Camas-based CID Bio-Science is used to flying under the radar. A small company in a highly-specialized market, CID manufactures and distributes photosynthesis measurement instruments to universities and research labs all over the world. Their instruments are then used in the development and improvement of crops by scientists studying different types of treatments and environmental impacts on plants.
As CID President Leonard Felix puts it, his company “does a lot with very little.”
“People are surprised [that they haven't heard of us] because the products we sell are very fascinating and the agriculture industry is booming,” said Felix. “But it’s a very specialized industry.“
Felix purchased CID in 2007 (known then as Chen Instruments Design) after leaving Sharp Electronics. He said the specialized nature of CID was a perfect fit for what he was looking for.
“We're very specialized,” said Felix. “There’s such a small number of researchers out there, we have to go all around the world to sell our products. Most of our growth has come from increased market share.”
And increase they have.
Since 2007, CID has nearly doubled its growth through exports. The company was even named the regional and Washington State Small Business Exporter of the Year (2010) by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
“When you speak to our customers or our distributors and you ask them, 'How big a company do you think CID is?' They’ll probably say 90 or 100 people,” laughed Felix, whose company employs less than 20. “The community doesn’t really know about us.”
Felix acquired CID with SBA lending. Today, he utilizes the U.S Commercial Service and the Washington State Business Development Office to help his company expand its exports.
“We really are the poster child for the [Exporter of the Year] award,” he said. “Everyone is paying attention and realizing the importance of exports to our economy. Everywhere you turn there are people saying, 'we want to help you.'”
When CID recently hired a pair of application scientists, Felix said his company took advantage of a federal/state job creation program and their employee training was paid for.
While Felix admits the economy did take its toll, he's optimistic about his company's current position.
“One thing we didn’t do was contract,” he explained. “We didn’t pull back any of our advertising or marketing efforts. As a result, we just sold like crazy. Our revenues did shrink a bit during the recession, but they came back strong during the end of last year.”
Riding a wave of momentum, CID just launched its first software product, which will ship to clients around the world, such as researchers at the Indian Institute of Spice Research in Southwest India. The software helps scientists analyze and quantify in-ground root structure.
“The research community has been really excited about the software, and it's kind of fun to be the center of attention,” Felix said. “Albeit a small community, but these are the people that we serve.”
