Cooperation Breeds Success At Incubator

12-17-97
University Park, Pa. -- When Pat Conway, president of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County (CBICC), talks about the new little companies in the CBICC's Business Incubator in Penn State's Research Park, he's so full of pride and enthusiasm that you almost expect him to start passing out cigars. Conway's new-dad-like demeanor even extends to pointing out that helping start up companies to grow - like helping children to grow up - requires lots of community support. It takes broad community effort, in Conway's view, to commercialize ideas and projects, create jobs and encourage economic growth by launching new businesses. That's why, he says, the chamber's "synergistic" relationship with Penn State is so important to the county's business incubator program.

On a formal basis, Penn State and the chamber share the condo that houses the incubator. The Technology Building in the Research Park is owned jointly by the University and the chamber and houses the incubator on the second floor. But more important than the condo, Penn State and the chamber share a vision and a win-win approach that results in reinforcement of each other's new company development efforts, according to Conway.

"For example, we start up companies in the incubator and then move them out as soon as possible to free up space for the next entrepreneur," Conway said. "The graduating companies can move to space in the University's Research Park or, if they aren't geared to high technology, they can go to our property, Penn Eagle Industrial Park, which is geared to manufacturing and assemblies.

"We also support one another in recruiting established companies for our respective industrial parks," Conway said. "Since our parks accommodate different types of customers, we don't compete. We provide a nice fit."

But Conway is quick to add that the chamber can't claim credit for planning out this mutually beneficial partnership in advance.

"After all, the chamber's industrial park was started more than 20 years ago," he said. "But dialog and communication has certainly helped as well as being co-located. Having President Spanier, Gary Schultz (University treasurer and senior vice president for finance/business) and Art Heim (Penn Stater Industrial Research Office director) on our board of directors also opens up communication and helps the chamber and the University coordinate planning for economic development in the county."

Heim said the University has a stake in the chamber . Likewise, the University is a valuable asset to the chamber's programs as well. Alice Clark, CBICC vice president, concurs.

"The fact that Penn State's Ben Franklin Program, which provides funds for start-up companies, is right downstairs from the incubator in the Technology Building and that the Penn State patenting and licensing office is also there, plus Art Heim's industrial research office, is a big help to the companies," she said. "People are close by to provide or locate financial, technical and business support.

"We also bring in people from the colleges of Business Administration and Engineering who have knowledge and contacts that could be helpful to our incubator tenants. Students from The Smeal College of Business Administration on internships have helped to do marketing plans and business plans. It's good experience for the students and valuable advice for our incubator companies."

Heim noted that the University's research and technology transfer organizations in the Technology Center building often look for additional activities and support programs that can further reinforce the chamber's incubator program. For example, it was noticed that the region's Small Business Development Center was not able to handle very many cases in Centre County. Leadership there approached the chamber about a satellite office.

The small business folks agreed and a satellite office was created at Penn State on Oct. 30 with planning help from the chamber. Donna Holmes, who has more than 14 years experience in commercial banking, was recruited to staff the new program. The center will provide one-on-one business consultations and information to prospective, new and established small businesses in Centre and Mifflin counties.

The new satellite office's activities complement those offered by PENNTAP, Penn State's statewide technical outreach network that provides no cost assistance to smaller businesses that do not have the in-house expertise or time to resolve specific technical questions or problems. It also will complement another Penn State regional business incubator effort - the Transformation Regional Incubator Project - as well as the chamber's incubator program.

The Transformation Regional Incubator Project, directed by John Vidmar, tries to deliver services where the four regional incubators in Moshannon Valley, Lycoming Valley, State College and Altoona leave off. Each of those incubators supplies on-site office practice services. Vidmar offers financial management and marketing workshops, as well as other owner/entrepreneur services to complement them.

"We've only really started this regional incubator support effort within the last year," Vidmar said. "Even more recently, we've started to work with the chamber to look for new entrepreneurs. Traditionally, both the chamber and Penn State worked with companies after they were in the incubator. Now, we are working with the prospects before they need space."

Conway said the results of all of these efforts - those on the part of the chamber and those by the University - are a kind of positive energy, a momentum, that helps new companies grow. He wants more entrepreneurs to step up to the table and avail themselves of the smorgasbord of services both from the chamber and from the University.

"We're interested in anybody who wants to start a business," he said. "We're interested in economic growth."Cooperation breeds success at incubator

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By Barbara Hale, Public Information