For 30 years, Scientific and Regulatory Consultants (SRC) has quietly operated from downtown Columbia City, helping companies across the country navigate the complex world of product regulations and approvals. While many residents have seen the company’s name on the door, few know exactly what happens inside–or the remarkable story behind how the business came to be.
Today, SRC is led by Cassie Bumbaugh, CFO and owner, who purchased the company from her mother in 2020. But the story begins long before that, with two women who saw an opportunity, took a leap of faith, and built something that continues to thrive three decades later.
A Business Born in Downtown Columbia City
SRC was founded in 1996 by Rhonda Jones and Sally Hayes, two coworkers at Huntington Labs who specialized in antimicrobial products. Through their work, they became experts in the science behind disinfectants, sanitizers, and cleaning products, but they also recognized a growing need within the industry.
“There were all these regulations that EPA and FDA have for these types of products,” Cassie explained. “You have to submit an application before you can sell it and get it approved, and then there’s all these rules on what you can say on the label.”
Companies often had great products but struggled to navigate the complicated process of proving those products were safe, effective, and compliant with federal regulations. Rhonda and Sally realized there was a gap between scientific innovation and regulatory approval, and they decided to build a business dedicated to helping companies bridge that gap.
When Huntington Labs was sold and their jobs were moving out of state, the pair faced a choice: relocate or start something of their own.
“They didn’t want to move with it,” Cassie said. “So they actually started the business in an apartment building down the street here in downtown Columbia City.”
The company’s first office was a modest one-bedroom apartment. Their desks were made from sawhorses with doors laid across the top, and the entire business consisted of just two women determined to make their vision work.
Over time, that vision grew. What started as a small consulting operation expanded from two employees to five, and eventually into the 23-person company it is today.
Growing Up Alongside the Business
Cassie was only two years old when SRC was founded. Two years later, her younger sister was born, meaning her mother was building a business while raising three children. Looking back, Cassie recognizes how much that example shaped her perspective.
“It really made me feel like I could do whatever I wanted to,” she said. “It gave me the confidence to be crazy enough to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll buy it from you.'”
Despite growing up around SRC, taking over the company was never part of her plan. In fact, she admits she didn’t really understand what her mother did.
“I don’t think I really understood what my mom did,” she laughed. “I didn’t have any interest in microbiology, which my mom is a microbiologist, so I was like, ‘Well, I don’t want to be a microbiologist, so there’s no place here for me.'”
Still, she found herself connected to the business from an early age. During high school and college, she interned at SRC, helping modernize company records.
“They had a whole room full of filing cabinets of paper, and my first job was to scan it all and file it electronically.”
While it may not have been glamorous work, it gave her an inside look at the company and the people who made it successful.
After graduating from college, Cassie pursued other opportunities and worked for Star Insurance. It wasn’t until she returned to SRC years later that she began to see the company in a different light.
Finding Her Place at SRC
Cassie’s educational background focused on corporate business management and corporate innovation, with an emphasis on finding efficiencies and helping organizations improve their operations. When she returned to SRC, she discovered a side of the company she hadn’t fully appreciated before.
“I saw this whole business side,” she said.
At the same time, her mother was beginning to think about the future. After years of building and leading the company, she was exploring what retirement and succession might look like.
“We looked at a lot of different options,” Cassie said. “But we decided it’d be better to keep it locally owned.”
The idea of preserving the business as a family-owned company appealed to her.
“I think the idea of a family-owned business is cool over generations.”
In December 2020, during one of the most uncertain periods in modern business history, Cassie officially purchased the company.
The timing may have seemed risky, but SRC was uniquely positioned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Helping Products Reach the Marketplace
One of the most common responses Cassie hears when describing SRC’s work is simple: “I had no idea that’s what you guys do.”
Most people don’t.
The company specializes in helping manufacturers navigate the regulatory requirements necessary to bring products to market. Their clients range from entrepreneurs with new ideas to some of the largest corporations in the country.
“We work with everything from this guy that makes his formula in his bathtub and thinks it’s the next best thing–which sometimes it has been–up to Fortune 500 companies.”
SRC doesn’t perform laboratory testing itself. Instead, the team helps clients understand what testing is required, coordinates with certified laboratories, analyzes results, and guides products through the approval process with the Environmental Protection Agency and state regulatory agencies.
“If you go to the shelf at the supermarket and look at the cleaning products, we’ve touched most of them.”
Whether a company wants to prove its product kills bacteria, disinfects surfaces, or meets specific performance claims, SRC helps develop the strategy needed to get there.
“We help people bridge that gap,” Cassie said. “You could say, ‘I think this is the next best thing,’ and we take you from that to actually being able to sell it at the stores.”
Today, the company works with approximately 150 to 200 active clients at any given time and has served nearly 800 clients throughout its history.
Navigating the Challenges of COVID
When COVID-19 changed the world, it also transformed the cleaning and disinfecting products industry. For SRC, demand surged as companies raced to prove their products could combat the virus.
“It was a huge boom in our business,” Cassie recalled. “Everyone wanted COVID claims on their products and ‘Kills SARS-CoV-2’ on the label.”
The team worked through an unprecedented volume of projects while simultaneously adapting to remote work and changing government processes. While the period brought growth, it also created challenges. Like many organizations, maintaining balance became difficult during the height of the pandemic. Fortunately, SRC already had experience supporting remote employees and leveraging technology, allowing the company to adapt quickly.
A Culture Built Around Family
While SRC’s expertise has earned national recognition, Cassie believes one of the company’s greatest strengths has always been its culture. From the very beginning, founders Rhonda Jones and Sally Hayes prioritized family.
“If there’s a baseball game that your kids have, you better be there regardless of what’s going on at work.”
Long before flexible schedules and work-life balance became common workplace discussions, they built a company that encouraged employees to put family first.
“We really try to structure things so people aren’t working over a ton,” Cassie said. “We want people taking family vacations, being at their kids’ soccer practices, coaching their kids’ baseball teams.”
Those values remain at the center of decision-making today, influencing everything from company policies to growth strategies.
“I feel like that’s one of the unique things that they both had kind of foresight into what the future would hold, and then just have been trying to continue to build on that for years. Especially being a small business, those things can be hard sometimes to be able to do.”
For Cassie, preserving that culture is one of the most important responsibilities of leadership.
Looking Ahead
As SRC celebrates its 30th anniversary, the company continues to evolve while remaining true to the principles it was founded upon. The team now includes microbiologists, chemists, toxicologists, regulatory specialists, and operations professionals located both locally and across the country. While the work may be highly technical, the company’s success ultimately comes down to people.
“We’re fortunate because we have such an amazing team,” Cassie said. “It’s fun to work with people way smarter than me every day. Our team, we have absolute geniuses—microbiologists, chemists, regulatory specialists—and it’s fun to get to work with brilliant people every day.”
That appreciation for the team reflects the same people-first mindset that Rhonda and Sally established nearly three decades ago.
From a small apartment office in downtown Columbia City to a nationally respected consulting firm serving clients across the country, Scientific and Regulatory Consultants has built a legacy of expertise, innovation, and service. And as the company enters its next chapter, Cassie is proud to continue the vision that began with two women, a big idea, and a belief that they could build something extraordinary right here in Columbia City.
Scientific & Regulatory Consultants, Inc. is located at 201 W Van Buren St., Columbia City, IN
