Ben Franklin’s quote very aptly describes this year at the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

 Passion is what makes our work happen. We seek passion in the management teams of prospective clients. We exhibited passion in responding to pressing regional economic development needs by finding a way to expand the Ben Franklin TechVentures business incubator despite severe cuts to our budget. But the key to harnessing the incredible power of passion is to temper it. A modicum of real-world prudence provides balance and must be integrated into planning and implementation. All of us must “let reason hold the reins.”

Click the image above to download a PDF of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA 2011 Annual Report

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners significantly increases the success rate of the highest-potential early-stage technology companies. We provide start-ups with access to seed capital, business and technical expertise, and a proven network of expert resources. We also help develop and implement productivity improvement strategies for established manufacturers through technological innovation and process improvement that allow the companies to be more globally competitive. Our job is to identify and evaluate opportunities, to select the most promising ones, and to provide client companies with crucial resources as they wage the war to prosper in today’s markets.

Recognized and modeled internationally as one of the best technology-based economic development organizations in the world, Ben Franklin Technology Partners is eminently successful by every measure. A long-range independent study by the Pennsylvania Economy League showed that Ben Franklin statewide boosted the gross state product by $9.3 billion from 2002 through 2006 and provided more than $517 million in additional tax revenues as a direct result of its work. From 1989 through 2008, Ben Franklin created or retained more than 50,000 highly paid, sustainable Pennsylvania jobs, as well as developed hundreds of new companies and new technology-based products and processes. Ben Franklin delivers $3.50 of incremental tax revenue to Pennsylvania for every dollar of state investment in our program.

Despite this stellar history of producing economic benefit for the Commonwealth, in the face of overwhelming state budget challenges, Ben Franklin’s funding was cut in excess of 50% since 2009. These devastating blows to our resources have curtailed Ben Franklin’s ability to deliver the tremendous results we have produced in the past and bode poorly for Pennsylvania’s future technology-based economic growth.

The Ben Franklin appropriation must be restored to its original level and then increased incrementally in subsequent years. This will enable an expansion of critical seed financing and business and technical support for early-stage technology-driven enterprises. It will allow Ben Franklin to help established manufacturers utilize innovation to be more competitive in the global marketplace.

Projecting historical performance, Pennsylvania’s investment in our program will provide a direct financial return of 350% in additional state tax revenue. It will allow technological innovation to be leveraged as a tool to economic prosperity. And it will help companies create the high-paying, sustainable jobs that will be the cornerstone of the economic recovery.

 R. Chadwick Paul, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA

Click here to read the Ben Franklin Article in the Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal.

CEWA designs and manufactures point concentrator solar dishes. By using existing materials in new ways and employing a unique design, CEWA’s toroid solar collector prototype can provide 30kW of energy with far greater efficiency than existing solar collectors.

The solar dish is easy to install, operate, and maintain in a wide variety of applications and terrains, and can be aligned much faster than competing dishes. The product can be used for space or process heating, HVAC, or electricity generation. It will be sold to industrial, institutional, and utility customers.

“CEWA’s solar dish will dramatically accelerate the use of solar power throughout the world,” said J. Paul Eisenhuth, Chief Executive Officer of CEWA Technologies. “Our proprietary technology allows solar energy to be cost-competitive with other energy options without government support.”

CEWA received a $146,000 investment from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (http://nep.benfranklin.org/) Alternative Energy Development Program in 2010, another $49,000 Ben Franklin investment through the U.S. Department of Energy in 2011, and is a resident company of Ben Franklin TechVentures® (http://nep.benfranklin.org/incubator-network/ben-franklin-techventures/). The company has also received support from the Southside Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone (http://www.lehighvalley.org/Home/WhatWeDo/ IncentivePrograms/Southside BethlehemKeystoneInnovationZoneKIZ/) and The Stone House Group (http://www.stonehousegroup.net/), Bethlehem. The Stone House Group owns the Flat Iron Building, where the solar dish will be installed, and has provided substantial financial support to the installation.

