Advancing Erie's medical technology - GoErie.com

Cybersonics an industry leader in blasting kidney stones

Jim Martin @ETNMartin

Ken Louie, a professor of economics and director of the Economic Research Institute of Erie, counts himself as an optimist, even in the face of sobering news about the decline of traditional manufacturing in Erie County.

It's a perspective built on more than a cheerful disposition.

Louie said he believes there's a bright future for smaller, advanced industries that leverage technology, invest heavily in research and development, and employ trained workers in the fields of science, engineering, technology and math.

From an economist's perspective, a community can never have too many of these advanced technology jobs, which pay an average of $80,000, about double the national average.

"Over time, we are making advances in this area," Louie said, explaining that the number of these mostly small, high-tech companies continues to grow in Erie.

Few of them are household names, but some — like Cybersonics, which is located in Knowledge Park on the campus of Penn State Behrend — are key players in their industries.

Cybersonics, which employs 30 people and has annual sales of about $10 million, builds medical devices that use ultrasonic or high-frequency sound waves.

Its most popular device, derived from a rock drill that Cybersonics developed for NASA, is a lithotripsy system used for breaking up large kidney stones.

While other companies make similar products, Cybersonics, which exports much of what it builds, "has become the market leader," said Geoffrey Bond, president and part-owner of the company.

Here's one way to measure the volume of the machines it builds: Charlie Baker, the company's chief engineer, said the company sells a set of stainless steel probes each time a procedure is performed using one of its machines. Typically, he said, that's about 30,000 sets of probes a year.

That's a lot of probes, and it is a reflection of Erie's slow evolution toward it being a technology center.

Statistics show Erie's progress in that regard.

Louie said a 2015 Brookings Institute study found that 12,000 Erie County workers could be classified as working in advanced technology. Although they represent just 9 percent of the total workforce, they account for about $2 billion or 15 percent of Erie's gross domestic product.

Bond said Erie presents certain challenges for a high-tech company with international customers. Bringing those customers into town or visiting them often involves a two-hour drive to a larger airport.

"For a medical device company, there are benefits to being in an area like Minnesota or San Jose or Austin, Texas. Boston would be another one," he said. "You get that sort of critical mass. There is a lot of knowledge that gets transferred, along with a beer after work. We miss that type of support."

But Erie does have its advantages, including a low cost of living, Bond said.

The Knowledge Park location means access to hiking trails, the college library, gymnasium and, most importantly, students and faculty.

"We have had their students working for us as interns, which gives them some good experience, and we have hired some of them after they have graduated. I think it has benefited both of us," Bond said.

Louie said statistics from one particular sector, computer and electronics manufacturing, show Erie is growing at an impressive rate. Between 2001 and 2015, Erie's output in that sector increased by more than 300 percent, compared to a 235 percent increase nationally and 177 percent for Pennsylvania.

Erie might never replace thousands of lost jobs at GE Transportation, Steris Corp. or International Paper Co.

But the latest numbers, Louie said, suggest Erie has the ability to adapt that's equally as strong as our industrial past.

"I'm optimistic," Louie said.

Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNMartin.

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