Innovation & Job News

Plastics recycling company opening new plant in Berwick, expects to hire up to 30

David La Fiura, Ultra-Poly Corp. Thursday, January 26, 2012

A Poconos plastics recycler is opening a new plant, branching out into a new market created by the natural-gas drilling taking place throughout much of the state.

Ultra-Poly Corp., which is based in Portland, Northampton County, takes recyclable plastics and converts them into pellets that can be made into new products. Most of the plastics it takes are scraps from the process of manufacturing such things as disposable diapers, garbage bags and car dashboards, although it also takes recyclable plastics ordinary people leave by their curbs. It has a plant in Bloomsburg along with its main facility near the New Jersey state line.

The company is now in the process of opening a new plant in Berwick, about 30 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre. The plant is expected to open in March. Its sole purpose is to recycle plastic geomembranes, which are used to protect the ground on drilling sites. They prevent motor oil and other waste from seeping into the ground.

Ultra-Poly VP David La Fiura says the stiff, heavy geomembranes are normally dumped in landfills even though the plastic they're made of can be recycled. "It's very dirty," La Fiura says. "It's coated with dirt with these bulldozers. It gets wet."

His company chose a location in Berwick because it's near where drilling is taking place in the Marcellus Shale formation. The Berwick Industrial Development Association is leasing space to Ultra-Poly. Two workers have been hired to run the plant and La Fiura expects between 20 and 30 to be hired later this year.

Source: David La Fiura, Ultra-Poly Corp.
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Sustainability Schools teaching non-farmers about producing their own food

Hannah Smith, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture Thursday, January 26, 2012

You don't have to buy acres of land to grow your own food in an environmentally conscious way. And now, non-farmers who want to know more about sustainable food production can check out courses on a variety of topics, scheduled to take place throughout the state.

For several years, non-farmers have asked the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture about how the average consumer can support and adopt habits similar to those practiced by farmers who belong to the organization. Hannah Smith, the association's community outreach coordinator, says that sparked the idea for Sustainability Schools that start Jan. 28.

Nearly 40 courses are scheduled so far this year. They are on subjects including home brewing, backyard beekeeping and making mittens and scarves out of old sweaters. The agriculture association is partnering with like-minded organizations to offer classes in the Carlisle, Philadelphia and State College areas. "It's really tailored to what the local community is looking for," Smith says.

She adds that groups interested in partnering on Sustainability Schools are contacting the association regularly, so new classes are likely to be added. Plans are also in the works to expand the program to nearby states through an alliance with the Northeast Organic Farming Association.

Source: Hannah Smith, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

High-speed Internet access coming to more places across Pennsylvania

Jeff Reel, KINBER Thursday, January 26, 2012

Access to super-fast Internet is one of the building blocks of 21st-century life. Over the next few years, that access is expected to arrive in parts of Pennsylvania that still don't have it.

An organization called KINBER, which stands for Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research Network, is in the process of assembling 1,600 miles of fiber that will form a network of high-speed Web access. When it's completed, the network will connect cities including Williamsport, Mansfield, Bradford and Lewisburg to faster Internet. All told, the network will snake through 39 counties. Its name is PennREN, short for the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network.

Jeff Reel, KINBER's executive director, explains that PennREN is meant to connect nonprofits including libraries, school districts, local governments and public broadcasting stations. These groups often lack the money to get high-speed Internet on their own, and building networks in sparsely populated areas makes little commercial sense.

"At my house, the best I can do is a 300K uplink to a satellite to get something approaching Internet," says Reel, who lives about 10 miles from State College. "That's just not acceptable in the modern world."

The first segment of the network, from Bethlehem to Philadelphia, is expected to be finished in March. The plan is for community institutions, such as colleges and hospitals, to serve as local hubs for the network. Then smaller organizations can connect to the hubs. The effort is being funded by $99.6 million in federal stimulus money, and KINBER plans to help pay for the connections through partnerships with private organizations.

Source: Jeff Reel, KINBER
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Carlisle's fast-growing maker of custom-printed advertising plans to move into its own space

Marcel Ruhland, Tex Visions Thursday, January 26, 2012

Have you ever seen fabric flags, banners, signs or umbrellas advertising a product? They just might have been made by a company in south-central PA.

Tex Visions, which is based in Carlisle, manufactures custom-printed fabric advertising for companies like Microsoft, Verizon and Harley-Davidson. Many of their flags, banners and other products are made for trade-show and outdoor advertising. The company started out in 2004 with two employees and now has about 60 workers.

