The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s (BFTPNEP) Board of Directors has approved the investment of $180,000 in support of regional economic development.

BFTP-NEP owns and manages Ben Franklin TechVentures, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, and the Bloomsburg Regional Technology Center, Bloomsburg. BFTP-NEP leads a 14-member northeastern Pennsylvania business incubator network.

Ben Franklin has announced the following early-stage company investment provided in the form of a loan with warrants.

Snowvation, Inc., Easton. Ben Franklin Investment: $75,000. Complete development and commercialization of additional software modules for this producer of cloud-based software tools for the ski and snowboard industry. Snowvation’s platform manages all aspects of ski resort operations, including scheduling, e-commerce, reservations, inventory management, and more to allow resorts to better engage with their guests.

Ben Franklin announces the following established manufacturer company investments. Ben Franklin provides 1:1 matching funding for work with a college or university partner on technology-based manufacturing innovation in established manufacturers:

Bosch Rexroth Corp., Bethlehem; University Partner: Lehigh University’s Enterprise Systems Center. Ben Franklin Investment: $25,000. Develop and implement a process to automate data collection that will drive process improvements and enable predictive maintenance for machining centers throughout the company. Bosch Rexroth manufactures products and systems associated with the control and motion of industrial and mobile equipment.

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., Breinigsville, Lehigh County; University Partner: Lehigh University’s Enterprise Systems Center. Ben Franklin Investment: $10,000. Conduct a plant-wide analysis of this agricultural cooperative’s beverage facility to identify areas for increased efficiency. Productivity, production flow, maintenance, and other areas will be analyzed to maintain premium quality while managing costs.

Since beginning operation, BFTP/NEP has helped to create 16,986 new jobs for Pennsylvania workers and to retain 23,761 existing jobs, to start 482 new companies, and to develop 1,433 new products and processes. BFTP/NEP clients have generated $1.424 billion in follow-on funding since 2007. The Pennsylvania Ben Franklin Technology Partners network has returned $3.60 to the state treasury for every $1.00 invested in the program. 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.