Like many small manufacturing companies, Unicep Packaging, Inc. started with a good idea that grew out of a practical need. Established by Dr. John Snedden in 1991, the company has continuously sought to create simple, elegant and cost-effective solutions to complex challenges.

In the early 1990s the Center for Disease Control and OSHA both had issued new guidelines for health care workers. These guidelines were targeted at minimizing the risk of accidental exposure to HIV, HBV and other blood-borne pathogens. These regulatory actions and media attention brought focus to the need for improving infection control in dentistry.

As a practicing dentist, Dr. Snedden became increasingly aware of the need for unit-dose dental products. "While many improvements in infection control were recommended and required at that time, they were primarily designed to protect the dental staff," he recalls. "I was aware of what seemed to be a double standard. The risk of patient cross-contamination via the containers commonly used for dental materials was not being addressed. Bottles, jars, and multi-use syringes all put the patient at risk. A few unit-dose products were available, but because they were awkward and very expensive, dentists seldom used them."

In 1991, Dr. Snedden founded Unicep, Inc. (later renamed Unicep Packaging, Inc.) with the goal of developing a simple, cost-effective unit-dose package for dental materials. After assembling a dedicated and talented in-house R&D staff, Unicep developed proprietary machinery and methods for producing the patented MicroDose® dispensers. The MicroDose® design features a distinctive angled and tapered dispensing nozzle, inspired by a shape common to many dental instruments.

The first products packaged in the MicroDose® were a line of unit-dose dental materials initially marketed by Unicep. In the years since, we have applied our knowledge of unit-dose packaging to develop specialty packages for customers in variety of markets. Currently these markets include cosmetic, medical, dental, pharmaceutical, veterinary, household, industrial, and others.

In recent years, Unicep Packaging, Inc.’s offerings have expanded to include other packaging products and services. Unicep has continuously refined and executed the MicroDose® concept in ways that meet the unique needs of our customers.

Company milestones

• January 1993 – First MicroDose® production line operational.
• May 1995 – Phase I construction of completed on current Sandpoint, Idaho facility.
• August 2000 – ISO9001 Certification
• May of 2001 – Phase II expansion completed for a total of 30,000+ square feet of manufacturing, office and warehouse space.
• July 2001 – EN46001 Compliance
• December 2003 – Phase III expansion completed for a total of 64,000 square feet
• July 2004 – ISO9001: 2000
• May 2005 – Unicep adds VersaPak thermoform-fill-seal machine to unit-dose line