EOSERA
EOSERA on Wednesday cut the ribbon on a new 36,000-square-foot facility that will significantly increase efficiency for the fast-growing biotech company in south Fort Worth.
The warehouse and office space on the South Freeway will dramatically boost distribution and manufacturing capabilities for the company’s ear-care products through added equipment and machinery, as well as added warehouse space, which allows the company to create more products at a faster pace.
The company hosted a reception on Wednesday morning that included a little breakfast, coffee, and tours. Mayor Mattie Parker was among the guests.
“The new space is indicative of our growth, and the many challenges we’ve overcome,” CEO Elyse Dickerson said. “It’s surreal to see how far we’ve come, but I don’t spend much time looking backward as we have so much to accomplish in our future.”
The occasion marked yet another giant leap for the company founded in 2015 by Dickerson and Joe Griffin, the company’s chief scientific officer. They initially leased lab space at The University of North Texas Health Science Center to create Ear Wax MD, a formula designed to break down earwax. They patented it and launched in 2017.
Since then, they have developed Ear Pain MD, Ear Itch, and Ear Clean MD.
Since going to market, EOSERA has become a regular on Inc. 5000’s list of fastest-growing companies. The most recent listing, published last month, showed that the company had a three-year revenue growth of 311%. The company employs 30 and its products are available in more than 28,000 retail stores.
EOSERA is one of most successful stories of TechFW, the nonprofit startup accelerator and business incubator.
What they have been able to accomplish is all the more extraordinary when you consider the challenges the company has faced in terms of space and inefficiencies.
“We can actually now manufacture a product from start to finish all in one contiguous line,” Dickerson said. “That may not sound astounding but compared to what we have been doing where we would do one part of the production in one room, and then have to move 15,000 bottles to another room to put them in their cartons, and then move them to another room to put them in their case packs.
Alex Lepe
In the beginning: Joe Griffin and Elyse Dickerson spent nine months in a lab at the UNT Health Science Center developing Ear Wax MD.
“So, you can just imagine the efficiencies and the joy on our employees' faces because, you know, you start something in the morning and by the end of the day it's done because it's streamlined, which is really a great feeling.”
Two warehouses are now in play, instead of just one. One of those is right next to manufacturing. As pallets are loaded they’re rolled right into the warehouse next door where they are quarantined while going through quality checks.
Once released, the products are moved to another warehouse with a loading dock, ready to put on a truck and ship to retailers.
The improved process flow and efficiency have, of course, made for a leaner company.
The new space has also increased office space. In the old space, Dickerson said many were sharing office space.
“Everyone has their own little pod office, so, they can take Zoom calls and they can close the door and actually think instead of being disrupted all the time.”
The space was designed in a collaboration between the company and building owner Bruce Conti. The company and Conti have been planning and working on the new space for about two years, said Dickerson.
“Going from 17,000 square feet to over 36,000 square feet is quite a difference,” said Griffin, who has a doctorate in toxicology. “But as we grow, we’ll need every inch of this space. The fact that we could customize our part of the building with the help of our building owner, Bruce Conti, allowed for a more conducive manufacturing area and great offices.”
And new equipment.
Dickerson joked that the new space and fill line represent Christmastime in the summer for Griffin.
“It's his Christmas gift,” she said. “He's been wanting this new fill line, but it was always too expensive and out of reach, and we didn't have space for it. But this is a significant upgrade with a manufacturing line which will do everything from bottle the solution to label it to code it.
“So now we have two production lines that can run at the same time. Before we only had one. That was a huge add and it's got its own little room and, you know, Joe just goes in there and looks at it sometimes just to make himself happy.”
As he should. It’s the small things in life that make us happy. It’s the not-so-small things in life that make us really, really happy.