Ohio Task Force Begins Mission of Creating a New 21st Centur...( Appointed members aim to build busin...)

Appointed members aim to build business through conversion of agricultural

products into advanced materials

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The state of Ohio has appointed thirteen members, representing a wide range of expertise in the fields of chemicals, polymers and advanced materials, to serve on the Ohio Agriculture to Chemicals, Polymers, and Advanced Materials Task Force. The creation of the task force is aimed at accelerating the state business climate by maximizing ties between its No. 1 industry, agriculture, and its role as the nation's No. 1 polymer industry.

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According to the Ohio Business Development Coalition, the nonprofit organization that markets the state for capital investment, an official Ohio task force is the most effective way to build on the state's existing strengths in several key industries, identify opportunities for cross- collaboration among those industries and drive innovation.

"Ohio has a unique opportunity to become a world leader in the conversion of agricultural commodities into the bio-based products of the future," said Doug O'Brien, assistant director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the newly-appointed chairman of the Ohio Agriculture to Chemicals, Polymers, and Advanced Materials Task Force. "The state has an abundance of raw materials along with the research and development capacity and corporate infrastructure that make Ohio a natural leader in this emerging industry."

Additional appointed members include, Sen. Capri Cafaro, vice chair of the task force; Rep. Steve Reinhard, who sponsored H.B. 233; Rocky Black, with the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation; Stephen Myers with the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center; Mark Shanahan, the Governor's Energy Advisor; Jack Pounds, with the Ohio Chemistry Technology
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