The KIZ funded CEWA with two $15,000 Technology Transfer Grants, supplied interns, and brokered the deal with the Stone House Group as the first prototype installation. The KIZ also supported the project through testimony before the Bethlehem Historic Preservation Commission and Bethlehem City Council.

 “The CEWA project is the first visible step in the development of The Stone House Group’s Zero Carbon Neighborhood initiative,” said Larry Eighmy, Principal of The Stone House Group. “We specialize in building stewardship, which includes sustainable design, energy management and renewable energy project development. Future initiatives include a tri-generation system and a biomass co-generator and variable-flow refrigerant HVAC system.”

Ben Franklin clients Dynalene, Inc. (http://www.dynalene.com/), Whitehall, and Keystone Automation, Inc. (http://www.keystoneautomation.net/contact.html),Duryea, are also involved in the project. Dynalene provided a heat-transfer fluid, based on a chemistry derived from renewable materials, which is thermally stable at high temperatures. Keystone Automation, a designer and contract manufacturer of specialized automated equipment, developed and fabricated the mast for the solar dish, which is its supporting structure.

Lehigh University Professor Sudhakar Neti received two grants of $49,500 each that supported research on dish construction and its reflective surface that must perform despite exposure to the elements. These grants were provided under Lehigh’s Energy Research Seed and Commercialization Grant programs in collaboration with Lehigh Professor Wojciech Misiolek. The programs were funded by the Commonwealth’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority to support application of university talents and technologies in development of Pennsylvania businesses. Neti is a CEWA co-founder, and chairs its board.

“This is an outstanding example of cooperation among companies, economic and community development organizations, higher education, and government to grow local firms that address real market needs,” said Eisenhuth. “These partnerships will allow CEWA to pioneer a game-changing energy technology that will create sustainable jobs right here in Bethlehem.”

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The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s (BFTP/NEP) Board of Directors approved the investment of $315,582 in support of regional economic development. BFTP/NEP’s goal is to help lead northeastern Pennsylvania to a better economic future by building partnerships that develop and apply technology for competitive advantage. To achieve this goal, Ben Franklin staff concentrate their efforts on three key areas: 

1. developing and growing early-stage technology-oriented companies,
2. helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technology and business practices to achieve industry leadership, and
3. promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies. 

Since beginning operation, BFTP/NEP has helped to create 14,922 new jobs for Pennsylvania workers and to retain 21,358 existing jobs, to start 420 new companies, and to develop 1,017 new products and processes. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is headquartered on the campus of Lehigh University and operates Ben Franklin TechVentures®, an award-winning business incubator/post-incubator facility, in Bethlehem, and the Bloomsburg Regional Technology Center in Bloomsburg. The Pennsylvania Ben Franklin Technology Partners network has returned $3.50 to the state treasury for every $1.00 invested in the program. 

Ben Franklin announces the following early-stage company investments from its Challenge Grant funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development:

A Sound Strategy, Inc. (http://www.asoundstrategy.com/indexrevised.cfm?), East Stroudsburg, Monroe County
Ben Franklin Investment: $35,000
Design a national product expansion plan and assist the company in developing a more comprehensive business strategy that will help raise additional capital. A Sound Strategy, Inc. is a software development company that provides solutions that manage business processes more efficiently. The company’s flagship product, siteMaster®, helps clients utilize web-based platforms to increase customers’ bottom lines and improve internal operations. These custom proprietary applications will be expanded in existing vertical markets. 

Appalachian Apps, LLC (http://www.appalachianapps.com/corporate-home/), Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County
Ben Franklin Investment: $35,000
Complete a financial model and develop investor documentation, including a revised business plan and investor presentation materials. Appalachian Apps seeks to become the industry leader in Appertainment™. Appertainment is smart phone applications for the entertainment industry that feature a more robust platform and greater social media interconnectivity than the competition. 

Element ID, Inc. (http://www.element-id.com/), Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, Northampton County
Ben Franklin Investment: $50,000
Support the increased sales and marketing effort and customer support for Element ID’s robust, proprietary, and affordable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader. These systems are used to help customers track assets and improve manufacturing accuracy and efficiency, to automatically manage clinical and environmental lab testing, and for fully automated, EPA-compliant chemical disposal. It is the first fully integrated hardware and software solution for RFID data capture. Systems have been deployed in North America, South America, and the Middle East. 

