, OH!Manufacturing come in. We know the industry, and we take
pride in networking in both professional and educational settings. Most manufacturers need a helping hand to
navigate these resources, and Ohio MEP provides that.
Let us guide you to the appropriate resources and programs. If you’re interested in learning what’s out there that
your business might be missing out on, call Gary Walzer of PolymerOhio at (614) 776–5720 or email
gwalzer@polymerohio.org.
Further information is also available at: www.excellenceinmanufacturing.org AND http://polymerohio.org/.