Small Business Profile: Something in the Air After a quarter century of manufacturing toxic gas detection systems for industry, Interscan finds itself in the middle of today’s headlines By JACQUELINE FOX Staff Reporter Could you have bad breath and not know it? How do pesticide companies ensure customers it’s safe to go back in their homes after they have tented them for fumigation? And could residue from the chemicals used to kill anthrax spores released inside lawmakers’ offices in Washington, D.C. last year be posing just as deadly a risk as the anthrax itself? As disjointed as they may seem, these questions are intricately linked for engineers and workers at Chatsworth-based Interscan Corp. The privately held company, launched in 1976, manufactures toxic gas detection systems for urban hospitals, major public works facilities and private-sector firms of all sizes. Three or four decades ago, gas detection devices were primarily bought by industrial users to, for instance, test for carbon dioxide levels in manufacturing plants. Then, the so-called “sick-building” syndrome that began attracting attention a decade ago spurred interest in specialty markets. And today, Interscan’s products can be found in a wide range of places its founders never dreamed of, everywhere from the dentist’s chair to recycling plants to the offices of U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle. Interscan representatives are even being consulted by experts exploring cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center’s Ground Zero, now under scrutiny by the government following complaints from workers there about exposure to potentially harmful toxins. “Although we came early into this business and remain one of the leading providers in the industry, there were and still are many, many competitors out there,” said Michael D. Shaw, Interscan founder and executive vice president. “So we decided that the only real way to expand was to dive into niche markets. The challenge, however, is that they tend to be small markets, so you have to keep churning out new ones in order to keep growing. But it’s the niche markets that have made us profitable over the years.” The company’s revenues for 2001 were $8.4 million and Shaw is projecting they will top the $10 million mark this year. Interscan’s detectors come with interchangeable sensors, which can be used to test for and monitor different types of gases. Locally, the Las Virgenes Water District in Calabasas recently began using Interscan’s hydrogen sulfide meters to test toxin levels at its recycling and composting center. “We’ve used gas detectors for years for other purposes, but now companies like Interscan are testing for oddity things,” said Jacqy Gamble, management analyst for the district. “So this is a new application, a new technology that’s developing, and it’s worked very well for us because they have products that now allow us to do continuous monitoring, not just random testing.” One sensor designed to check formaldehyde levels is being used by big pesticide companies, such as Orkin Pest Control, to check post-fumigation toxin levels. Interscan’s patented Halimeter, which costs about $1,600, is used by dentists both here and, most recently, in Japan, for diagnostic testing of chronic halitosis, better known as bad breath. Interscan introduced the first Halimeter in the 1990s and now sells 500 to 600 a year, Shaw said. “With the change in the medical field and reimbursements, dentists, like doctors, recognize the value of a fee-for-service procedure, and the Halimeter offers them a way to test for this problem and retest for follow-up treatment,” said Shaw. Since Interscan is one of only three companies in the country that makes detectors and sensors for chlorine dioxide, the gas commonly used to kill anthrax, the company landed a contract with Washington, D.C.-based waste management firm IT Technologies. IT was hired to test the toxin levels in the Hart Senate Office Building where high levels of chlorine dioxide were used to kill anthrax spores following the attacks of Sept. 11. High levels of chlorine dioxide, Shaw said, can be potentially fatal. “They (those involved in the cleanup effort) went in very quickly and cleaned up those offices, but what have we heard about how safe the chemicals they used were?” Shaw asked. “If you think about it, not a lot.” Because of the proprietary nature of the anthrax cleanup process, Shaw said he has no indication of what IT has found and who the company is turning results over to. One thing for certain, it isn’t Interscan. “Put it this way,” said Shaw, “some things we just aren’t privy to. So we have no idea.” Interscan representatives have also been asked to weigh in at public meetings in New York between state and local officials and workers at Ground Zero concerned about exposure to toxins in the World Trade Center rubble. Future growth, said Shaw, will hinge on moving into other specialty markets. But the company also has plans to launch a massive marketing program for another product: software for gas detection devices, which can be used with or without Interscan’s own machines. “I think that’s the one area where I have to say we have let fall off and we shouldn’t have,” said Shaw. “So growth there has been slow, and I think what it will boil down to is getting outside distributors involved.” SPOTLIGHT: Interscan Corp. Core Business: Manufacturer of toxic gas detectors and software Revenue in 1976: $400,000 Revenue in 2001: $8.4 million Employees in 1976: 4 Employees in 2001: 25 Goal: To expand applications in niche markets and push software sales Driving force: The need to detect airborne toxins