PROVA Systems, LLC (http://www.provasys.com/), Carbondale, Lackawanna County
Ben Franklin Investment: $50,000
Support the launch and commercial development of Fleet Genius™ Fleet Manager in a Box. PROVA manufactures a wireless OBD-2 diagnostic device and trip logger for use in passenger cars and light-duty trucks. This device allows proactive, real-time field management of vehicles using data derived from its usage patterns and collected from its on-board computers. The devices provide a unified set of data points for analysis from any vehicle, allowing for an efficiency comparison among a company’s entire fleet.  The system can be used in fleet management applications and by dealers and outsourced fleet maintenance services.  It also supports applications in usage-based insurance (UBI), drive-by emissions testing systems, and secure vehicle access control systems. 

Pennsylvania’s Alternative Energy Development Program (AEDP) was created in July 2008 to incent collaboration to save energy costs, reduce dependence on foreign fuels, expand clean energy production, and create energy-related jobs in the state. Under the AEDP, BFTP/NEP receives funding to invest in the development and growth of energy-related companies in its 21-county area. There is a diversity of industrial activity related to energy throughout northeastern Pennsylvania, including several Ben Franklin clients in sectors such as advanced energy storage, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and alternative/clean fuels. 

Ben Franklin will invest in the following established manufacturers through its AEDP grant. 

Future Power of PA Inc. (http://www.emberclear.com/Index.html),  Moosic, Lackawanna County
Ben Franklin Investment: $74,000
University Partner: Wilkes University
Analyze geological formations near the Good Spring IGCC facility to determine if it is a viable location for carbon dioxide utilization when gasifying coal. The project will assess the availability of brine water to combine with carbon dioxide to produce key raw materials. The project will also analyze the transportation of carbon dioxide to identified utilization sites. The  270-megawatt Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plant being proposed for Good Spring, PA, has the ability to capture or repurpose its carbon dioxide by-product. 

Harvel Plastics, Inc. (http://www.harvel.com/), Easton, Northampton County
University Partner: Lehigh University
Ben Franklin Investment: $50,000
Complete a sustainability analysis at Harvel with the goal of reducing energy consumption by at least 15%. Harvel is an international leader in the field of thermoplastic extrusions, primarily manufacturing PVC and CPVC piping. Energy costs are one of the top drivers of manufacturing expenses in extruded plastic production.  A cost savings in this area is significant. 

The following early-stage firm will receive funding through Ben Franklin’s AEDP. 

K.C. Larson Industries, Inc. (http://www.kclarson.com/), Williamsport, Lycoming County
University Partner: Bucknell University
Ben Franklin Investment: $21,582
Conduct translational research to determine the feasibility of manufacturing and marketing a new hybrid solar energy system that combines a solar photovoltaic panel and solar thermal heat transfer to generate both electricity and hot water. The company’s product provides retrofit capability, cost advantages, and energy efficiencies in generating both electricity and hot water. The system will serve the residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional markets. 

BETHLEHEM, PA – Fred Beste, Chairman of the Board of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, has announced that the Board of Directors has dedicated the Ben Franklin TechVentures® incubator/post-incubator facility in the name of R. Chadwick Paul, Jr., and his family. Paul is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

“Chad was the singular driving force in creating this remarkable facility,” said Beste. “It took great foresight and courage to put up a building in this economic climate. Chad’s vision and tenacity catalyzed its development, and he motivated, inspired, and led the team that together made it a reality.” 

Ben Franklin TechVentures², which opened on October 20, 2011, is a 47,000 square-foot addition to the original Ben Franklin TechVentures business technology incubator. Located on Lehigh University’s Mountaintop campus, it includes wet labs, office/meeting space, and a new parking garage. 

