The company, more and more, outlicenses but also is looking at high-margin niche markets or to supply leaders in their fields, like Bard. Product sales have grown; royalties, likewise.

"Although one of our primary assets is R&D and one of our very important assets is our intellectual property portfolio, ... we're very much trying to run this as a profit-oriented operating company," Soinski said. "That's how you become a successful, enduring, ongoing venture rather than something just about initial technology."

SHPI competitors have erred by trying to compete, rather than partner, with big companies — "which is kind of like running across the street to get punched in the nose," Soinski said — or had great technology that was simply too expensive.

David Green, the company's chief financial officer, said SHPI can design and develop products more quickly and for a much lower cost than some of the big partner companies, with the added bonus, for those companies, of not having to add staff to handle those duties.

SHPI products fulfill needs in each partner company's portfolio, in essence "serving as an external engine for their organic growth," according to Soinski.

"That's what we've done over the last five years: put these deals in place, sometimes multiple deals with major international companies," Soinski said. "From a standing start, if you will, we've built a fully integrated company, but also a fully integrated partner for these other companies. In a way, you have to know your place and how you can best serve your customers."

Staying focused

With 31 employees, including 12 engineers, in Bountiful and assembly work done in Mexico, SHPI has seen product sales the past few years become a bigger part of the company's annual revenue, while license and development fees are dwindling components.

"We've made real progress. We obviously have a long way to go," Soinski said, but he quickly added that SHPI sales will expand beyond the U.S. and Canada — "growing into our name, if you will," he said. And the company will continue to scour for potential acquisitions or mergers and look to offer more than just safety needles.

"We will have more products, in the safety needle arena mostly, but we do have a talent base and skill set that plays beyond that as well," Soinski said. "Profitable growth is what we're really focused on now. We want to continue to grow and continue to grow profitably."

"We've got all the pieces in place in order to grow the top line without adding a lot of expenses below," Green said, "so we should be generating incrementally more and more profit as we go forward and as the company grows."

And while SHPI does make money, there's another element keeping this needle company on the straight and narrow: knowing its work is helping health-care providers avoid trouble. As busy as the company gets, that idea never gets lost, Soinski said.

"It is really unbelievable to hear some of the stories from these nurses who have been stuck. And after talking to nurses, and especially these oncology nurses, I was gratified by how caring these people are and how much they care for their patients," Soinski said.

"What they do is driven by care and concern, and if you can do something for them, to protect them and give them more peace of mind while they're working, it's really rewarding."

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com