Ben Franklin client XiGo Nanotools won the 2011 first-place gold award in Analytical Instrument Industrial Design from Instrument Business Outlook (IBO), a semi-monthly industrial newsletter. Strategic Directions International, Inc., publisher of the newsletter, is the world’s leading information source for life science instrumentation for laboratory and on-site applications. XiGo is a Continue Reading ...

Beginning in the Ben Franklin Business Incubator, OraSure is today’s leading supplier of oral-fluid collection devices and assays to the life insurance industry and public health markets for the detection of antibodies to HIV-1. In addition, the company supplies oral-fluid testing solutions for drugs of abuse testing. These products are sold in the United States and to foreign countries. The company merged and went public in 2000.

Complete development of a new strategic business plan for Odyssey and utilize student interns for the testing of a new energy-efficient photo reactor that recycles wastewater. The technology utilizes algae to consume carbon dioxide generated by the wastewater, and converts it into biofuel. This also reduces the need for chemicals to treat the wastewater. Odyssey is developing a number of concepts for green and renewable energy production and has advanced some to the prototype stage and enjoyed early sales.

Complete a plant-wide, investment-grade energy assessment at this manufacturer of storage and shelving systems, and tool chests in order to identify areas and methods to greatly reduce energy consumption. Energy costs are significant cost drivers in this highly price-sensitive industry. The company produces primarily for the industrial supply and military sectors.

Develop a new, minimally invasive structural heart repair product called Permaseal™, and begin commercializing it. The company designs, develops and commercializes proprietary technologies targeting unmet needs in the treatment of structural heart disease.  The Permaseal closure device is intended to close myocardial punctures, incisions, and ostomies in structural heart repair procedures.  This product will serve the large market of surgical patients who are currently unable to undergo high-risk procedures, particularly for the increasingly popular Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation procedure (TAVI).

Complete investigation of possible methods for recovering waste heat from high temperature exhaust streams at this producer of specialty cast-wrought and powder metallurgy alloys and titanium alloys. Provide technical support for engineering analysis of the proposed cycle turbine for power generation.