The new facility is projected to create as many as 200 sustainable, highly paid technology jobs and retain 100 more jobs at new start-up companies in its first three years. It will also provide job and internship opportunities for up to 20 university students each year. Twenty-nine early-stage firms, employing 158 people, are currently located in Ben Franklin TechVentures. Since 1983, the Ben Franklin Business Incubator and TechVentures have graduated 52 successful companies, grossing more than $408 million in annual revenue, and creating more than 4,700 jobs. 

Ben Franklin TechVentures² was designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The facility has a photovoltaic solar array on its rooftop and the latest energy management and light-harvesting technologies manufactured by Coopersburg, PA-based Lutron Electronics integrated throughout the building. 

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which owns and manages Ben Franklin TechVentures, received a $6 million grant in September 2009 to expand Ben Franklin TechVentures that was funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act through the US Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). This grant, combined with other federal and state grants, Ben Franklin funding, and private contributions, allowed Ben Franklin to proceed with the necessary expansion, which cost $18 million. The expanded Ben Franklin TechVentures will improve Ben Franklin’s ability to provide resources, workspace, and hands-on support to early-stage technology companies, and generate new jobs. 

TechVentures recently won first-place national honors in the US EPA 2011 ENERGY STAR Challenge with a projected reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 51%. This August, Ben Franklin TechVentures was selected as one of “10 Startup Incubators You Need to Watch” by Inc.com, and was recognized by portfolio.com for providing comprehensive services to start-ups and creating jobs. In October, Ben Franklin TechVentures² won the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association Project of the Year award. The Ben Franklin Business Incubator was named National Business Incubator of the Year by the National Business Incubation Association in 2001. 

Ben Franklin TechVentures² brings together entrepreneurs, Ben Franklin staff, and Lehigh faculty and students to accelerate the growth of the region’s technology economy. The Ben Franklin team will continue to support TechVentures resident companies with  management guidance, business planning, strategic planning, and marketing counsel; connections to angel investors and venture capitalists; and assistance in preparing and perfecting funding presentations. The facility provides an entrepreneurial culture that fuels innovation; shared basic office services and access to equipment, conference and meeting rooms; high-speed Internet; and other amenities.  

Ben Franklin will share its new Innovation Institute meeting, learning, and conference facilities space with local corporate partners and programs. “Ben Franklin TechVentures will pay dividends to our region in the form of the creation of countless high-quality jobs in the years to come,” added Beste. “The Lehigh Valley business community is profoundly grateful for Chad’s incredible drive and persistence.”

About Ben Franklin TechVentures

The original Ben Franklin Business Incubator, established in 1983 and located across the street from Ben Franklin TechVentures in Jordan Hall on Lehigh University’s Mountaintop campus, had been at capacity for most of its quarter-century of operation. Ben Franklin and its economic development colleagues had to turn away promising young companies due to a lack of incubator space, and the lack of availability of wet lab space was a problem for emerging companies in many technology sectors.

 Lehigh donated the TechVentures building to Ben Franklin to expand its business incubator, and Ben Franklin completely renovated this former Bethlehem Steel lab to meet the needs of high-tech companies. In September of 2007, Ben Franklin celebrated the grand opening of Ben Franklin TechVentures. Staff projected that the 35,000 square feet of rentable space, including more than 11,000 square feet of dedicated wet lab space in TechVentures, would meet the region’s requirements for about five years. Just eighteen months after the grand opening, however, TechVentures was filled to near capacity. This is indicative of the tremendous demand for incubator and wet lab space in the Lehigh Valley. 

The Ben Franklin TechVentures incubator/post incubator facility addressed both increased incubator and wet lab space needs by doubling the available wet lab space and more than tripling the office and dry lab space available when compared to the original Ben Franklin Business Incubator. 

Ben Franklin funding and the reduced operating costs of starting a company in a business incubator are typically what initially draw early-stage companies to Ben Franklin TechVentures. But the business development assistance and sharing of best practices among tenants are also keys to success, and, are often viewed by company leaders as the most important reason to be a Ben Franklin incubator resident. 

About the Ben Franklin Technology Partners

 The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/NEP) is part of a four-center, state-funded economic development initiative that links companies with business and technical experts, universities, funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. The organization’s strategy encompasses three key areas: developing early-stage, technology-oriented companies; helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technologies and business practices; and promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies. 

