Bob Engster is picking up the pieces left behind by Pfizer and making quite the nice chunk of change.

The Kalamazoo resident founded Single Source Procurement in 2003 after Pfizer bought Upjohn. It was the corporation's move that left Engster looking for a new job, so he created his own.

He was Single Source Procurement's only employee those first few years, helping small companies and start-ups save money whenever they bought, stored or fixed biotech and life sciences equipment. Today he oversees a staff of six in Kalamazoo and plans to open an Ann Arbor office with three employees later this month. It's looking for instrument repair people right now.

Engster's company has discovered that there is a demand for his services in places where Pfizer has pulled up stakes and left a wake of start-ups, such as Ann Arbor, Holland and Kalamazoo.

"We kind of follow Pfizer," Engster says. "We have a lot of opportunities in Michigan."

Most start-ups or small companies have to pay high prices for bio-tech equipment. Single Source Procurement leverages the vendors by buying in bulk for a large number of these small firms. It also does stockroom management and helps fix these bio-tech instruments.

That usually works out to about 30 percent savings for the companies and another company created in Michigan.

Source: Bob Engster, CEO and founder of Single Source Procurement
Writer: Jon Zemke