Bethlehem : Innovation & Job News

The drive to the new economy accelerated last week, when Pennsylvania became the 12th state to officially incentivize corporate activism with the creation of legally sanctioned benefit corporations or "B Corps. "
 
"B Corp certification is to sustainable business what LEED certification is to green building or Fair Trade certification is to coffee," says B Lab, the Berwyn-based nonprofit behind the global B Corps movement.
 
Under the new Pennsylvania measure, passed unanimously by both houses in Harrisburg and signed immediately into law by Gov. Corbett, directors of B Corps can take non-financial interests into consideration without fear of legal repercussion. Until now, those directors were legally mandated to make decisions based solely on maximizing profits. So a B Corp can, for example, lose money on a charitable or socially conscious venture without fear of getting sued by its shareholders.
 
Even without official sanction, there are already 51 voluntary B Corps in the Commonwealth, according to B Lab, including Azavea, a software firm in Philadelphia, Dansko, the footwear maker in West Grove and One Village Coffee in Souderton. Worldwide, says B Lab, there are 643 B Corps including big names like Ben & Jerry's , King Arthur Flour , Seventh Generation and Method  household products.
 
Writer: Elise Vider

An array of firms across the commonwealth, mostly startups, are beneficiaries of investments made in the last week by The Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Pennsylvania's venerable technology-based economic development programs.
 
BFTP of Central and Northern PA (BFTP/CNP) announced investments totaling $1.8 million in 11 firms. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, BFTP/NEP announced nearly $560,000 in investments in six early-stage companies and six established firms working with academic partners on technology-based manufacturing innovation. And BFTP of Southeastern PA is making $1.375 in new investments.
 
The companies funded by BFTP/CNP are:

• AgIntegrated Inc.,  State College, a tech consultant to the agriculture industry;
• BRL Solutions, Kane, for a new lubricant for use on boats;
• Conduit Marketing, Girard, software for purchase of in-home medical equipment;
• Dataforma Inc.,  York, web-based business management software;
• ECKey, Lancaster, turning Bluetooth-enabled cellphones into access keys;
• Eduplanet21,  Mechanicsburg, a social learning platform;
• Flashpoint Informatics, Bellefonte, cloud-based computing services;
• Lewis Designs LLC, Waterford, innovative brake designs;
• Strategic Polymer Sciences,  State College, animation for mobile devices and smart phones;
• TM Filtration,  Erie, systems to serve the shale gas industry;
• USIC LLC,  York, a web-based marketplace for artists/entrepreneurs.

The early-stage companies funded by BFTP/NEP are:

• A Sound Strategy,  East Stroudsburg ($30,000), to roll out a national sales effort on software-as-a-service products;
• Cernostics, Danville ($100,000) to validate tests for risk of esophageal cancer in certain patients;
• Micro Interventional Devices, Bethlehem ($100,000) to develop a new, minimally invasive heart repair product;
• OPTiMO Information Technology,  Bloomsburg ($25,000) for sales and marketing of IT products and services;
• Pivitec, Bethlehem ($70,000) design and commercialization of hardware and software products for audio streaming;
• Walton Motivation,  Allentown, ($20,000) sales and marketing of cloud-based employee recognition system.

BFT/NEP is also investing in these established manufacturer/academic partnerships:

• Crispin Valve,  Berwick and Bloomsburg University ($18,302) for an enterprise resource planning system at this maker of valves for the municipal water industry;
• Fidelity Technologies Corporation,  Reading and Northampton Community College's Emerging Technology Applications Center ($50,000)  power systems for military field applications;
• Georg Fischer Havel, Easton and Lehigh University, ($50,000) to cut energy use in manufacture of PVC piping;
• Longo's Bakery, Hazleton and Lehigh University's Enterprise Systems Center,  ($25,000) for an enterprise resource planning system;
• Medico Industries, Wilkes-Barre and Northampton Community College's Emerging Technology Applications Center, ($26,500) to cut energy use in manufacture of machined metal components;
• Sharp Corporation,    Allentown and Lehigh University's Enterprise Systems Center, ($45,000) to cut energy use in packaging for pharmaceutical companies.

In Southeastern PA, the recipients are:
 
• ARB Geowell, West Conshohocken ($125,000): The company uses a unique design to promote heat transfer for its geothermal heating/cooling platform, which offers higher energy efficiency and eliminates significant construction costs for commercial buildings, schools and developments.
 
• Brad’s Raw Chips, Pipersville ($100,000): Founder Brad Gruno wants others to discover the benefits of eating raw food like he did. He uses an advanced dehydration system to keep raw chips crunchy and tasty.
 
• Drakontas, Glenside ($250,000): The company provides mobile collaboration software solutions for police, military, fire, emergency response and public service teams. Its flagship DragonFroce product utilizes geo-tracking and shared media and files to help those teams act faster and enhance public safety.
 
• Kerathin, Chester ($200,000): The company previously received $150,000 from Ben Franklin for its PodiaPro nail debridement system for the diabetic population.
 
