A growing biotechnology company that makes nearly 1,800
different products and was involved in the Human Genome Project is
relocating to the Hollister Business Park July 1.
A growing biotechnology company that makes nearly 1,800 different products and was involved in the Human Genome Project is relocating to the Hollister Business Park July 1.
The company – Teknova – produces a variety of media for the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and hospital industries, according to Mari Davis, vice president of sales and marketing. A large portion of the products are related to Petri dishes, which scientists can use to test viruses and grow cells.
Davis said Teknova Petri dishes were used during the initial stages of the Human Genome Project, which mapped the sequence of DNA in the Genome.
“This is the decade of biotech, as they say,” Davis said. “And all science begins with our products.”
Teknova, based in Half Moon Bay, was founded in 1996 and will move one of its manufacturing labs to Hollister next month. It plans to gradually transfer operations and permanently settle here within a year.
“Everyone’s really excited,” Davis said. “We’re looking forward to the expansion. Our customers are demanding it of us. We’re busting the seams.”
Davis said they chose Hollister over other cities such as Watsonville because the company received enthusiastic feedback on its visits during the recruitment process. The first day a Teknova representative arrived in Hollister about two years ago, Davis said several city officials showed up as a welcoming gesture.
“Basically, the town really wanted us,” Davis said. “We definitely felt the town was really behind us.”
Davis said Teknova currently has 30 employees but hopes to expand to 80 to 100 people within two years. She said manager positions require college degrees with science backgrounds, but an array of technicians are “trainable.”
Al Martinez, director of the Economic Development Corp., was involved with the initial recruitment of Teknova. Local developers Don Marcus and Gerald McCullough built the facilities and closed the deal about a year ago.
The Hollister site has two buildings – one for administration and another for processing, according to Martinez.
“It’s a good addition to Hollister because they’ve been on a growth pattern for a number of years and they ship all over the U.S.,” Martinez said. “The buzz word in the state is ‘get biotech, get biotech.'”
Hollister is currently home to one other biotechnology company – Charles River Labs, which produces and supplies animal research models for the pharmaceutical industry.
Martinez – who holds responsibility for luring industry to the county – has expressed frustration during the past year because of difficulty recruiting new businesses during the city’s building moratorium and poor economy.
He called Teknova, which made the commitment before the moratorium was imposed in May 2002, a “good addition to Hollister.” He hopes “over the long haul” Teknova will continually expand and eventually build a factory here.
Families of Teknova employees will attend an open house Saturday at its new location – 2250 Bert Drive. Teknova also invited members of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce.
The company has already joined the Chamber, according to Executive Director Theresa Kiernan, which plans to hold an official ribbon cutting sometime in the near future.
“This is something new (for the Chamber),” Kiernan said of the biotechnology company. “It’s even more exciting during the moratorium that we can still see something happening like this. Eventually we’ll be able to have business as usual in the county.”
For more information about Teknova, go to www.teknova.com.
