As Camas-based Fuel Medical Group celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month, the company is seeing so much growth that an increasing number of employees are having to work from home, away from Fuel’s refurbished Westlie Ford car dealership.
Fuel Medical, a business advisory company for ear, nose and throat physicians and audiologists, is hosting an anniversary party for the public from 4 to 6 p.m. today at 314 N.E. Birch St., with Camas Mayor Shannon Turk and a ribbon-cutting at 4:30 p.m. Fuel is inviting community members to stop by for office tours, media displays and refreshments.
Shawn Parker and Brendan Ford founded Fuel in late 2009 with two employees, but it wasn’t until March 2010 when the business landed its first client. Now, its 604 clients span coast to coast, at more than 2,000 locations, Parker said.
Revenue is also skyrocketing for Fuel, from $3.3 million in 2012 to about $22 million now, according to Parker.
Fuel Medical Group views itself as more than a consultant; it will perform many of the duties for its clients, a number of whom are physicians. It manages three software products and sells two point-of-sale, inventory-management software products commercially, one for audiology and one for allergy.
“It makes sure people are getting the right shots when they go in,” Parker said.
Fuel also designs websites, writes copy and offers professional development service and training.
“Some people would call us a consultant. What we are is a business resource,” said Stuart Lyon, the company’s marketing director. “Consultants often tell you what to do. We often jump in and do a lot of things for (clients).”
Parker and Ford bought Fuel’s downtown Camas office space and repurposed much of the old wood for furniture. The original exposed-brick walls add an industrial-style feel to the space, which also features arched, wooden-beam ceiling trusses.
“We fell in love with the building and the architecture,” Parker said. “We took an old building and gave it new life.”
The building holds 88 of the 102 Fuel employees.
“People are on the road more, visiting practices,” Lyon said. “Being able to let them work from their home office — that’s helped us alleviate a little bit of the push.”
Parker said that the company is considering neighboring or nearby office space to expand but would not leave downtown Camas. That could happen as soon as next year.
“We would never leave this location, but we would expand outside it,” Parker said.
This story was updated to accurately state the number of employees at Fuel Medical Group.