Since beginning operation, BFTP/NEP has helped to create 14,922 new jobs for Pennsylvania workers and to retain 21,358 existing jobs, to start 420 new companies, and to develop 1,017 new products and processes. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is headquartered on the campus of Lehigh University. The Pennsylvania Ben Franklin Technology Partners network has returned $3.50 to the state treasury for every $1.00 invested in the program.  

The day began with a “speed dating” session in the afternoon. Fourteen pre-selected companies delivered multiple rounds of eight-minute presentations to 25 individual institutional and angel investors. 

During the Speed Dating session, investors selected three company finalists. These entrepreneurs presented pitches to a panel of professional investors and the audience during the Venture Idol session. Led by emcee Chris McDemus, Director, Lehigh University VENTURESeries, the investors critiqued presentations, the audience voted, and Electrikus, Inc. was named the 2011 winning “Ben Franklin Venture Idol.” Bill Crompton, COO of Electrikus accepted the prize of a $5,000 cash investment in his company. 

Electrikus manufactures consumer products that address the dangers, losses, and inconveniences associated with power outages. Its initial product, the Illumaguard, provides up to 10 hours of back-up for residential lighting in the event of a power outage. The product is inconspicuous and intelligent in the way it discharges and recharges, and allows an ordinary household lamp to stay powered to provide lighting as necessary, even over several evenings. The company has patented its ElectroFlo technology, an innovative and energy-smart battery backup system for use with lighting and critical home appliances. Electrikus is currently developing refrigerator power backup units for the consumer market. 

EggZack.com, Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, and RantNetworks, Inc., Bloomsburg, also competed as chosen finalists. EggZack allows client companies to conduct outbound and inbound marketing with a single entry, dramatically streamlining marketing processes. It integrates a business’ website, email marketing, social media, search optimization, blog, local media, hyper local, and 12 other marketing tools into one system that only requires one entry. RantNetworks produces Communilator, the world’s first mobile phone language translation application capable of recognizing and translating foreign text, such as email messages, books, newspapers, and menus, in 44 languages and dialects captured with the host’s mobile phone camera. These applications provide real-time smart phone communication among people speaking different languages and expand users’ abilities to immediately translate photos of text to any language. 

The Venture Idol session began with a keynote presentation by John May, Managing Partner, New Vantage Group. Investor panelists included:  

            Mike Gausling, Managing Partner, Originate Ventures

            Gus Kamnitsis, Representing Lehigh Valley Angel Investors

            David Nevas, Business Development Associate, Edison Venture Fund

            Terry Williams, Managing Partner, NextStage Capital           

More than 200 guests attended the Ben Franklin Venture Idol event. This event illustrates a significant way in which early-stage entrepreneurs seek and obtain seed capital. 

The event was hosted by Fred Beste, Managing Partner, Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, Bethlehem. The evening included opportunities for guests to network with exhibiting early-stage entrepreneurs, private investors, and representatives of venture capital firms.

From (l to r): Chris McDemus, Director, Lehigh University VENTURESeries; Bill Crompton, COO of Electrikus; Chad Paul, President and CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania; and Jeff Shakespeare, Chief Technical Officer of Electrikus.

BETHLEHEM, PA – R. Chadwick Paul, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania®, officially dedicated the Ben Franklin TechVentures² incubator/post-incubator facility at a ceremony Thursday afternoon. Approximately 200 elected officials and other business and community leaders attended the event in the Innovation Institute on the 4^th floor of the new facility. 

Presenters at the event included United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Matt Erskine; Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development C. Alan Walker; Pennsylvania Senators Lisa Boscola and Pat Browne; Acting Bethlehem Mayor Dennis Reichard, representing Mayor John Callahan; and Ben Franklin Board Chairman Fred Beste. 

