Crapo Lauds Grant For Sandpoint Business

WASHINGTON, D.C. â?? United States Senator Mike Crapo applauded the hard work and history of success of Unicep Packaging of Sandpoint, Idaho today, upon news that the company will receive a $79,925 Small Business Innovation Research Program grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). â??Unicep Packaging is an example of a thriving successful small business that has used innovation and dedication to bring needed jobs to Sandpoint,â?? said Crapo, a member of the Senate Small Business Committee. â??They have established a pattern of excellence that caught the attention of the USDA small business development officials. Small businesses like Unicep Packaging are vital to Idaho communities and by extension, Idaho families.â??â??All of us at Unicep Packaging are very appreciative and excited about this grant. It will allow us to move forward with a new unit dose package design that the marketplace is saying will be very successful,â?? said Unicep CEO Dr. John Snedden. â??Hopefully, we will receive a Phase Two grant and this will allow us to convert this concept into an automated production machine,â?? he added. According to Snedden, Unicep Packaging was started in 1993 to provide inexpensive unit dose packaging to the dental industry. Unit dose packaging is single use packages of dental supplies used during exams and other procedures. The company was originally located in the Bonner Business Incubator and is now located at the Air Park in Sandpoint. Unicep Packaging employs 100 people and has a manufacturing facility of 65,000 square feet. Its customers include cosmetic and medical device companies as well as drug companies.# # #