Technical supporter
Founded in 2001, KPC International is securing business across Europe, thanks to its specialisation in particular technical services to life science companies
T he real test of any small business is not so much how it does when times are good, but how it deals with adversity. By this measure, KPC International has well and truly proven its mettle. Set up by CEO John Devlin in 2001 to help clients in the life sciences industry deliver their products on schedule, the company was putting in some very promising early years when the recession hit with a vengeance.
“We were trying to grow to the next level in 2005/06, but the recession hit us really hard,” says Devlin. “I was close to the wall so I had to cut overheads and start rebuilding the company up from scratch.”
It was six or seven tough years before Devlin got KPC back to where he wanted it to be. One of the factors that helped him get there was his decision to look to foreign markets. “Back in 2007, Ireland was quite a difficult place to do business, so we started engaging with clients in Switzerland and the US,” he says.
It’s fair to say that the company has never looked back; it now has offices in Ireland, Switzerland and Singapore, and is in the process of opening one in the UK.
Currently winning projects across Europe, KPC has a track record of working with industry leaders and is the only pan-European provider of the services it specialises in. “We often find ourselves competing against six or seven others for the jobs we’re winning, and some of the others would be more local than we are,” says Devlin.
KPC provides specialist technical services to its pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients for their projects around the world. On any given project, KPC commissions and tests everything for the client, qualifies it all for regulatory approval, and helps them get the operation up and running.
“A client’s project might involve building a new facility or modifying an existing facility. Every month that they are late on that schedule is a month when their products are not reaching patients,” says Devlin. “It also means they’re eating into their patent time. We help clients to bring capital investments to light.”
There are currently 28 employees at KPC; Devlin expects this to reach 38 by this time next year.
For the future, the watchword at KPC is innovation. “We have to improve and challenge the status quo, which is not easy in a risk-averse industry,” says Devlin. Beyond that, he wants to focus on the recruitment and retention of personnel and, ultimately, position KPC as the No 1 provider of these services in Europe and southeast Asia.
“We often find ourselves competing against six or seven others for the jobs we’re winning, and some of the others would be more local than we are”