The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania in Bethlehem has approved the investment of $320,530 in support of regional economic development.
Included in that were a number of regional early stage company investments.
Among the recipients of the loans were Heudia Health LLC of East Stroudsburg, which received $50,000. The company is focusing sales effort to expand commercialization of its new software program in the Medicaid marketplace.
The platform seeds to improve the delivery of health care and related services by motivating beneficiaries to see care at the right place and time.
New Horizon Biotech Inc. of Nazareth received a loan of $50,000 to help it complete testing to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new, proprietary and patented design for single-use microbial fermentation as compared with designs currently in use.
Microbial fermentation is the basis for the production of biopharmaceutical products, including antibiotics, vaccines and therapeutic proteins.
Pennsylvania Glassworks Co. of Temple received a loan of $80,000.
Funds will help the company complete the setup of a manufacturing facility and begin production of decorative architectural cast-glass panels.
The panels are made with a proprietary process, which will allow architects and designers to apply custom glass wall panels, windows and doors that have deep sculptural patterns or imagery cast directly into the surface of the glass.
Ben Franklin also provided a one-on-one matching loan to an established manufacturer in Schuylkill County.
It has provided $25,000 to Blaschak Coal Corp. of Mahanoy City to conduct anthracite coal characterization and rare earth element technology transfer activities at this producer of anthracite coal.
REEs have a wide variety of applications in electronic, optical and magnetic devices. The partners said China produces nearly all REEs and there is great demand for domestic suppliers.
The company is partnering with Lehigh University’s Energy Research Center on the project.
Other funding went to startup and established manufacturers in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.
