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MAGNET Supports Akron Manufacturing With New Office

Ideastream Public Media

Published August 31, 2018 at 7:02 PM EDT

Darlyn McDermott assumes control of Akron's MAGNET office.

Local manufacturers have easier access to a company that wants to help them grow.

Cleveland-based Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, known as MAGNET, has opened a storefront location in downtown Akron. It’s the company’s first satellite office.

MAGNET offers engineering and consulting to startups and established businesses in 18 Northeast Ohio counties.

Darlyn McDermott manages MAGNET’s southern region. She said the health of Ohio’s manufacturing is strong. Her goal is to help entrepreneurs and businesses in the area continue to grow.

“We all have a fabric here. Yes, it has manufacturing in common, but it also has a work ethic in common. It also has a kindness in common. It also has a very noble, to me, civility in common," she said. "Yeah, we’re not perfect. We have all of our blights and issues. But when you go around the country, by comparison, it’s a really great place to make a living. And it’s a really nice place to live.”

McDermott said she hopes to strengthen MAGNET’s reach in Canton within the next six months.