General Motors Corp. will expand its powertrain facility in Toledo, allowing for the production of a new high performance, fuel-efficient, six-speed transmission. The $505 million project was announced in February.

GM estimated that it will produce 1 million six-speed transmissions a year by next year and as many as 3 million a year by 2010, while phasing out production of its four-speed transmissions at the 50-year-old facility.

Among three locations considered, Toledo was chosen for its work force, manufacturing location and an attractive incentive package from the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD).

The incentives include a 75 percent Job Retention Tax Credit for seven years, valued at up to $23 million; an Ohio Training Tax Credit valued at up to $1 million; an Economic Development Contingency Fund grant of up to $2.5 million; an Ohio Investment in Training Program Grant of up to $2 million; up to $200,000 in Enterprise Ohio SkillsMAX services; and a low-interest loan of up to $2 million from Ohio State Infrastructure Bank Program funds.

It is the second major automotive industry-related expansion in Toledo during the past two years. DaimlerChrysler is expanding its Jeep assembly facility and is creating a supplier park on its property. The $2.1 billion project will create more than 600 manufacturing jobs.

The on-site supplier park, the first of its kind in the United States, is being built in three buildings next to the DaimlerChrysler assembly plant that manufactures Jeep Wrangler and Liberty vehicles.

Production at the supplier park is expected to begin this year.

Another Toledo company is receiving help from the state of Ohio. Midwest MicroDevices LLC (MMD) will receive a $711,690 Innovation Ohio Loan at an interest rate of 6.5 percent for a seven-year term to acquire manufacturing equipment. The $948,920 project is expected to create 30 high-paying jobs within the first three years of the project’s initial operation.

MMD was founded to be a silicon-manufacturing foundry for Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. MEMS are miniature devices that combine mechanical movements with electrical function in a single integrated, thin-film and typically silicon device. MEMS devices are used in applications such as automotive airbag deployment and inkjet printers.

Bioscience Cluster Grows

Recent tax reforms have also garnered investments in bioscience by leading pharmaceutical manufacturers. In December, Amylin Ohio LLC announced its decision to site a new production facility to manufacture medication for treating diabetes in Butler County in the Cincinnati metro.

Amylin is establishing its first production facility for a long-acting release (LAR) formulation of exenatide, a product candidate in development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The $70 million project is expected to create more than 50 jobs during its first three years of operation.

“Ohio’s business climate, including its recent tax reform, was a favorable influence on Amylin’s decision to locate in Butler County,” said Ginger L. Graham, president and CEO of the San Diego-based company. “We are also pleased with the cooperation and resources available to us in Ohio and Butler County and look forward to building relationships within the community.”

Ohio was in competition with Kentucky, North Carolina, Massachusetts and California for the project. In addition to local incentives, ODOD offered more than $3 million in incentives, including tax credits, exemptions and grants.

According to Omeris, Ohio’s bioscience development organization, the Buckeye State is home to nearly 600 bioscience-related companies, including nearly a dozen pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Patheon, Roxane Laboratories and Ben Venue Laboratories.

Ben Venue, a division of Boehringer Ingelheim, the world’s largest privately held pharmaceutical company, is in the midst of a significant expansion.

The expansion of the Ben Venue Laboratory facility in Bedford in the Cleveland metro is expected to create more than 300 jobs and a new 82,000 square foot facility for a total investment of $68.5 million.

Ben Venue Laboratories is the largest pharmaceutical company in Northeast Ohio. Its products include injectable pharmaceuticals used in nuclear imaging, pain relief, hypertension, infection control and cancer treatment.

The company also markets and manufactures generic products under its Bedford Laboratories division. Ben Venue has been located in Bedford since 1942 and has seen substantial growth during the past seven years. It currently employs nearly 1,100 in Bedford and an additional 1,000 in Columbus at Roxane Laboratories.

GrafTech Relocates HQ

Ohio is also making a concentrated effort to build its fuel cell industry. GrafTech International Ltd. will move its corporate headquarters from Wilmington, Del., to Parma in the Cleveland metro, resulting in at least 25 new jobs for Northeast Ohio.

GrafTech, which currently operates a research and development facility in Parma, manufactures high-tech products used in consumer electronics, flat screen televisions, laptop computers and cell phones.

The headquarters move, which was expected to be complete in March, could eventually result in an additional 30 jobs.

“A major factor in GrafTech’s decision to relocate to Ohio is the state’s favorable technology, tax and business climate created by the Department of Development and Third Frontier Project,” said Craig S. Shular, CEO of the company. “Ohio is a strong supporter of R&D and one of the leading states supporting fuel cell technology development and commercialization.”

GrafTech was awarded a $600,000 Third Frontier grant for the commercialization of fuel cell technology and has been a collaborator on other Third Frontier projects dealing in fuel cells.

In August, HydroGen Corp. of Pennsylvania announced it would create up to 200 jobs by relocating its corporate headquarters to Northeast Ohio. HydroGen is a developer of multi-megawatt fuel cell systems utilizing its proprietary 400-kilowatt phosphoric acid fuel cell technology.

The fuel cell project will be funded, in part, by a $1.25 million grant from ODOD through its Ohio Fuel Cell Initiative. The project will also initiate HydroGen’s efforts to develop an accelerated manufacturing facility in the state between 2006 and 2008, expected to create about 200 jobs.

“We are excited to bring our first major project to the state of Ohio,” said Joshua Tosteson, president of HydroGen. “This project is a critical element of our product roll-out and sales strategy, and we are delighted to have such strong support from the state of Ohio in this crucial phase of our business plan. Our company will become an integral part of Ohio’s home-grown fuel cell industry, and we are pleased to be partners with the state.”