Home // Our Initiatives

Our Initiatives

Greater Akron Economic Development

Akron is a strategic and business-friendly location and the Greater Akron Chamber is devoted to growing and helping support local business.

Akron Region – A Wise Investment

  • Ohio placed second in the 2013 Site Selection Magazine Governor’s Cup rankings for new and expanded projects.
  • In recent years, more than $2.5 billion in private capital has been invested in new and existing businesses.
     
  • The Greater Akron Region is home to more than 21,000 enterprises.
  • For two consecutive years, Site Selection Magazine ranked Akron no. 2 among metros with populations of 200,000 to 1 million for new business expansions and relocation.  That is why - over the past several years - Fortune 500 companies such as Alcoa, ATT, Goodyear, Newell Rubbermaid and PPG have made major reinvestments in the Greater Akron Region.
     
  • The redevelopment of The University of Akron and Exchange Street corridor has included 2,500 housing units and an investment of $660M.            
  • More than 100 internationally-owned companies have facilities in the Greater Akron Region employing more than 7,600 workers.
  • Approximately 10,000 people in the Greater Akron Region are employed in the rubber/plastics/polymer industries.
  • The Greater Akron Region is internationally recognized as the “Polymer Center of the Americas.”