Centralia isn’t usually mentioned when most people discuss deep water diving, but our little town is home to one of the leaders in the diving industry. Divers from all around the world rely on equipment manufactured by InnerSpace Systems Corp. (ISC), located in the Port of Centralia. With clients like the FBI, the US Navy and NOAA, this local company is making huge waves in the industry for its closed circuit rebreathing systems.
Leon Scamahorn created ISC in 1999 using savings he built up while serving in the US Army Special Forces Maritime operations. While the business was originally located in his garage, one of his first big breaks came when he signed a lease with the Port for a manufacturing facility.
Leon’s revolutionary closed breathing system technology has allowed for longer dives into the waters of the world. Thanks to the products that ISC has created, military-grade equipment can be enjoyed for recreational use. Usually self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, or SCUBA, have an 80-cubic-foot cylinder which can last a long time, up to 33 feet deep. Every 33 feet is another atmosphere, doubling the pressure of air and reducing potential dive time. Instead of 30-minute dives, which are common with normal SCUBA equipment, the gear made by ISC allows for over five-hour dives, providing a better dive and more potential for exploration.
One of ISC’s popular products is their Megalodon Closed Circuit Rebreather. More widely known as “The Meg,” this apparatus is loved by recreational divers. Underwater photographers appreciate its bubble-free operation, allowing them to swim with fish and other wildlife by blending into the environment without disturbing it. It also makes diving to shipwrecks safer as the air won’t cause sand and silt to shift.
“We have people diving 60 feet to 600 feet using our products,” Leon explained. “Right now, our product has allowed a diver to go nearly 900 feet deep in a cave system, letting us go places where we never thought we would go before. We have also built systems for the Navy, which might go even deeper than that.”
As a business, ISC’s goal was to make the best product that they could. This high level of excellence attracted an unintentional customer: the United States military. One day, they were contacted by Navy representatives who said they would be visiting ISC at Leon’s old shop. As the six Navy engineers toured around the small space, they were impressed with Leon’s work and bought a few units of ISC commercial diving rig. The system that ISC had made passed all of the Navy’s initial testing, making it the first mixed-gas rebreather certified by the Navy in over three decades. While ISC had numerous clients before the Navy deal, this is the client that put Leon and InnerSpace Systems Corp on the map as a world leader. Today, the Centralia company has a client list that includes the FBI, NOAA, Texas A&M and the United Space Alliance.
Leon and his small staff offer seven-day classes to learn how to use their equipment. The courses give divers who purchase ISC products the tools needed to make the most out of their dive with the new system. The classes, which bring people from all over the world, take place right here in Lewis County. This is the way Leon wants it as he feels that our region is a great representative of Pacific Northwest beauty.
While he grew up in Olympia, Leon decided to locate his business in Lewis County after moving here to take care of family. “Lewis County is a really neat county,” beamed Leon. “When clients from around the world come during summer, they visit St. Helens and Rainier and get to enjoy the eye candy around the region.”
ISC is a small company with a handful of employees, each living just a few miles from the facility at the Port with local ties to the region’s high schools and community colleges. By keeping everything small, the company can endure a changing business environment. They have proven this by having survived and grown during the great recession.
While the company may be small, the impact to the community that Leon and ISC have is great. Leon has talked with community colleges in Lewis and Thurston counties in hopes of helping to train more locals in the field of diving. Whether studying engineering or nursing, ISC wants to ensure that students in the region receive an education that will grow their resumes and empower them to become sought-after employees around the world.
All of this hope and business prestige came from a small garage in Lewis County, thanks to one resident taking risks and following his dreams. What began as a personal quest to build the best diving gear has skyrocketed Leon Scamahorn to become a world leader in closed breathing systems.
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