Prospective tenants eyeing business innovation center
Jan. 24, 2005
Hazleton Standard-Speaker
By Jim Dino
If someone has an idea for a new business, product or industry, they could potentially breathe life into their idea in the new Greater Hazleton Business Innovation Center.
Joe Barrett, the director of the new business incubator, located in the Valmont Industrial Park , said he is accepting applications from prospective tenants.
"All they have to do is give me a call," said Barrett. "We will go over everything. i will take the person on a tour and introduce them to available financial assistance. I will deal with each person on an individualized basis."
The innovation center, operated by the Community Association for New Business Enterprise, or CAN BE – a subsidiary of CAN DO – will provide support that accelerates the successful development of start-up companies by assisting entrepreneurs with an array of targeted resources and services.
The business innovation center offers management guidance, technical assistance and consulting, affordable rental space and flexible leases, shared basic business services and equipment, technology support services and assistance in obtaining the financing necessary for growth.
PPL Electric Utilities not only provided office furniture and computers for the center, but also a marketing grant for the incubator to develop its own Web site, at www.canbe.biz.
"The entire application is on the Web site," Barrett said. "We also list rates for business and manufacturing space. There is also a list of regional, state and federal funding sources and a list of non-governmental organizations that can help, like Penn's Northeast, and the Great Valley Technology Alliance."
Barrett said he has received a number of calls since the incubator was opened Tuesday.
"I received calls almost immediately," he said. "It (the opening) sparked a lot of interest. The next few weeks will be very telling."
It is hoped the new incubator will provide the kind of high-tech, white-collar-jobs that would be attractive to young people .
CAN BE's main goal is to help entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into ventures that will become successful firms that are able to function on their own,establishing new business and industry for Greater Hazleton.
These incubator graduates have the potential to create new jobs, commercialize new technologies and strengthen the local economy.
"We're very excited about the launch of our innovation center," said Robert J. Moise, CAN DO"s chairman of the board. "Since the mid 1950s CAN DO has worked hard to attract new industries to Greater Hazleton. Now, we are going to work even harder to assist local entrepreneurs in starting new companies by providing a wealth of resources to help them succeed through the new CAN BE organization."
For nearly a year, CAN DO staff and board members and Penn State Hazleton officials worked closely to establish CAN BE.
Others who helped with the center's realization were the Luzerne County commissioners and Ben Franklin Technology Partnership.
Several months ago, CAN DO hired Barrett as CAN BE's first director, with funding provided by Ben Franklin Technology Partnership, a statewide network that fosters innovation to stimulate Pennsylvania 's economic growth.
Penn State Hazleton is CAN DO's primary partner in the incubator program.
CAN BE will also work closely with the other 13 regional universities that comprise the Northeast Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities (NEPACU).
Also, Penn State 's Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PENNTAP) will locate an office right in the Greater Hazleton Business Innovation Center.
PENNTAP helps businesses and industry improve their competitiveness by providing free scientific and technological assistance and information.
PENNTAP technical specialists assist small businesses with technical information, short-term technical counseling and referrals to other expertise, resources or programs. Penn State faculty will also provide expertise.
Other resources include governmental agencies, the Northeast Pennsylvania Technology Institute (formerly Great Valley Technology Institute) and angel investor networks which make investments in new business ventures.
"There is a large network of agencies, colleges and organizations working together to identify and to assist entrepreneurs in launching new business and industry in hopes that they flourish here," said John Madden, Penn State Hazleton Campus Executive Officer. "The universities are a valuable resource to industry and will provide a wide range of technical and business assistance to help these new ventures succeed."
The regional transfer of technology from the universities to business and industry is one of the primary goals of the Northeast Pennsylvania Technology Institute.
In 2004, Gov. Ed Rendell launched the Keystone Innovation Zone Program (KIZ) and approved the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton region as one of only six KIZs in the state.
This program provides funding to the universities to assist in the technology transfer and will offer tax credits as a n incentive for new companies that locate within a KIZ. The business innovation center is located in one of the KIZ's.
Incubators have also been opened in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Pottsville, Carbondale and East Stroudsburg.
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