Sparking the Next Nokia:
How Pennsylvania’s innovation strategy creates tomorrow’s success stories today
By Angelo Valletta, President and CEO, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Junio 25, 2026
Last week, Nokia announced a $30 million expansion and the creation of more than 250 new jobs. This is a major win for Northeastern Pennsylvania’s economy. This investment reinforces what many of us already know: our Commonwealth can compete in advanced manufacturing, semiconductor technology, and other high-growth industries when we create the right environment for innovation.
The story behind that announcement began more than twenty years ago.
In 2002, a small team of approximately 10 employees was working in Allentown to develop promising new technology known as photonic integrated circuits. The company, Infinera, was young and largely unknown, and its future was far from certain.
What happened next offers an important lesson about economic development: successful companies rarely become industry leaders overnight. They need investment, expertise, and partners willing to support innovation before success is guaranteed.
Between 2003 and 2005, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania invested approximately $450,000 to help support Infinera’s Allentown operation. The local team played a critical role in developing and manufacturing the photonic chips that became the foundation of the company’s breakthrough optical networking technology.
Ben Franklin’s Chief Investment Officer, Wayne Barz, interacted with Infinera’s founding team. “We saw in the team the elements we always look for: passionate and talented leadership, amazing technology innovation, and an understanding of a rapidly growing market.”
By 2007, Infinera had gone public. The Allentown operation had expanded significantly and become an important center for innovation and advanced manufacturing. Over time, that expertise and technology continued to grow, culminating in Nokia’s decision to acquire Infinera to strengthen its R&D capabilities and growth strategy in data centers. Nokia closed on the acquisition in Febrero 2025.
“The work being done at Nokia in Allentown today builds on more than two decades of technical expertise, investment and innovation,” said Darrell Engell, VP Optical Manufacturing & Allentown Site Leader at Nokia. “The collaborative business environment here, including the early support Infinera received from Ben Franklin, helped establish a foundation for growth that continues to support advanced technology development and manufacturing. Nokia is proud to keep building its presence in the Lehigh Valley and contributing to a region that has played such an important role in advancing communications technology.”
Today, the Commonwealth is investing once again in that legacy of innovation through Nokia’s expansion.
This is the story of an entire innovation ecosystem working as intended.
Successful economies are built when entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, universities, economic development organizations, manufacturers, and public-sector partners work together over the long term. In the Lehigh Valley, organizations such as the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), Ben Franklin Technology Partners of NEPA, educational institutions, local governments, PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), and private-sector leaders each play a role in creating the conditions that allow innovative companies to start, grow, and thrive.
For more than four decades, we’ve been helping the Pennsylvania economy refresh, retain, and reimagine. We help companies refresh their products, technologies, and processes so they can remain competitive in a rapidly changing economy. We help retain innovative businesses, talented workers, and investment opportunities that might otherwise leave the Commonwealth. And we help entrepreneurs and manufacturers reimagine what is possible, turning new ideas into companies, jobs, and economic growth.
The Nokia story reflects all three. Their expansion demonstrates what is possible when Pennsylvania commits to innovation. And the same pattern can be seen in our work throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Companies we supported at their beginnings, like OraSure Technologies, American Paper Bag, Computer Aid (CAI), Strong Spas, FMI, Custom Processing Services, and others, today employ thousands of Pennsylvanians.
The public often sees the final chapter of these stories: the ribbon cuttings, expansion announcements, and press conferences that celebrate success. At Ben Franklin Northeast, we envision those things long before they happen, creating the future alongside our founders, investing in and supporting their journeys, sometimes across decades.
We look forward to celebrating their successes in the years ahead—and perhaps their own expansion announcements in 2046.
ABOUT BEN FRANKLIN TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA (Ben Franklin Northeast): Ben Franklin Northeast is an economic development organization that provides investment capital and business support to startups, manufacturers, and business incubators across Northeastern Pennsylvania. We work to refresh, retain, and reimagine Pennsylvania’s innovation economy by creating high paying, sustainable jobs throughout our 21-county region.
The statewide Ben Franklin Technology Partners network consists of four independent nonprofit organizations located in Bethlehem, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and State College.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and is funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.