Despite their global customer base, Ithaca-based Harrick Plasma is proud to be headquartered in Ithaca. Harrick Plasma manufactures and sells benchtop research devices– specifically, plasma cleaners used by materials scientists.
Heather Harrick, President of Harrick Plasma, moved the company to Ithaca in 2004. Her father started the business nearly 50 years ago in the Hudson Valley. The move was both a lifestyle choice and a business decision– the overhead is a lot lower in Ithaca than near New York City, and there are benefits to being a business selling research equipment in any Ivy League community.
“The human capital and human resources in Ithaca are incredible,” she says, “I have an amazing, bright, and well-educated staff here.”
Harrick Plasma became a Chamber member last year, and the benefits have already been clear. Heather has attended Chamber-supported training events, like a recent Hancock Estabrook legal workshop. “It was really helpful and relevant for tax planning and business planning,” she says. The Chamber has unique benefits for Harrick too.
“Because we ship to unusual places, we have a lot of hurdles we have to overcome to get the shipments to go through. We have leaned on the Chamber for paperwork – Jennifer has signed documents that have allowed us to ship and fulfill numerous international orders,” Heather explains. “That’s vital for a business like ours to have a resource like that where my administrator can just run over there and get someone to validate the shipments.”
Learn more about Harrick Plasma at harrickplasma.com.
Profile and photos by Allison Usavage. 