CEO Marcel Ruhland explains that displays printed on fabric have grown in popularity over the past several years because it's more eco-friendly than the vinyl advertisements that were more common before. For one thing, fabric is more easily recycled. And Tex Visions uses inks that are water-based rather than chemical-based.

Ruhland says starting the business in Carlisle made sense because of its central location near major highways. It also found an attractive, newly renovated facility in the Murata Business Center.

Tex Visions is in the process of graduating from the Carlisle incubator and is constructing a new facility nearby. The 60,000-square foot building will allow the company to continue to grow while keeping all of its employees under one roof. It will also have modernized equipment that will enable more production to be automated. A $100,000 tax credit from the Keystone Innovation Zone program will help offset the cost of Tex Visions' new building.

Source: Marcel Ruhland, Tex Visions
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Philly's DreamIt startup accelerator in Israel to be first-of-its-kind hybrid program

Thursday, January 26, 2012

It is now time to look toward the land of milk and honey for the latest in tech. "Israel is famous for its technology innovation, though many companies have difficulty expanding into the US and global markets," says Mitchell Golner, Managing Partner of DreamIt Israel, the latest expansion of the Philadelphia based startup accelerator. After adding a New York City program in 2011, DreamIt Ventures goes global in 2012.

On January 17, applications opened up for Israeli entrepreneurs. Noelle McHugh, DreamIt's office manager, says companies have already started applying, and DreamIt expects to choose five Israeli startups to accompany 10 US-based entrepreneurs this summer in Manhattan.

Golner, who has been living in Israel, says DreamIt has been interested in developing a program in the Israel market for a while. "We are focused on helping Israeli startups expand in the US and in global markets. We will consider a wide array of companies that can fit the lean startup model. Most are in the Internet and mobile space and include B2B an B2C businesses." According to Golner, the new program is a hybrid and the first of its kind in Israel. DreamIt Israel will be based in the environs of Tel Aviv. A specific location has not yet been announced.

Companies will spend one month in Israel and then travel to the US to spend three months in New York. "After the NYC program, when the companies return to Israel, they are offered a workspace for up to 2 months," adds Golner. "The curriculum, coaching, community, and other fundamental aspects of the DreamIt program are consistent across the Israeli program and the NYC program, with specific curriculum elements for the Israeli startups in the first month."

The deadline to apply to the program is early March. The Israel program begins April 15, and participants start the New York segment on May 14, returning home in mid August. There will be two demo days for the overseas participants: one in New York and one back home. The Israel program wraps up in October.

Source: Mitchell Golner, Noelle McHugh, DreamIt Ventures
Writer: Sue Spolan

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Urban Innovation21, sharing the wealth with underserved communities and hiring

Thursday, January 26, 2012

What if the innovative spirit that helped transform our economy was spread around and shared with some of the Pittsburgh region's most underserved communities?

The Pittsburgh Central Keystone Innovation Zone (PCKIZ) is doing just that. With the help of a name change, PCKIZ has transformed itself into Urban Innovation21 with the goal of expanding its boundaries and assisting the underserved communities of Homewood, East Liberty, Homestead and Hazelwood.

Since 2007, PCKIZ has successfully attracted technology startups within the geographic boundaries of the Hill District, Uptown, and parts of the North Side and South Side.

The new name and expanded geographic scope will help the organization to increase its impact in Southwestern PA and support local and regional initiatives that are outside the defined geographic boundary of the PCKIZ, says William Generett, president and CEO of Urban Innovation21.

"We believe that an inclusive innovation economy is key in increasing regional competitiveness and sustainability," says Generett. "We are working toward an economy in which all communities are connected to wealth generators."

The Jobs and Innovation Accelerator grant, a $1.95M federal investment, awarded last year has assisted in the expansion of the program. As a result, Urban Innovation21 will add six to seven people to its current staff of 2.5. The organization is looking for an administrative assistant, budget officer, program managers and related jobs.

The additional staff also might require a move into a new office the near future, he adds.

"We support entrepreneurship and innovation and work to ensure that our region's talented minds have the tools and the environment to succeed here," Generett said. "Then we work to ensure that the benefits of this new economy reach people and communities who are disenfranchised from this success."

