LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. -- NCI has been in business since 2003 yet has decades of experience. That's because the firm was founded by OEM veterans Ed Bloomer and Alex Sapp. The team acquired two established outfits, Gamma Logic and Pacific Nuclear Imaging, along with their inventories, customer bases and long-term staffs. As a result, NCI's OEM factory-trained engineers have a minimum tenure of 10 years in each respective modality.

The company is thriving in today's multi-vendor environment. NCI is the preferred training provider for GE Healthcare Technologies for the Toshiba gamma camera product line.


"One of the great things about our company is we bring those skill sets from big companies like Toshiba and GE but we have the personability that sells us as a company--not just the parts and the skills but we sell ourselves. We don't just fix the customer's system, we fix the customer. We work with them and that's huge," said Sapp.

NCI is abbreviating its name and using just the initials now instead of Nuclear Concepts, Inc. to respond to current business trends. "We are rapidly migrating into X-ray and vascular," Sapp reported. (NCI is also a new equipment distributor for Segami computer systems.)

The firm has intensive technical knowledge, epitomized by the fact that it's one of very few third party service providers capable and skilled at Siemens E-CAM Head Burns. (Don't try this at home.)

"It is highly specific but also highly needed, expensive and very skill driven," Sapp said. The Siemens E-CAMs are one of the most popular gamma cameras out there, but require calibration every few years with pricey calibration tools. "You need the tools and then you need the skills to do it so you have to be fully trained by someone who's factory trained." NCI charges significantly less than the OEM for the service.

"Our business is small but very specific," Sapp noted. "We are flexible and that's a key ingredient. We adjust to the market. Without doing so you'll fail as a business. You need to have your nuts and bolts, bread-and-butter parts and service sales and go with the market as well." The company has an inventory of tens of millions of dollars in parts.

Sapp called the used equipment market "tremendous." "A lot of facilities are required to always order the new equipment. But there are a heck of a lot more facilities out there that can't afford the new equipment and they need a reliable third-party company that will not nickel and dime them...and will keep them functional and keep the pricing down," he said.

A DOTmed user, Sapp said, "Dotmed has developed a great name for itself because of their integrity and honesty. Bottom line is if you want to find out about another business, it's a great forum to look, as well as for parts and availability."

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