The fact that Cleveland has the largest community of Slovenians outside Slovenia may have convinced a small group to visit Northeast Ohio in June.  By September Akron officials returned the favor with a visit to Ljubljana.  Just 2 months later, a Slovenian consortium of research institutions and polymer companies called PoliMat has opened an office in Akron’s Global Business Accelerator.   CEO Frank Douglas of the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron says his organization and PoliMat have a lot in common and will be working together here.

"We're focused on bio-materials, orthopedics,  and wound healing.  They are also focused on polymers,  bio-materials. They're interested in the use of those bio-materials in the health, energy, and environment." 

Polimat’s Managing Director Meteja Dermastia says they are already working on three collaborative projects involving cardiovascular implants, wound healing, and liquid crystals.

"I'm pretty sure in the next 6 months that we will have a string collaboration platform which we'll bring together in joint research, scientific research and technology projects,  that we will create an opportunity for Slovenian start-ups to come to Akron and create to help in a soft landing in Akron and soft landing in the United States market."

Dermastia says American polymer companies can also gain a foothold in Europe via Slovenia.