BOWDOIN — A Bowdoin company that manufactures devices for neuroscience research and clinical applications received a national award Tuesday from the U.S. Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C.

FHC was the only Maine entity among 18 small businesses and six individuals honored Tuesday with Roland Tibbetts awards, according to a release from the SBA.

The awards honor companies and individuals “for the critical role they play in research and development for the government and for their success in driving innovation and creating new jobs.” All participate in or support the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

“Creating an economy built to last requires redoubling our commitment to supporting innovative entrepreneurs like those we honor with Tibbetts awards,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills, a Brunswick resident, said in the release.

The Tibbetts awards are named after Roland Tibbetts, who was instrumental in developing the SBIR program. They are presented to U.S. companies and individuals “who are beacons of promise and models of excellence in high technology.”

Tibbetts award winners are selected based on the economic impact of their technological innovation, and on whether they have met federal research and development needs, encouraged diverse participation in technological innovation, and increased the commercialization of federal research.

FHC has been in business for 41 years and is a Mainebased medical device manufacturer with roots in research for neurosciences, according to Keri Seitz, the company’s president, who spoke to The Times Record by phone from the awards presentation in Washington on Tuesday.

“We manufacture electrodes and devices for neuroscience research and clinical applications,” Seitz said.

Shortly after she and FHC chief executive officer Fred Haer accepted the award from Mills during a ceremony held in the White House, Seitz told The Times Record, “We’re really honored and thrilled to be recognized.”

The company received notice about two week ago that it would receive a Tibbetts award.

“We were surprised to receive it,” Seitz said. “It was nice to be considered, and recommended to apply for the award. I didn’t necessarily expect that we would win one but it was a real honor and treat to be selected.”

Seitz credited much of FHC’s success with the SBIR program to Dr. Lee Margolin, a former employee who left in January to pursue other interests. He was FHC’s director of compliance and research and submitted many of FHC’s applications for SBIR grants, according to Seitz.

“This allowed us some funding to help us commercialize some ideas that we had,” Seitz said. “We’re not a company that is out only to receive grants to further our work. We want to use the grant monies to do things we already have on the horizon, and some of the grant funding we received allowed us to… commercialize some of our products.”

FHC employs about 70 people at its location on Route 125 in Bowdoin. Including sales and technical support staff for operations in Romania, Colombia and elsewhere, the firm employs 92 people.

The company is doing well, said Seitz, who has been with FHC for seven years. It is in an industry fairly well insulated from the financial challenges that have plagued many businesses, and “our business is seated well to weather storms like that.”

Of Tuesday’s award, Seitz said, “It’s actually really important. I think it continues to fuel the enthusiasm and the pride that people who work at FHC take in their everyday jobs, to be recognized like this; to show that we’re advancing the sciences and helping pioneer some new technologies.”

In fiscal year 2011, the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research program accounted for more than $2.5 billion in federal research and development funds, the release states.

For more information about the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Innovation Research, visit http://www.sba.gov/content/small-business-innovation-research-program-sbir-0.

Learn more about FHC at www.fh-co.com.

dmoore@timesrecord.com