At the conclusion of the remarks, Paul declared “Lights on.” This play on words refers to the almost universal struggle of early-stage entrepreneurs to stay solvent long enough to become profitable, colloquially expressed as “keeping the lights on.” “Lights on” was particularly fitting since Ben Franklin TechVentures² was designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, to literally “keep the lights on” efficiently and effectively. The facility has a photovoltaic solar array on its rooftop and the latest energy management and light-harvesting technologies manufactured by Coopersburg, PA-based Lutron Electronics integrated throughout the building. 

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, which owns and manages Ben Franklin TechVentures, received a $6 million grant in September 2009 to expand Ben Franklin TechVentures that was funded by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act through the US Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). This grant, combined with other federal and state grants, Ben Franklin funding, and private contributions, allowed Ben Franklin to proceed with the necessary expansion, which cost $18 million. The expanded Ben Franklin TechVentures will improve Ben Franklin’s ability to provide resources, workspace, and hands-on support to early-stage technology companies, and generate new jobs. 

Ben Franklin TechVentures² is a 47,000 square-foot addition to the original Ben Franklin TechVentures business technology incubator/post-incubator facility. Located on Lehigh University’s Mountaintop campus, it includes wet labs, office/meeting space, and a new parking garage. 

This new facility is projected to create as many as 200 sustainable, highly paid technology jobs and retain 100 more jobs at new start-up companies in its first three years. It will also provide job and internship opportunities for up to 20 university students each year. Twenty-nine early-stage firms, employing 158 people, are currently located in Ben Franklin TechVentures. Since 1983, the Ben Franklin Business Incubator and TechVentures have graduated 52 successful companies, grossing more than $408 million in annual revenue, and creating more than 4,700 jobs. 

TechVentures recently won first-place national honors in the US EPA 2011 ENERGY STAR Challenge with a projected reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 51%. This August, Ben Franklin TechVentures was selected as one of “10 Startup Incubators You Need to Watch” by Inc.com, and was recognized by portfolio.com for providing comprehensive services to start-ups and creating jobs. Just this month, Ben Franklin TechVentures² won the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association Project of the Year award. The Ben Franklin Business Incubator was named National Business Incubator of the Year by the National Business Incubation Association in 2001. 

Ben Franklin TechVentures² brings together entrepreneurs, Ben Franklin staff, and Lehigh faculty and students to accelerate the growth of the region’s technology economy. The Ben Franklin team will continue to support TechVentures resident companies with  management guidance, business planning, strategic planning, and marketing counsel; connections to angel investors and venture capitalists; and assistance in preparing and perfecting funding presentations. The facility provides an entrepreneurial culture that fuels innovation; shared basic office services and access to equipment, conference and meeting rooms; high-speed Internet; and other amenities.  Ben Franklin will share its new Innovation Institute meeting, learning, and conference facilities space with local corporate partners and programs. 

“Ben Franklin TechVentures² epitomizes our work at the Ben Franklin Technology Partners,” said R. Chadwick Paul, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania. “Like its predecessors, Ben Franklin TechVentures² will be a job creation factory. Our legacy of innovation continues.”

About Ben Franklin TechVentures

The original Ben Franklin Business Incubator, established in 1983 and located across the street from Ben Franklin TechVentures in Jordan Hall on Lehigh’s Mountaintop campus, had been at capacity for most of its quarter-century of operation. Ben Franklin and its economic development colleagues had to turn away promising young companies due to a lack of incubator space, and the lack of availability of wet lab space was a problem for emerging companies in many technology sectors. 

Lehigh donated the TechVentures building to Ben Franklin to expand its business incubator, and Ben Franklin completely renovated this former Bethlehem Steel lab to meet the needs of high-tech companies. In September of 2007, Ben Franklin celebrated the grand opening of Ben Franklin TechVentures. Staff projected that the 35,000 square feet of rentable space, including more than 11,000 square feet of dedicated wet lab space in TechVentures, would meet the region’s requirements for about five years. Just eighteen months after the grand opening, however, TechVentures was filled to near capacity. This is indicative of the tremendous demand for incubator and wet lab space in the Lehigh Valley. 

The Ben Franklin TechVentures incubator/post incubator facility addressed both increased incubator and wet lab space needs by doubling the available wet lab space and more than tripling the office and dry lab space available when compared to the original Ben Franklin Business Incubator. 

