Ginny Vaca Stewards Sciencix to Become North Carolina’s SBA Exporter of the Year

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that Sciencix, headquartered in North Carolina, has been named the 2023 Small Business Exporter of the Year. The company will be recognized during SBA’s National Small Business Week, an annual event honoring the accomplishments and contributions of small businesses from across the Nation.(L-R) SBTDC IBD Counselor Ginny Vaca, Sciencix owner, Raj Bhandari, and Sciencix Director of Global Marketing, Lisa Bamford

“With a growing list of clients around the globe, Sciencix has put SBA’s trade tools to work to grow and diversify their revenue and reap the many other benefits of international trade,” said Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration. “As we mark National Small Business Week this year, I am delighted to congratulate Sciencix owner Raj, and team leaders Ranjan and Lisa, for using the tools and resources available to them to grow their innovative business worldwide. Their powerful example shows how helping America’s small businesses start or grow their exports can create opportunity while driving competition and innovation.”

“We are pleased to recognize Sciencix as the 2023 Small Business Exporter of the Year. The company’s hard work and passion have led them to find success both domestically and abroad, and we are pleased to see that funding from the SBA’s STEP grant program played a role in growing their international sales,” said Associate Administrator for International Trade Gabriel J. Esparza. “We also recognize the immigrant journey characterized by Raj and Ranjan’s story, which simultaneously underscores the need for ongoing outreach to diaspora communities.”

Since its founding in 1985, Sciencix has manufactured high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry parts, whose uses include drug testing, contamination analysis, pesticide detection, and more. With headquarters in North Carolina and a manufacturing plant in Minnesota, Sciencix’s Owner Raj Bhandari, Operations Manager Ranjan Karki, and Director of Global Marketing Lisa Bamford oversee the company’s 25-employee team.

With the support of North Carolina’s Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), a resource partner of the SBA, Sciencix secured $24,000 in SBA State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant funding in 2021. These funds offset the costs of attending international trade shows, meeting overseas distributors, and website internationalization.

As a result, exports now account for one-third of Sciencix’s total sales, representing a 10 percent increase from 2020, the year before securing STEP funding. Today, its products support research laboratories in over one hundred countries, spanning all continents.

Sciencix and other National Small Business Week (NSBW) award winners, will be honored April 30-May 2 in Washington, D.C.