By William C. Easterly and Charles Hamburg

Effort Foundry has been a supplier of high-integrity steel castings to a wide spectrum of industries for more than 40 years. From the outset we have worked hard to maintain quality standards that have helped make Effort a respected leader in our industry.

We would, however, not be where we are today without the help of Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Pennsylvania’s powerful job creation and high-tech economic development engine.

In addition to investing in us at crucial times, the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania has played a major role in Effort Foundry’s success by connecting us with internal and external experts, including Lehigh University’s Enterprise Systems Center. Through the university’s program, Ben Franklin provided us with the support we needed to implement improved production methods, including statistical process controls and lean manufacturing. Not only have these technology upgrades shortened our lead times and reduced our costs, but they have allowed us to remain competitive in the regional and global marketplace.

Without Ben Franklin’s support, we have no doubt that all of the more than 75 full-time, stable jobs Effort Foundry provides to Pennsylvania residents would have been lost, as they were to those with whom we formerly competed.

We are not alone in receiving BFTP’s help. Since its inception, Ben Franklin has invested in more than 4,500 technology-based companies and boosted the state economy by more than $25 billion, helping to generate 148,000 jobs through investments in client firms and their Pennsylvania spinoff companies.

The most recent independent economic analysis shows that for every dollar Pennsylvania invests in BFTP, $3.90 is generated in additional state taxes. That’s more than 100 times the rate of return individuals receive from certificates of deposit today. As Pennsylvania seeks new streams of revenue to meet fiscal challenges, investing in Ben Franklin makes sense.

All of this success is fragile and depends on adequate state funding. Since 2007-08, funding for Ben Franklin has dropped approximately 50 percent, from $28 million to $14.5 million per year. But that assumes the value of those dollars is a constant throughout that period. When adjusted for inflation (assuming 2 percent a year), the real drop in funding is more than 60 percent , the equivalent of just over $11 million per year. The state’s 2019-20 draft budget would perpetuate that reduced funding level.

This means significant lost opportunities and less support for companies on the threshold of success. And because of this underfunding, many of the support services BFTP provides may be at risk of disappearing or be severely limited.

Innovation is happening all around us. States that harness that innovation and the resultant start-ups are capturing a disproportionate share of this economic growth. While Pennsylvania has been one of the most widely known and progressive states in the nation in delivering effective, efficient state technology-based economic development programs, it is now receiving increased competition from other states that have begun investing heavily in innovation and high-tech economic development.

Pennsylvania must invest aggressively in innovation to compete and excel.

Effort Foundry is a perfect example of why Ben Franklin funding should be restored. Ben Franklin worked for Effort Foundry, and it works for Pennsylvania. As technology continues to play an ever-increasing role in our economy, the state needs to expand its investment in our future, not curtail it. The economic tomorrows of the state are dependent on building an environment that fosters innovation and the creation of high-paying, sustainable jobs needed to grow the state’s tax base and economy. That is what the Ben Franklin Technology Partners was created to do and why our legislators should look to restore the organization’s funding in the 2019-2020 budget!

William C. Easterly is the president and Charles Hamburg is the CEO of Effort Foundry Inc. in Bath.