The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Board of Directors has approved the investment of $209,800 in support of regional economic development.

Ben Franklin provides 1:1 matching funding for work with a college or university partner on technology-based innovation in established manufacturers. Five companies from BFTP/NEP’s 21-county service area received funding, including Big Barker LLC of Orwigsburg. The Ben Franklin Investment is $9,800 and the university partner is The O’Pake Institute at Alvernia University.

Big Barker manufactures high-quality foam beds for large dog breeds that are engineered to provide big dogs with better rest and more mobility. The beds are health and wellness products that have been validated by a clinical study performed by the University of Pennsylvania.

Precision Medical Inc. of Northampton received a Ben Franklin Investment for $15,000.

The university partner is Lehigh University’s Center for Supply Chain Research.

The company plans to implement an enterprise resource planning system to improve the operational effectiveness at this manufacturer of proprietary medical respiratory equipment used in both hospital and home care environments.