Ben Franklin funding and the reduced operating costs of starting a company in a business incubator are typically what initially draw early-stage companies to Ben Franklin TechVentures. But the business development assistance and sharing of best practices among tenants are also keys to success, and, are often viewed by company leaders as the most important reason to be a Ben Franklin incubator resident. 

About the Ben Franklin Technology Partners 

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania (BFTP/NEP) is part of a four-center, state-funded economic development initiative that links companies with business and technical experts, universities, funding, and other resources to help them prosper through innovation. The organization’s strategy encompasses three key areas: developing early-stage, technology-oriented companies; helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technologies and business practices; and promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies. 

Since beginning operation, BFTP/NEP has helped to create 14,922 new jobs for Pennsylvania workers and to retain 21,358 existing jobs, to start 420 new companies, and to develop 1,017 new products and processes. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is headquartered on the campus of Lehigh University. The Pennsylvania Ben Franklin Technology Partners network has returned $3.50 to the state treasury for every $1.00 invested in the program.

1. developing and growing early-stage technology-oriented companies,
2. helping established manufacturers creatively apply new technology and business practices to achieve industry leadership, and
3. promoting an innovative community-wide infrastructure that fosters a favorable business environment for high-growth companies.

Since beginning operation, BFTP/NEP has helped to create 14,922 new jobs for Pennsylvania workers and to retain 21,358 existing jobs, to start 420 new companies, and to develop 1,017 new products and processes. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is headquartered on the campus of Lehigh University and operates Ben Franklin TechVentures®, an award-winning business incubator/post-incubator facility, in Bethlehem, and the Bloomsburg Regional Technology Center in Bloomsburg. The Pennsylvania Ben Franklin Technology Partners network has returned $3.50 to the state treasury for every $1.00 invested in the program. 

Ben Franklin announces the following investments from its Challenge Grant funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development:

C.F. Martin & Company, Inc., Nazareth, Northampton County
Ben Franklin Investment: $7,483
University Partner: The Pennsylvania State University
Complete development of computer models to predict the sound quality of prospective top plates on new guitar models for this producer of acoustic stringed instruments. The new products will provide the optimum sound radiation and tone that is sought by the target demographic. This will help maintain Martin’s brand versus current and future competitors.

EggZack, Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, Northampton County
Ben Franklin Investment: $20,000
Refine a strategy for assembling a strategic partner network to help EggZack market and sell its software as a service (SaaS) solution to a much larger base of customers. The patent-pending SaaS platform requires only a single entry to update a client’s website and other marketing functions, broadcasting the information immediately to more than 20 types of media, including social media such as the company website and blog, email, local media, and publications. Such tools are needed by small- to medium-sized retailers, restaurants, and other companies to promote themselves more effectively and profitably, and to also offer as a value-add to the members and clients of organizations, franchises, and creative marketing agencies.

Hydro4GE, Inc., Scranton, Lackawanna County
Ben Franklin Investment: $15,000
Establish a sales and marketing strategy for Hydro4GE’s new software development tool, Pario. Pario allows programmers to generate and support complete, production-ready database systems with dramatic productivity gains and quality outcomes from high-level specifications. Traditional software construction practices are often repetitive and labor-intensive, and thus prone to error. Hydro4GE’s software delivers substantial programmer productivity gains, rapid application prototyping, and substantial ongoing support efficiencies.

LMC Software Solutions, Morgantown, Berks County
Ben Franklin Investment: $50,000
Assist LMC Software Solutions with operations and marketing support for its Enterprise Technical Support Center product as well as its Development Operations initiative for software development.  This will provide the company with new customers and increased sales. LMC’s new software platform supports information technology staff as they address IT problems within their companies. 24/7 monitoring and log trails are built in, providing complete audit and compliance functions. This new software platform improves productivity and service availability at a reduced cost.

Micro Interventional Devices, Inc., Ben Franklin TechVentures, Bethlehem, Northampton County
Ben Franklin Investment: $100,000 
Develop a new, minimally invasive structural heart repair product called Permaseal™, and begin commercializing it. This early-stage 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 otomies 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).

