Fuel Medical Group is growing at a rapid pace, but the ear, nose and throat medical service company is keeping it local despite its national reach.
After jumping from 12 employees to 40 in just three years, the company moved its headquarters from a 2,500-square-foot space in Vancouver’s Columbia Tech Center to a space four times that size at an old Westlie Ford building at 314 N.E. Birch St. in downtown Camas. Though the company has clients from coast to coast, Fuel Medical Group leaders say they wanted to keep the staff together at its home base in Clark County.
“That’s a conscious decision,” said Stuart Lyon, the company’s marketing director. “We’re a little bit of an odd animal. We’re going to continue to diversify in the medical segment that we’re in, but we’ll continue to grow right there in Camas where we are.”
Shawn Parker and Brendan Ford, local residents who founded the company in 2009, took some time to find a new location when they outgrew the Vancouver offices. They wanted to find the right type of space that reflected the company’s culture, Lyon said. Many employees live in Camas and Vancouver, the company says. And the unique architecture and industrial setting of the Westlie Ford building in downtown Camas was a perfect match.
“It’s been a great marriage,” Lyon said. “Instead of being just another company in another office building, we get to be part of something in Camas.”
In 2012, Fuel Medical group saw revenues of $3.3 million, an 83 percent increase over $1.8 million the previous year. It earned national recognition this year with a spot on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. The company has landed on the Portland Business Journal’s list of the region’s fastest growing companies for the past two years.
“Fuel was started to fill a need in the (ear, nose, and throat) space and we’ve been successful there by listening to our customers and listening to our clients,” Lyons said.
Fuel Medical helps doctor’s offices with everything from human resources best practices to retail advertising to business analytics.
“They’re realizing they can’t juggle everything all by themselves,” said Rebecca McCracken, Fuel Medical Group’s marketing coordinator.
The business cut the ribbon on the new office Oct. 27 after extensive renovations that incorporated recycled materials and features such as refinished trusses and exposed wooden beams, furniture made from reclaimed joists, skylights and energy-efficient LED lighting. The building also includes exposed brick and original beams that were discovered and sandblasted during the renovation process. The large garage doors remain intact.
“We let the building be as much of itself as we could let it be,” McCracken said.
Added Lyon: “I think our move to Camas and our building is really reflective of who we are and our collaborative approach to success.”
