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.

View the video below.

http://youtu.be/WVFoqGAl64o

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.