Medical supply company Norco moving to new location in Idaho Falls
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS – The space formerly occupied by Home Lighting Center at 650 W. Sunnyside Road in Idaho Falls will soon be the home of Norco, an industrial and medical equipment supplier.
Norco has two locations in Idaho Falls. Nicole Kissler, the company’s vice president, tells EastIdahoNews.com it is relocating the medical office at 3908 Washington Parkway to the new, 11,500-square-foot space in mid-September.
The building will be remodeled before the move takes place.
“We saw it as an opportunity to purchase a free-standing store with better visibility, a larger showroom and warehouse,” Kissler says. “It is a little bit farther from the hospital than our current location, but we’re hoping it’s still just as convenient for all of our customers.”
Norco offers a variety of home medical equipment, including oxygen and ventilation respiratory services, CPAP and BiPAP sleep therapy equipment, nebulizers, breast pumps, hospital beds, braces, chair lifts, walkers, canes, wheelchairs and scooters.
The industrial side of the company sells a variety of welding and cutting equipment, as well as industrial gases like oxygen, acetylene, argon and nitrogen.
“It’s a very niche market. The oxygen and gas business is what ties us together,” says Kissler. “In some (cities), we have one location, but in (others like Idaho Falls), we’ve decided to split the buildings and have two separate locations.”
The industrial store at 165 E. Stanley Street will remain open.
Norco got its start in Boise in 1948 as Nordling Auto Parts. Larry Kissler bought the business in 1968.
“In 1968, David Nordling sold his welding supply business from the auto parts portion of the business,” Nicole Kissler says.
The unlikely pairing of industrial and medical supplies occurred after Larry Kissler noticed hospitals were buying oxygen for patients.
“The cornerstone of Norco’s business is the oxygen we provide, and the move to start supplying medical oxygen in addition to the industrial-grade bridged the gap between the two divisions,” according to the company’s website.
It was a family-owned business until 2015, when shares of the company were given to employees and it became an employee stock ownership business.
Norco has grown over the years and now has locations in seven states throughout the northwest, including 22 in Idaho.
Norco came to Idaho Falls in 2011 when it acquired Valley Medical Shoppe. A separate industrial location was built in November 2015. It also has locations in Pocatello, Blackfoot and Rexburg.
“We’ve got a ton of different customers, and that’s what’s so cool about this business,” Nicole Kissler says. “Everybody from a walk-in customer that’s looking for a new welding machine to large national customers. We serve a lot of local fabrication and welding shops.”
The medical side caters to three different types of customers: referral sources from hospitals and medical offices, patients, and insurance companies.
Norco has been serving customers for more than 70 years, and Nicole Kissler says the company’s excited to continue that tradition at the new location in Idaho Falls.
“I haven’t seen the new location yet,” she says. “Everybody’s really excited about it. We can’t wait to get over there … and work with our existing and new customers.”
For questions or to place an order, call the industrial store at (208) 523-2041. The medical store can be reached at (208) 552-3113. You can also visit the website.
Norco Fleet and Facilities Manager Cody Glazier worked with Brent Wilson at TOK Commercial to buy the space on Sunnyside Road. Kerry Howell at SVN High Desert Commercial and Century 21 High Desert represented Home Lighting Center.