In the first round of funding for the 2008-2009 program year, Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) of Central and Northern Pennsylvania and its board of directors approved more than $3 million in funding for 17 tech-based companies, two regional business incubators, nine university-based Centers of Excellence and a research and development project housed at Precision Manufacturing Institute in Crawford County—all of which are located in the organization's 32-county footprint.

BFTP also funded a team of business support experts, several business plan contests in partnership with area Small Business Development Centers, as well as a Pre-Seed Fund for very early-stage startups.

For Northwest PA, the BFTP Investment Represents Nearly $1 Million

HJR Equipment
Crawford County
Approved Investment: $100,000
To further develop and sell innovative rescue equipment such as the AutoBrace II, which is used for vehicle stabilization after an accident.

GigBooks, Inc.
Erie County
Approved Investment: $75,000
To be used on its web-based application for the management, sales and bookings of professional photographers, videographers and disc jockeys.

Total Productive Maintenance, Inc.
Erie County
Approved Investment: $102,575
For the continued design and development of a line of maintenance repair components used in the wood products industry.

Vista Auctions, LLC
Erie County
Approved Investment: $150,000
For the continued sales efforts of its easy-to-use e-sourcing system that utilizes the technology of reverse auctions.

Forward.Vision.
Warren County
Approved Investment: $250,000
To continue sales and marketing efforts for its forward-looking infrared systems that enable a pilot to have night vision.

Novocell Semiconductor
Mercer County
Approved Investment: $150,000
For further design efforts related to one-time programmable embedded, nonvolatile memory blocks.

Radio Frequency Identification Center of Excellence
Erie County
Approved Investment: $45,000
To continue the development of its RFID training programs at Penn State Erie—the Behrend College.

Erie Technology Incubator
Erie County
Approved Investment: $49,100
The business incubator is scheduled to open in early August on the campus of Gannon University.

Precision Manufacturing Institute
Crawford County
Approved Investment: $55,000
To continue providing collective research and development capabilities to small manufacturers in the area.

In the Central Region, the BFTP Investment Represents Nearly $1 Million

Carbon Trap Technologies
Centre County
Approved Investment: $150,000
For the further development of carbon sequestering techniques.

The Ultran Group
Centre County
Approved Investment: $97,425
For marketing efforts related to its noncontact transducers and ultrasonic technology products.

Indigo Biosciences, Inc.
Centre County
Approved Investment: $70,000
For the commercial development of single-use frozen nuclear receptor assays.

SoftGenetics LLC
Centre County
Approved Investment: $80,000
For the further commercialization and marketing of its genetic analysis software.

MT Audit Services
Centre County
Approved Investment: $125,000
To continue providing products and services to hospitals and clinics that better manage the costs associated with medical transcription.

KCF Technologies
Centre County
Approved Investment: $150,000
For the development of its "smart tether" for underwater vehicle navigation and towed sonar systems.

Penn State University-University Park Campus
Centre County
Approved Investment: $340,000
To help fund four Centers of Excellence including service enterprise engineering, piezoelectric materials and devices, structural health monitoring, networking and security research and nanocellulosics.

In the Alleghenies Region, the BFTP Investment Represents $320,000

Cherryhill Manufacturing Corp.
Indiana County
Approved Investment: $150,000
To further develop their floor sanding product line.

Pennsylvania College of Technology
Lycoming County
Approved Investment: $75,000
To help fund the Thermoforming Center of Excellence.

Altoona-Blair County Development Corp.
Approved Investment: $95,000
To continue with its Innovation Micro-Grant Program.

In the South Central Region the BFTP Investment Represents $565,000

York Laboratories LLC
York County
Approved Investment: $75,000
For the further development and sales efforts for the Grease Thief, an analysis tool used for online sampling of motors and gearboxes.

Baker Batshield
Lancaster County
Approved Investment: $200,000
To market a patented, lightweight instantly deployable armored shield used in law enforcement.

Lepton Technologies
Lancaster County
Approved Investment: $100,000
To further develop high-efficiency infrared optical sensors used in the oil and gas industry as well as defense applications.

Penn State Harrisburg
Dauphin County
Approved Investment: $130,000
To help support two Centers of Excellence located on the campus—the Recycled Materials Processing Center and the Center for Signal Integrity Applications and Technology Transfer.