ColdEdge Technologies celebrated its graduation at the Allentown Economic Development Corporation’s Bridgeworks Enterprise Center.

A cryogenic systems manufacturer has celebrated its graduation from the Allentown Economic Development Corporation’s (AEDC) business incubation program, and has now become an anchor tenant in the organization’s Bridgeworks Enterprise Center.

“AEDC has been essential for our growth and flexibility over the years,” said Ajay Khatri, one of the owners of ColdEdge Technologies. “We started with a small facility and as our business grew and the demands on our space increased, AEDC provided options and flexibility. We believe AEDC is an important and essential part of encouraging new companies to establish a base in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley.”

ColdEdge Technologies was founded in 2008 and accepted into the business incubation program that July. The company has moved three times since moving into the Bridgeworks Enterprise Center in order to accommodate growth, having most recently moved into a 6,200 square-foot unit that gives them the space to grow over the next several years.

“Watching ColdEdge Technologies steadily grow over the past several years has been exciting,” said AEDC Executive Director Scott Unger. “We know that they have big plans to continue their growth and we are pleased that they will continue that journey right here in Allentown and at Bridgeworks.”

ColdEdge Technologies is the second anchor tenant at the center along with MTS Ventures.

Business incubators will identify and retain anchor tenants for several reasons, according to AEDC Program Manager Anthony Durante, including that the company is generally a good example to the other companies in the program and participates in things like education sessions and social events.

Anchor tenants can serve as a mentor to new companies just joining the program since they have many experiences to share, Durante said. Additionally, anchor tenant companies have met with a certain amount of success and provide a stream of revenue that is less at risk than that of younger startups in the program, he said.

“We are excited to have ColdEdge Technologies remain a client at Bridgeworks and we look forward to their continued success,” Durante said. “We know that the ColdEdge team will continue to be a great example to the other entrepreneurs in our program.”

ColdEdge Technologies is a leading company in the field of customized cryogenics system design and manufacturing, with a customer base in both the United States and abroad. Typical customers include physicists and chemists in national laboratories, universities, and national institutes such as NIST and NASA.

The company’s products are used in conducting research in the fields of astronomy, superconductor studies, ultra-high vacuum systems, spectroscopy, neutron scattering, X-ray diffraction and more. ColdEdge Technologies provides specialized research tools to scientists worldwide to conduct world-class research.

The consistent growth ColdEdge Technologies has experienced over the past few years demonstrates “part of the beauty” of AEDC’s program, Durante said.

“AEDC has been able to work with the ColdEdge team over the years to allow them the flexibility to add on more space as they needed it,” he said. “That is a nearly impossible task in a normal industrial lease agreement. They would have either been trapped in a space that was too small for them or the company would have moved into a space that was entirely too large for them which would have drained much-needed capital for growth.”

The AEDC is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve vacant and underutilized properties in Allentown, in order to create an environment where manufacturers and other companies can flourish throughout their lifecycle, from launch, to rapid growth, and onto long-term success and profitability.

The 64,000 square-foot Bridgeworks Enterprise Center was founded in 1989 in the refurbished former Mack Trucks Plant 4A, and  is the only business incubator in the Lehigh Valley dedicated primarily to manufacturing startups, according to AEDC.

The center has helped launch more than 53 companies in Allentown that have created more than 450 jobs. Today, it is home to ColdEdge Technologies, MTS Ventures, Amorphic Tech Ltd., The Colony Meadery, County Seat Spirits, HiJinx Brewing Company, JH Plastics, LightLab International Allentown, Polymer Contours, and Zzyzx Polymers.