NBIA Honors Excellence in Business Incubation

May 22, 2001

Contact:
Linda Knopp, PR Specialist
(740) 593-4154 lknopp@nbia.org

ATHENS, Ohio—The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) honored seven top business incubation programs, graduates and clients during the 15th International Conference on Business Incubation in San Jose, Calif., May 19-22.

Award-winning incubation programs include the Ben Franklin Business Incubator Center (BFBIC) of Bethlehem, Pa., and CREEDA Business Centres of Canberra, Australia. Recognized as incubator graduates of the year were Little Bear Snowshoes of Grand Junction, Colo.; Culinaire, Inc., of Denver, and Athersys, Inc., of Cleveland. Herst & Associates, Inc., of St. Charles, Mo., and AlphaMicron, Inc., of Kent, Ohio, were honored as incubator clients of the year.

"Our award recipients demonstrate business incubation at its best," Dinah Adkins, president and chief executive officer of NBIA, said. "If you look at the number of jobs these programs bring into their communities through their client companies, you'll see that business incubators are indeed useful economic development tools."

Business incubation programs catalyze the process of starting and growing companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful. The programs diversify economies, commercialize technologies, create jobs and build wealth. The BFBIC, a nonprofit incubator on the campus of Lehigh University, received the Randall M. Whaley incubator of the year award. NBIA's most prestigious honor, the award is presented annually in honor of Dr. Whaley, the association's first chairman of the board. The Ben Franklin Center provides office space, light manufacturing facilities and laboratories to start-up and emerging technology companies in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

CREEDA Business Centres, which operates as a nonprofit network of three business incubators, was named incubator of the year in the mixed-use category. CREEDA clients cover a range of industries, including computer repair, financial consulting, construction contracting, massage therapy, employment counseling, communications and marketing, interior design and real estate.

Little Bear Snowshoes, a former client of the Western Colorado Business Development Corp., was named incubator graduate of the year in the manufacturing category. Little Bear is the leading brand of children's snowshoes in the United States.

Culinaire, Inc., a former client of the Denver Enterprise Center, received the incubator graduate of the year award in the service category. The company produces handmade hors d'oeuvres, entrees and desserts for major hotels, catering companies, convention centers and country clubs.

A former client of the Edison Technology Incubator and BioEnterprise, Athersys, Inc. was named incubator graduate of the year in the technology category. The biotechnology company develops therapeutics to treat human disease.

Herst & Associates, Inc., a hydrogeologic and environmental engineering firm, received the client of the year award in the service category. Herst & Associates is a client of the Economic Development Center of St. Charles County.

A client of the Kent Business Incubator, AlphaMicron, Inc. was named incubator client of the year in the technology category. The company's major technology breakthrough is VALiD, a "smart eyewear" application that gives users fast, electronic control over the tint of their eyewear.

The National Business Incubation Association is the world's leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. It provides thousands of professionals with the information, education, advocacy and networking resources to assist early-stage companies.