Nasiff pumping up its EKG business in Hastings

HASTINGS  —  A small firm to the north of Syracuse is keeping its lifeblood flowing in the high-pressure medical-device industry.

That company is Nasiff Associates, Inc. It specializes in cardiology equipment — electrocardiograms, also known as EKGs or ECGs — in its headquarters at 841-1 County Route 37 in Hastings.

“In 1989 I decided to start a company with a PC–based EKG,” says Roger Nasiff, the company’s owner and president. “Nobody else was doing that in a way that was useful in the clinical environment. And cardiology is our center, because that’s where most people need help medically.”

Nasiff Associates’ sales are strongest on the East Coast, although it considers its primary market to include the entire United States. Its products are designed for a range of standard clinical environments, from the offices of general practitioners to cardiologists. Researchers also use the firm’s equipment because they can access the data it generates with ease, according to Nasiff.

The medical-device company sells primarily through distributors. That allows its employees to focus on making and supporting its products, Nasiff says.

“We train the distributors about the market and the technology, but at the same time, nobody knows their territory like they do,” he says. “If I’m going to call Dallas, Texas, I don’t know what the market is down there.”

Fewer than 20 people work at Nasiff Associates. The firm hired “a couple” employees last year and could add more in the future, Nasiff says. He declines to be more specific, citing stiff competition from larger firms like Skaneateles Falls–based Welch Allyn and Fairfield, Conn.–based General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE).

But Nasiff Associates’ small size can be an advantage, its owner says. He believes it is more nimble than its competition.

“I stand here and I’ve got three to four of us that are focused on technology,” Nasiff says. “It’s exciting. We can respond more quickly.”

In 2013, Nasiff is hoping to grow his company’s revenue by 30 percent. The firm’s annual sales growth has been as high as 20 to 30 percent in its history, although the last few years have been more of a struggle, he continues. Nasiff declines to offer specific revenue totals.

“We picked up at the end of last year,” he says. “In our particular case, the growth is due to the quality of the products being known. I think the pressures that are on us have held up the entire industry.”

Those pressures include uncertainty brought about by the 2010 federal health-care reform law, according to Nasiff. A 2.3-percent excise tax on the sale price of medical devices that is part of the law is a specific challenge that essentially forces Nasiff Associates to try to expand, he says.

Other pressures include falling Medicare reimbursement rates. Those rates lead to a decline in purchasing power at medical offices, Nasiff says. And in recent years, Chinese companies have moved into the bottom end of the U.S. EKG market, he adds.

But the biggest hurdle for the Hastings–based company may be name recognition, Nasiff says.

“Our challenge is getting people to know we exist, even after 24 years,” he says. “We can compete at the high end of capability.”

The company’s strategy is to build around quality, value, and service, he says.

“I’m just an engineer trying to say, ‘This is the way I want the world to be,’ “ Nasiff says. “We want to be the best product. We want to be the best in support of that product. And we want to offer the best value.”

Nasiff Associates leases about 3,000 square feet of space at 841-1 County Route 37. Its landlords at that building are James O. Delelys and Roy Eastman, according to records from Oswego County’s real property database.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com