• OneTwoSee, Devon ($150,000): Formerly Mobile Reactor, the company targets television broadcasters and producers to help them deliver interactive TV experiences through connected devices.
 
• S4 Worldwide, Doylestown ($250,000): The company provides a variety of safety, security and regulatory solutions for drilling companies working in the Marcellus Shale.
 
• Tangent Energy Solutions, Kennett Square ($300,000): Commercial and industrial companies can save up to 20 percent on energy costs thanks to Tangent’s grid optimization technologies.

Source: Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Writer: Elise Vider

Few industries have been as hammered by the economic downturn as architectural firms, "a large share [of which] are still coping with a sluggish and erratic marketplace," the American Institute of Architects reported last month.  
 
But Bethlehem's Spillman Farmer Architects has maintained a stable workforce of 30 designers for years, reports Joseph Biondo, the firm's design principal. "We've definitely weathered the recession, although it's been tough, due to diversity in our client base, building types and where we practice," he says.
 
The firm's specialty in business incubators and higher education helped provide shelter from the storm, with an array of projects from $1 million to $50 million-plus in locations as far away as Iowa and North Carolina.
 
"But we really appreciate the work in our own backyard," says Biondo, especially TechVentures2, the nearby $18 million Ben Franklin Tech Ventures incubator expansion, which most recently earned the firm the National Business Incubation Association's Randall M. Whalley Incubator of the Year award.
 
Spillman Farmer designed BFTV's original incubator, converting a disused, 1960s Bethlehem Steel building. When it needed more space, BFTV again turned to the firm. The 47,000-square-foot expansion, says Fred Allerton, director in charge of the project along with project architect Christa Kraftcian, reflects a few changes: an emphasis on environmental sustainability (prestigious LEED Gold certification is pending) and a demand for highly flexible meeting space to accommodate thinking, computing and collaborating.
 
Other current Spillman Farmer projects include a mixed-use project in downtown Easton and a global learning village at Elon University in North Carolina.
 
Source: Joseph Biondo and Fred Allerton, Spillman Farmer Architects
Writer: Elise Vider

When it was built in 1931, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world. But it was also, by modern standards, an energy hog, with 6,514 windows, radiator heat, inefficient cooling and lighting.
 
To remedy things, the iconic New York skyscraper is now undergoing a whole-building retrofit, aimed at reducing energy use by 38% and bills by $4.4 million annually and preventing 105,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next 15 years.
 
As part of the project, launched in 2009, the Empire State Building Company recently contracted with Lutron Electronics, based in Coopersburg, Lehigh County, to provide sustainable lighting control solutions in pre-built tenant spaces throughout the building.
 
Lutron will provide occupancy/vacancy sensors that turn lights off when spaces are unoccupied, daylight-dimming controls that adjust light levels based on available daylight and wireless components for easy retrofit and minimal disruption.
 
The work is expected to save up to 65 percent on total lighting energy costs -- critical because lighting typically uses the majority of electricity in commercial buildings -- and pay for itself in two-and-three-quarters years, Lutron said.
 
The solutions developed in collaboration with Jones Lang LaSalle, the Empire State's property manager, are replicable in other whole-building retrofit, says Lutron President Michael Pessina.
 
Lutron would not release details on the size of the contract or whether it would create jobs, but last year Newsweek calculated that the retrofit would create 252 jobs, 70 coming from the manufacture and installation of lighting and air flow controls.
 
Source: Lutron Electronics
Writer: Elise Vider

Only a month ago, Keystone Edge reported that the first over-the-counter, oral swab test for HIV, being developed by OraSure Technologies in Bethlehem, had passed an important FDA watershed.
 
Now comes news – on the front page of the New York Times,  no less – that the FDA has granted final approval to the OraQuick test, which will enable home users to swab their mouths and get a result in as little as 20 minutes.
 
It's major news for the company, which began discussions in 2006 with the FDA about a home version of its existing test used by health professionals. The kit is expected to be available at more than 30,000 retail outlets throughout the country and online in October.
 
Ron Ticho, OraSure's senior vice president, corporate communications, says the company doesn't yet know how many jobs will be created as a direct result of the FDA approval. "The company's focus right now is to ensure we have product for consumers in October. We do anticipate the product to be a growth driver for the company, but it's too early to determine the potential impact from a jobs perspective," he says.
 
As KE reported earlier, the potential for the company is huge with one analyst telling the Philadelphia Inquirer that the test could generate $50 million in annual sales at the end of five years.
 
 
Source: Ron Ticho, OraSure Technologies
Writer: Elise Vider
 
 

The first over-the-counter, oral swab HIV test, under development by Bethlehem-based OraSure Technologies, is one step closer to approval after an FDA advisory committee gave the product its unanimous recommendation last month.

The OraQuick In-Home HIV Test has been under development for six years as a direct-to-consumer version of OraSure’s oral rapid HIV test -- the only such product on the market, currently sold only to doctors and other healthcare professionals. "If all goes well," says Ron Ticho, OraSure’s senior vice president for corporate communications, "we hope to see approval in the coming months."

