TCP Reliable

Source: Healthcare Digital

Date :08/05/2008 06:25:11

CEO Maurice Barakat and Director of Operations Bill Hingle explain how TCP Reliable has created new synergies in the packaging industry

Written by Philip Orchard and Produced by Jon Ellingwood

With two major acquisitions under its belt, packaging solutions provider TCP Reliable can provide an unprecedented array of services and products to the healthcare, food and electronic industries - from gel packs to containers to product package design and temperature testing.

“People think we’re just sort of consultants, because we provide a broader range of services,” says CEO Maurice Barakat. “But what makes us unique is that we’re really operating people. We have a lot of depth, and are able to drill down in a lot of different locations to a very minute level without forgetting the big picture from a customer’s viewpoint, which is what they need to get their job done.”

Despite these misconceptions, a comprehensive catalogue and an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction has enabled TCP to become a determined leader in the temperature-controlled packaging industry.

“Our driving force is, ‘Let us stay up at night and worry about the customers’ problems,’” Barakat says, quoting one of his salesmen. “To put that into practice on a large scale implies a company that has the wherewithal to meet that mandate, but is also small enough and close enough to listen to a customer and adapt these technologies at a reasonable cost to fit their requirements.”

Solutions galore

Edison, NJ-based TCP was founded in 1990, initially offering a limited range of temperature controlled packaging services. But as the company’s customers began asking TCP to take on larger and more demanding assignments, management knew TCP would have to expand.

So in 2006, TCP added Cryopak Industries, a large manufacturer of refrigerants for cold chain pharmaceutical and industrial sectors. And in 2007, TCP merged with DDL, a package testing service provider. DDL operates independently as a wholly owned subsidiary, and the two companies keep their testing and manufacturing operations separate. But combined, the new conglomerate provides an unprecedented array of packaging solutions.

“Within in the TCP family of companies, the organizations by themselves were noted leaders within their specific fields,” says Bill Hingle, Director of Operations. “By combining the companies, we’re now able to offer a wider range of packaging services and solutions to our customer base. Where each company might have been niched to transportation or secondary packaging solutions for example, we’re now able to offer customers that same level of expertise and services on a much deeper scale than any of our competition.”

TCP offers services like temperature qualification, cold chain engineering testing, shock and vibration testing, UV testing and a package design team that works closely with customers to meet unique and specialized needs. The company creates products like gel packs dipping down to 20°C below zero, polyurethane molded containers and pallet shippers, fabricated foam protective packaging, and both single-use and multi-use temperature monitors that can measure the effectiveness of the packaging.

No product exemplifies TCP’s innovative capability better than its Phase 5 temperature controlled packaging, which employs new technology to allow customers to ship in extreme winter or summer conditions in complete safety without changing packaging materials. The Phase 5 packaging features a material that undergoes phase change at 5°C, allowing the shipped product to stay within 2-8° C.

“This product focuses on customers looking for supply solutions from a universal standpoint, not only in terms of what they’re trying to combine across what a customer’s product needs are, but also where their supply lines are coming from, whether points within the US or Canada or out to Europe,” Hingle says. “They’re looking for a continuity of design and approach, so that transportation containers and products are as universal as possible, and fit as many needs as possible.”

Customer Benefits

TCP responds to its customers’ desire to reduce costs and eco-impact by reducing material use. TCP is also ISO 9001:2000 rated, meaning it complies with tough quality assurance standards. As customers in health care, electronics and food sectors face similarly stringent standards, TCP can help them navigate the often-tricky road to compliance.

“The health care sector is a very regulated industry, and for us to remain a leader in the position we’re in, we have to be out in front of how regulations are going to be changed and modified over the years so that we are not reacting but taking much more proactive approach,” Hingle says.

Companies are also looking to slim down how much packaging is necessary to send temperature-sensitive shipments around the country and world.

“Reducing the amount of packaging and having packaging be as reusable and practical is very much a concern,” Barakat says. “Whereas discarding packaging was inexpensive in years past, from the environmental standpoint and the costs associated, all that is changing.”

Phase 5 achieves this. As one of the longest-lasting phase-change materials on the market, this innovative packaging needs less material to keep an item safe and temperature-controlled. Less material equals less costs and less trash ending up in landfill. Customers are taking for granted that we’ll keep their product safe, but now they want to make sure it will be environmentally sustainable as well,” says Hingle.

Educating The Industry

The increase in products and services offered by TCP highlights an increased need for education within and outside the organization.

So, in order to ensure effective client and customer relationships, TCP commits to sharing knowledge and working alongside health care professionals and other industry experts to develop, improve and implement new packaging solutions on a continual basis.

“There is huge need for education, because our customers are developing the best products in the world, and we are following up with state-of-the-art packaging solutions,” Barakat says. “For the whole system to work effectively, we need to train and educate all the people involved.”

Inside the company, it also requires a concerted effort to maintain a consistent corporate culture across the board — a difficult task considering TCP’s rapid growth across two countries. In practice, this means continual training, enabling the free-flow of expertise and information within different parts of the company, and ensuring that TCP employees have the proper tools to do their jobs.

“We’re working on a way different scale than we’re used to operating,” Hingle says. “We have quite a wide range of experience and expertise. The key ingredient is being constantly in open dialogue, and making sure people within the organization have open access to other locations.”

But here too the company is finding solutions for itself, its customers and the future.

“All these companies have a very common culture — they’re very customer and quality focused, — so putting them together is a bit like engineering puzzle,” Barakat says. “In many ways, the transition has been easy, as everyone understands what takes to put the project together, and nobody has been diminished from practicing their specialty the same as they have in the past.

“Frankly, I think it’s a fun place to be.”

Click here to view the corporate brochure on TCP Reliable