The SBA Announces 2023 Exporters of the Year

BOSTON, MA – 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.

“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.

Locally in the Commonwealth, Boston Centerless has been named the Exporter of the Year for Massachusetts.

"Boston Centerless is a great example of a traditional manufacturing company using innovative means to break into new export markets," said Paula Murphy, Director of the Massachusetts Export Center, part of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network. "We have had the pleasure of supporting Boston Centerless' global expansion and the company is well-positioned for further advancement, with export growth outpacing domestic sales."

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

For more information about the State Trade Expansion Program grant, visit www.sba.gov/STEP. For more information about National Small Business Week, visit www.sba.gov/NSBW.

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Co-sponsorship Authorization# 23-1-C The SBA’s participation in this cosponsored activity is not an endorsement of the views, opinions, products or services of any cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.