In addition to the federal grant, Urban Innovation21 was made possible through the support of a public-private partnership that includes large and small organizations including The Heinz Endowments, Alcoa Foundation, several universities, Innovation Works and Idea Foundry. (See the complete list of partners.),

Source: William Generett, Urban Innovation21

Writer: Deb Smit

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Contest in Titusville aims to fill two storefronts with new businesses

Deb Eckelberger, Titusville Community Development Agencies Thursday, January 19, 2012

The city of Titusville, about an hour's drive southwest of Erie, is looking for a couple of businesses to fill downtown storefronts. And it's deploying an unusual tool to recruit these new businesses: a business plan contest with a spot downtown as part of the winning prize.

As part of a similar contest that took place in 2011, aspiring business owners attended classes on how to start their ventures and write business plans. The winning idea was a for a cafe and art gallery that is now open downtown.

This year's contest, called Plan It 2, will result in two winners. One prize is set aside for a brand-new business and the other for an established business interested in adding a Titusville location. Those who enter are asked to attend classes on launching, financing and marketing a business. The free classes will be taught by staff from the Small Business Development Centers at Clarion and Gannon universities, who will also help contestants write their business plans.

The competition isn't targeting any specific types of ventures. "Then we get two downtown storefronts filled and more business plans to look at," says Deb Eckelberger, business outreach coordinator for the Titusville Community Development Agencies. "We're just welcoming just about anybody who’s looking to come in. We want the creativity to flow.

The contest deadline is March 23 and winners will be announced April 12.

Source: Deb Eckelberger, Titusville Community Development Agencies
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Southwest PA company that makes custom-designed metal buildings expanding, expects to hire 10

Frank Kmetz, Corle Building Systems Thursday, January 19, 2012

A southwestern Pennsylvania company that makes custom-designed metal buildings is adding onto its plant and expects to hire more workers.

Corle Building Systems designs and builds structures for a variety of customers including churches, farms, schools and water parks. About 120 people work at its facility in Imler, about 30 miles south of Altoona. While its shop takes up about 130,000 square feet now, that space was becoming inadequate for a company that experienced its best year in 2011. One problem with Corle's current setup is that when steel for its buildings is painted, it can take as much as 18 hours to dry.

A 33,000-square foot addition that's expected to be finished by May will include a system in which paint will be mechanically sprayed onto the metal and cured in an oven. The whole process will take an hour or two. Frank Kmetz, Corle's national sales manager, adds that the painting area will have its own ventilation system that will prevent paint vapors from leaving the building. The company expects to hire about 10 more workers for the plant.

Kmetz says a talented workforce has allowed the company to grow. Also, some competitors have closed and others have consolidated in recent years. As a result, he says, other companies can take up to 16 weeks to fill an order. Corle's average lead time is between four and six weeks. "We’re extremely busy," he says.

Source: Frank Kmetz, Corle Building Systems
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Battery being developed in Lehigh Valley could create new way to store renewable energy

Michael Oster, Eos Energy Storage Thursday, January 19, 2012

Batteries being developed in the Lehigh Valley could provide a safer, more efficient way to store power generated from renewable energy sources.

While zinc-air batteries are typically small and used for applications like powering hearing aids, Eos Energy Storage is working on a battery with enough power to serve as a backup for utilities. The company, which has a research and development office in Easton, has come up with a design for batteries that could be used in cars and commercial and industrial sites. However, Eos' focus is on marketing its battery as a way to store power from solar and wind farms. That means this electricity could be used more easily even on cloudy or still days.

"You could have batteries to stabilize the grid and fill in the gaps," CEO Michael Oster says. "You could put it in a home. You could put it in an urban area or a suburban area. You could put it in a car."

These batteries put the surrounding air to work on generating the necessary reactions to make them function. They would also be made of recyclable materials. Oster explains that they are safer than many batteries because they don't include any flammable or corrosive parts. Plus, Eos expects them to be able to last for three decades.

The company hopes to start manufacturing its batteries in 2013. It plans to build them in Pennsylvania, but hasn't yet picked an exact location.

Source: Michael Oster, Eos Energy Storage
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Mechanicsburg company transforming professional development for educators

Jeff Colosimo, Eduplanet Thursday, January 19, 2012

How were your classes set up when you were in school? You probably sat at a desk and took notes while listening to a teacher whose lessons were drawn from a combination of books and research. That model remains largely in place today, even when educators attend classes for professional development.

But a Mechanicsburg company called Eduplanet is changing that structure. A model it calls "social learning" combines social media and online teaching, giving teachers and other professionals a chance to interact and learn more from their classmates' experiences.