Pivitec, LLC, Coplay, Lehigh County
Ben Franklin Investment: $70,000
Complete design and begin commercialization of five hardware products and one software control application for this developer of audio streaming and distribution products. Modern performances in theaters and houses of worship require a variety of approaches to provide performers the ability to hear their own performances as well as cues. Wired systems currently in use require extensive cabling, limiting perfomers’ movements, and have limited audio source reception. Pivitec uses wireless mobile devices and personal computers as interactive controllers for its network devices to address problems in live professional audio products.

Ben Franklin will invest in the following companies through its five-year grant from the Alternative Energy Development Program (AEDP). Pennsylvania’s AEDP was created in July 2008 to incent collaboration to save energy costs, reduce dependence on foreign fuels, expand clean energy production, and create energy-related jobs in the state. Under the AEDP, BFTP/NEP receives funding to invest in the development and growth of energy-related companies in its 21-county area. There is a diversity of industrial activity related to energy throughout northeastern Pennsylvania, including several Ben Franklin clients in sectors such as advanced energy storage, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and alternative/clean fuels.

Carpenter Technology Corporation, Reading, Berks County
Ben Franklin Investment: $5,000
Complete investigation of possible methods for recovering waste heat from high temperature exhaust streams at this manufacturer 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.

Cambridge-Lee Industries, LLC., Reading, Berks County
Ben Franklin Investment: $40,500
College Partner: Northampton Community College’s Emerging Technologies Applications Center
Conduct an on-site assessment to analyze the company’s energy consumption and identify ways for the firm to lower energy usage, improve energy efficiencies, and minimize waste in order to reduce operating costs. Cambridge-Lee is a world leader in the manufacture of copper tubing.

CEWA Technologies, Bethlehem, Northampton County
Ben Franklin Investment: $250,000
Complete prototype testing and finalization of the commercial design of a new kind of point-concentrated solar power dish that will deliver energy at a lower cost due its novel shape and construction. The dish, called a toroid solar collector, is capable of providing thermal power for HVAC, power generation, desalination, and process heat applications at a cost comparable to fossil fuel-based sources of energy without government subsidy. Such cost competitiveness is novel in solar power dishes, and critical to the growth of this alternative energy source.

Snake Creek Lasers, Hallstead, Susquehanna County
Ben Franklin Investment: $100,000
Commercialize a new opto-thermal laser resonator and advance current laser designs to improve output-power tunability and reproducibility over large ranges. Also, reduce power source requirements by 50%. Snake Creek Lasers is a premier supplier of miniaturized lasers and laser modules for defense and commercial applications. In addition to dramatically reducing the amount of energy needed to run Snake Creek’s Lasers, the new wavelengths and improved attributes identified will enable wavelength and performance improvements and cost reductions in scrap and labor time that allow for sustained company growth.

SolarPA, New Tripoli, Lehigh County
Ben Franklin Investment: $58,000
Complete development of a process for applying a new, proprietary coating, NanoCoat, that enhances photovoltaic effects and improves the efficiency of solar cells. SolarPA’s single-layer anti-reflective coating improves optical absorption, thermal transport and emission, light concentration, manipulation, emissivity, reflectivity, and scattering, thereby maximizing the solar energy available for conversion into electricity. This results in increases in solar module efficiency up to 10% and reduced manufacturing costs by up to 10% as compared with current silicon-based technology. The reduced manufacturing costs translate to reduced prices to the consumer, thereby enabling broader market adoption of solar energy.

Ward Manufacturing, Blossburg, Tioga County
Ben Franklin Investment: $25,000
University Partner: The Pennsylvania State University
Design and install a core making machine at this producer of malleable and cast iron pipe and fittings. The machine will process low volatile organic compound (VOC) binders as those binders are optimized. The equipment will facilitate an immediate 29% reduction in the energy needed to make cores using conventional binders. Energy savings will grow to as much as 50% as the low-VOC binders are fully adapted for use by Ward.

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