If biotechnology is the wave of the future, then Hollister
already has its surfboard ready to ride that wave.
If biotechnology is the wave of the future, then Hollister already has its surfboard ready to ride that wave.
Located in two large warehouse buildings in the Hollister Business Park, Teknova started as a small biotechnology company more than a decade ago, but now employs about 40 people in San Benito County and sells its products both regionally and throughout the world.
Ted and Mari Davis moved their biotechnology company to Hollister in 2003, after outgrowing their Half Moon Bay location.
“Hollister is a great environment for business, especially tech business,” Mari Davis said. “My goal after the moratorium is lifted is to bring more biotech to Hollister and create a mini-hub.”
Teknova creates molecular biology media – premixed agents that facilitate or retard the growth of cells and bacteria – which the company sells to pharmaceutical companies, universities and even forensics departments.
Looking at the products Teknova sells, it seems hard to imagine how much they will contribute to the fields of molecular biology, antibiotic development and even solving crimes. The company ships out long, cylindrical tubes of small Petri dishes filled with translucent yellowish liquid, bottles cryptically labeled “Terrific Broth,” and powders in water-soluble pouches.
Pharmaceutical companies – ones you see every day at your drug store like Johnson & Johnson or Bayer – can use these media to develop new medicines. The Human Genome Project maps and decodes the DNA found in human cells using the large plates of media to break down the DNA to its most basic components, and sequence the nucleotides. And, for fans of the CSI television franchise, the media are used by forensic departments to transform a small piece of evidence – such as a piece of skin found at a crime scene – into its most basic DNA components so that a suspect can be identified.
Teknova creates the starting place for a variety of scientific research, and the idea for creating the company came out of working in the science industry.
After working for five years as a scientist for Genentech, considered the founder of the biotechnology industry, Ted Davis decided there was a need for pre-mixed agar plates to provide to scientists quickly.
“We envisioned we’d be the FedEx of media,” Mari Davis said. “What we sell, scientists can make themselves, but it might take a few days. We pride ourselves that you can call us and we’ll ship it that day.”
The couple started the company out of their garage in Half Moon Bay. After six months, they moved to a few small beach shacks in the area, but after outgrowing that location as well, they started looking for a new place to start their business.
After looking at Watsonville, Redding and Hollister, Davis said they chose Hollister because of its proximity to the Silicon Valley area and what the city had to offer.
When she and her husband visited Hollister, Mari Davis said, they were impressed by the enthusiasm from city and county officials.
“They were very interested in the jobs that we would provide,” she said.
“We’ve been very excited abut their success and what they have to offer in creating jobs for our community,” said San Benito County Supervisor Don Marcus, who co-owns the buildings that house Teknova. “I think they’ve provided some real good opportunities for the people they employ.”
The company, which has revenues of $5 million a year, currently employs 40 people, and is hoping to double – both in size and profitability – within the next three years.
Teknova moved to Hollister with the hopes of hiring lab technicians from the local workforce, Mari Davis said. She explained that this position is highly trainable and does not require a college degree.
For the positions requiring specific degrees, Teknova could attract these more highly skilled individuals to the San Benito County area.
“It would be a great opportunity for more degreed people. If they knew about this, we could attract them,” Mari Davis said.
This was echoed by Marcus, who said he hoped the company’s presence here could attract more high-tech businesses and more biotech workers to the area.
Jennifer Ingram, 26, works as chemistry technician for Teknova. The San Benito High School graduate had left Hollister to get her degree in human development from the University of California at Davis, but was attracted back to the area by the position available at Teknova.
“I was highly interested in biotech. So when I heard Teknova was hiring, I was ecstatic,” Ingram said.
She said she was excited to learn practical application after having spent most of her time in college learning out of books, and having used culture media during her education process.
“Here, we make a lot of products to allow researchers or scientists to do their research. In a sense it’s like the first step,” Ingram said.
Ingram added that it was nice to have a professional position in the biotech field available in Hollister, instead of having to commute to San Jose.
Providing jobs and attracting skilled professionals is not the only way Teknova contributes to the Hollister community. As well as contributing to advanced microbiology research, Teknova also helps with more basic things such as local children’s science fair projects.
Brenda Weatherly contacted Teknova for help with her daughter’s science fair project. Miranda Weatherly, 12, was working on a science experiment on bacteria growth at her middle school, and needed a sterile plate to watch the growth take place.
“I tested surfaces in the cafeteria to see which one had the most bacteria growing on it. They provided the dishes to put the bacteria in and the food to feed the bacteria to make it grow,” Miranda Weatherly said.
The Davises not only provided Miranda with materials for her sixth-grade science fair, but helped her with identifying the growth colonies as well.
“They helped me identify all the bacteria and stuff. I thought that was cool and it helped me get an advantage over everybody else that was in my category.”
Miranda won her middle school’s science fair and went on to compete at the state science fair.
While Teknova may be one of the only biotech companies in Hollister currently, they are representative of an area of potential new industry for the city. As for Mari and Ted Davis, they plan to stay here a long time.
“There’s a lot of room for growth,” Mari Davis said.