"The role of the instructor is more of a facilitator," explains CEO Jeff Colosimo. Eduplanet's dozen workers provide the software platform and design "institutes" on subjects of interest to those who educate kids from kindergarten through high school. Instructors guide online conversation and provide information, ideally fading into the background as students share questions and information with each other, based on their professional experiences.

Eduplanet currently has about 50 clients, mostly school systems and education departments in Middle Atlantic states. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania recently invested $150,000 in the company. Colosimo says his business' main goal for 2012 is to focus on sales and marketing so its customer base can expand nationally and internationally.

Eventually, he sees the social learning model expanding into education as a whole, with teachers using it to instruct their students. Modern students are digital learners and require a different model to be engaged in their learning, he says.

Source: Jeff Colosimo, Eduplanet
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

York company designs simulator to test military equipment's stamina in the desert

Dan Lehman, Air Dynamics Thursday, January 19, 2012

The U.S. military needs to be prepared to work on little notice in climates all over the world. And large quantities of weapons, generators, computers and other equipment being sent into a battle zone need to able to withstand the environment.

That's why the U.S. Army commissioned Air Dynamics, based in York, to develop a new simulator that could approximate real-life conditions in areas where sand and dust blow through the air. The company recently finished its latest version of this simulator, named Desert Wind. Plans call for it to be deployed to an Army arsenal in Alabama.

Dan Lehman, president of Air Dynamics, says current simulators use sensors in the actual chambers where sand and dust blow. That means the results of tests run in these machines gradually decline in accuracy – comparable to driving through a rainstorm without running wiper blades, he says. The newest Desert Wind simulator, however, does not have any sensors in the test chamber. Sensors that update every 10 seconds measure how much sand or dust is in the chamber at any given time. As a result, its findings are a near-perfect approximation to actual desert conditions.

Lehman says the simulator will be useful even as U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down. "There's about 90 deserts around the world," he says. "Even in the U.S., the military operates in arid conditions."

He adds that Desert Wind could be used for non-military applications, like assessing how well cars, solar panels, wind turbines and cell phone towers survive in deserts.

Source: Dan Lehman, Air Dynamics
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Northeast PA-designed fleet management system for small businesses, in a box

John Collins, Prova Systems Thursday, January 19, 2012

Prova Systems sells companies technology that tells them a lot about the performance of their vehicle fleets, like how fast drivers travel and how many miles each car gets per gallon. And many businesses have told the Scranton-area startup that they like the idea of what the system can do for them. Problem was, small and medium-sized businesses found it was out of their budgets.

So last month Prova debuted Fleet Manager in a Box, a scaled-down version of its original product. Like its predecessor, it monitors vehicles around the clock and keeps track of fuel efficiency, diagnoses problems and monitors maintenance schedules. John Collins, the company's president, says Fleet Manager in a Box is targeted at local governments and owners of businesses like landscaping and construction companies. "We fine-tuned it to make it work in this kind of an environment," Collins says.

The company is planning to hold seminars on the new product in northeastern PA. In the future, he hopes that customers can receive discounts on their vehicle insurance for using it, but details haven't been finalized.

Prova, based in Carbondale, is also planning to market Fleet Manager in a Box to households. Parents of teen drivers might find it especially useful, but Collins says anyone would benefit from knowing when fluids need to be changed and tires are due to be rotated. "Everybody is trying to make their vehicles last longer," he says. "It's certainly cheaper than overhauling an engine or buying a new car."

Source: John Collins, Prova Systems
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

Five Pittsburgh companies join the action at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show

Thursday, January 19, 2012

The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is always a harbinger of cool technologies to come.

This marks the fourth year that several companies from Pittsburgh joined the action. While tablet technology, cameras and apps generated much buzz, spinout technologies from the Quality of Life Center (QoLT) at CMU held their own reported Curt Stone, foundry director.

"We're in a section with digital health and health care projects," said Stone, "One of the things that has impressed me was our ability to communicate in a setting like this. People are really impressed with the quality of our projects."

First Person Vision, a next generation wearable camera, attracted a tremendous amount of traffic, he added. The technology incorporates audio and movement sensors on a headset camera that takes panoramic pictures, generally to analyze a subject's intended action.

Think healthcare, gaming and sports. Imagine seeing a Steeler's play unfold or replay through the eyes of Ben Roethlisberger. Or helping an Alzheimer's sufferer to remember the people they encounter in a day.

