When people talk about the history of the medical device industry, certain companies come up again and again. Not just because of the products they sold, but because of the role they played in helping engineers, researchers, and product designers bring ideas to life. One of those companies was Small Parts, Inc.
In this blog post, we share the history behind Component Supply, the legacy of Small Parts, and how that legacy still shapes the company today.
The Legacy of Small Parts, Inc.
Mark, the founder and president of Component Supply, and his family originally became involved with Small Parts while working alongside Dr. Robert Murphy, a physician, engineer, and innovator who founded the company in 1958. At the time, Dr. Murphy was looking to step back from the day-to-day responsibilities of running a distribution business so he could focus more on research and emerging technologies.
What began as a plan to help position the company for sale eventually turned into something much bigger.
“There was this commitment to the patient,” Mark explained. “That made an impact on me.”
That philosophy, building components that ultimately improve patient outcomes, became foundational to the future of Component Supply.
Lessons from Dr. Murphy
One of the most memorable things about Dr. Murphy is his relentless curiosity and innovation. Even in his late 80s, he was still actively designing and testing new medical device concepts. Mark often shares the story where Dr. Murphy spent a weekend developing a new type of injection needle designed to reduce patient apprehension around injections.
The design failed.
But that wasn’t the point. The point was the willingness to keep experimenting, improving, and pushing technology forward. That mindset still influences Component Supply today, especially in rapid prototyping and custom fabrication work.
The Amazon Acquisition and a New Beginning
Eventually, Small Parts was sold to Amazon as part of the company’s expansion into industrial and scientific products. Mark stayed on for a period after the acquisition, gaining experience in operations, product selection, and large-scale distribution systems. Those lessons later helped shape many of the operational strategies used at Component Supply. But over time, Amazon streamlined the business to focus on its core priorities, leaving gaps for customers who still needed specialized component sourcing and fabrication support.
That opened the door for the next chapter.
When Amazon decided to part with portions of the business, Mark and his father, Phil, purchased equipment, tooling, and capabilities and brought them back to Central Florida. And so, the early beginning of what would become Component Supply took shape.
What started as a small fabrication and distribution operation quickly grew as customers continued searching for the same hands-on support and engineering resources they had relied on for years.
How Component Supply Carried the Mission Forward
Although Component Supply is its own company, many of the core ideas behind Small Parts were carried forward:
Even the old Small Parts catalog functioned more like a “resource manual” than a traditional product catalog. Some universities reportedly used it as classroom material because of the technical information it contained.
That same philosophy is visible today in Component Supply’s website, product resources, and support.
More Than a Distributor
Today, Component Supply serves the medical device, aerospace, and laboratory sciences industries with small components, custom fabrication, and rapid development support designed to help move projects from concept to production. From hypodermic tubing and wire to prototyping and fabrication capabilities, the goal remains the same: to be a resource for researchers, engineers, and product designers.
Many of those ideas were shaped by the legacy of Small Parts and the experiences that helped build Component Supply into what it is today.
This history, along with stories about Small Parts, Dr. Murphy, and the early days of Component Supply, was also the topic of our very first episode of Bits & Pieces, Component Supply’s podcast.
Listen to Episode 1 here:
Bits & Pieces Podcast – Episode 1 on YouTube