The new HIV test, which would be the first FDA-approved home test for any infectious disease, has huge healthcare implications. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there are about 1.2 million people in the U.S. with HIV and about 240,000 of them are unaware of their status. 

The product is also potentially huge for OraSure, with one analyst telling the Philadelphia Inquirer that the test could generate $50 million in annual sales at the end of five years.  OraSure is also pegging its growth to two 2011 developments: FDA approval of its rapid hepatitis C test and its acquisition last year of DNA Genotek, a Canadian firm that is a leading provider of oral fluid sample collection, stabilization and preparation products. Genotek, for example, just sold its saliva collection kit to a genetic testing company specializing in Scottish ancestry. 

OraSure was established in 1987 and is an alumni client of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Today the company employs about 235 and serves a global market.

Source: Ron Ticho, OraSure Technologies
Writer: Elise Vider

Last week, we reported that the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania had invested more than $340,000 in seven firms at various stages of maturity. This week, we learn that BFT has also opened its coffers to several more early-stage firms that show promise.

The biggest investment, $60,000, went to the cleverly named Taylored Building Solutions in Taylor, Lackawanna County, to complete a computer program to manage the financial function for this manufacturer of high-end modular homes and components for traditional stick-built homes. With this investment, the company will also implement novel marketing and sales strategies.

Cernostics in Danville, received $55,000 to validate a diagnostic and prognostic test that predicts the risk of developing esophageal cancer in patients with Barrett’s Esophagus.

EggZack  in Bethlehem was awarded $30,000 to 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.

Viddler, Inc. in  Bethlehem was awarded $33,00 to continue enhancing its selling and marketing activities to extend its positioning as the leading small- to mid-sized business on-line video solutions provider worldwide. 

XiGo Nanotools  in Bethlehem got $50,000 to organize manufacturing policies and procedures to prepare for expanded sales of a patented, shoebox-size device that rapidly measures the wetted surface area of nano-particles using magnetic resonance imaging technology.

Source: Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Writer: Elise Vider

Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania has granted $110,000 to Sunstream Earth  to complete construction and testing of a prototype of a new type of solar-powered thermal generator for electricity production. This new technology will allow electricity to be produced on-site utilizing only ambient solar heat, without the need for connection to the power grid. The generator requires a much smaller footprint and is more efficient than conventional solar-generation technologies.

The Allentown early-stage firm is one of seven receiving funds “to help lead northeastern Pennsylvania to a better economic future by building partnerships that develop and apply technology for competitive advantage," according to a news release issued this week.

The other BFTP/NEP investments are:

Alpha Packaging, Bethlehem, $48,000 to implement practices and install equipment to reduce energy consumption by 20% at this manufacturer of plastic bottles and jars.

ArioTech, Bethlehem, $50,000 to customize and deploy a new type of information-sharing platform for hospital-discharged chronically ill patients and their care providers, and pilot the technology in three major northeastern U.S. hospitals.

BioSample Solutions LLC, Bethlehem, $70,000 to complete development and begin commercialization of a proprietary sample preparation technique for application in DNA and RNA extraction technology. 

EcoTech Marine LLC, Bethlehem, $25,000 to improve supply chain processes and plan for expansion into a larger space.

Highwood USA, LLC, Tamaqua, $14,547 to improve heat resistance and impact strength of styrenic plastic, a material used in the production of synthetic wood. 

Vigon International, East Stroudsburg, $25,000 to automate the batch record management system and the work order information system at this manufacturer and supplier of high-quality flavor and fragrance ingredients.

Source: BFTP/NEP
Writer: Elise Vider
 
 

Ben Franklin TechVentures, one of Pennsylvania's first technology incubators, continues to rack up awards and attract fledgling companies.
 
With two fresh international honors bestowed by the National Business Incubation Association this month, CEO and President Chad Paul says the 109,000-square-foot incubator is 96% occupied and "I have the best deal flow that I've ever had in 10-plus years. The quality of the applications goes up and up."
 
The reason, ironically, is the economic downturn, which has prompted many seasoned professionals who have lost corporate jobs to take a gamble as entrepreneurs. "They know the science, but they don’t know business math, marketing or [how to attract capital]," Paul says.
 
That's where TechVentures comes in, offering a range of facilities (including much-coveted wet labs), services, mentoring and, critically, investments typically in the $50,000-to-$150,000 range.
 
TechVentures has launched 55 companies and created 5,400 jobs since its establishment in 1983 in an unused building at Bethlehem Steel. One current tenant with great potential is Micro Interventional Devices, which is starting human trials this month of a device that could minimize complications in heart-valve-replacement surgery for high-risk patients. Paul sees medical devices like this as among the growth areas for the future.
 
But he cautions, "In Bethlehem, we learned a long time ago there's big time liability for being a one-company town. So you won't see us focus on just life science, just energy, just optics. Every application we get is based on its own merits."
 
Source: Chad Paul, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Writer: Elise Vider