Origami Robotics, a company that created Romibo, a build-it-yourself robot for therapy, education and entertainment, also attracted a popular following.

The other companies included VibeAttire, a musical technology that embeds censors into clothing to transducer sound into synchronized technology.

Fitwits is a hands-on interactive game that inspires healthy eating habits.

Finally, Tiramisu Transit, a real-time, crowd-sourced bus-tracking mobile phone app developed for CMU's Traffic 21 transportation research initiative.

"Overall it was a fantastic experience for our center. It really begins to promote Pittsburgh as a place where very cool technologies are being developed."

Source: Curt Stone, QoLT

Writer: Deb Smit

Conshohocken's PackLate doubling staff, making global moves

Thursday, January 19, 2012

You can PackLate if you want to. Steve Barsh, CEO of the Conshohocken based vacation rental company, reports explosive growth in recent months following a deal with Travel Holdings Inc., and its better known subsidiary Tourico Holidays, a worldwide distributor of vacation property rentals via massive travel sites. "If you go on the American Airlines website and book a vacation home, it’s a PackLate property," explains Barsh, as one example. While PackLate's involvement on these larger sites is unbranded, according to Barsh, PackLate still reaps the benefits, receiving a commission for each rental.

After raising $1 million in seed funding from colleagues in the VC world, PackLate is poised to double staff this year. With six employees now, Barsh is actively seeking developers to expand the business. He is also looking for office space in Center City, and has a very specific picture in his head: a century old, well-varnished hardwood floors, lots of light and exposed brick. PackLate, reports Barsh, is also about to enter a series A round of fundraising.

The company started for fairly personal reasons. Barsh, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist who was a partner in DreamIt Ventures, owns vacation rental properties in Park City, Utah. While trying to rent the properties through popular sites like VRBO, he and his wife realized that there was a lot lacking, like real time functionality. Typically, a renter locates an owner's listing, inquires via email or phone, sends a check and waits for confirmation. The whole process from discovery to confirmation can take days.

By contrast, PackLate provides instant payment and instant confirmation. The other big difference bedsides timeliness, says Barsh, is that PackLate works solely with property managers, not individual owners, and that’s how it is able to offer real time booking capability. It’s a different psychographic from AirBnB customers, says Barsh. PackLate started as a B to C company, and Barsh describes the recent partnership with Travel Holdings as a 90 degree pivot, repositioning as a B to B company and solving a distribution problem. It is still possible, additionally, for individuals to book properties on the site directly.

The great majority of PackLate bookings are inbound US travelers, with Florida at the top of the itinerary. He notes that Orlando is the number 2 travel destination in the world, bested only by Paris. Vacation homes are hot right now, says Barsh. People the world over crave an authentic travel experience, as opposed to a hotel stay.

If you are interested in joining the PackLate team, the top job requirement is a positive attitude, says Barsh, who offers unlimited vacation time and lots of travel for interested developers.

Source: Steve Barsh, PackLate
Writer: Sue Spolan

Machinery from State College company could save biotech firms time and money

Oleg Shinkazh, ChromaTan Thursday, January 12, 2012

A State College startup has developed a system that could save time and money for companies that purify proteins as part of the process of developing vaccines and conducting biotechnological research.

Now, labs commonly use a piece of machinery called a chromatography column, which separates molecules in a chemical compound. But the columns commercial labs use are unwieldy, weigh several tons, and need to be moved by a crane.

That's why ChromaTan came up with its system, which is made of smaller components that operate sort of like a conveyor belt. The pieces are disposable so they don't have to be cleaned. The whole setup can process the same amount of fluid as a chromatography column, but it runs continuously rather than requiring technicians to run one batch at a time. ChromaTan founder Oleg Shinkazh compares his company's invention to building a car on an assembly line instead of putting it together in your garage.

The company moved to State College from Boston after partnering with Penn State University, which allowed it to use a college chemical engineering lab. Shinkazh says Central PA is a friendly place for startups, given its lower cost of living and access to funders like the Ben Franklin Technology Partners. In fact, he credits an Innovation Partnership voucher that provided money for a grant writer whose work secured funding from the National Institutes of Health. "It really pays for itself," Shinkazh says.

ChromaTan is still seeking money to refine its system and hopes to have it on the market in two years.

Source: Oleg Shinkazh, ChromaTan
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen