Tempshield
“We at Tempshield, make a very specific product. And it's called a cryo glove and we invented this product 40 years ago. It's used to protect people who handle liquid nitrogen, which is a liquid at negative 320 degrees Fahrenheit from burns when it gets on their skin. So it's a waterproof highly insulated product, and it helps people really all over the world handle liquid nitrogen,” says Jim Woldenberg, President and CEO of Tempshield.
Tempshield started forty years ago by a husband and wife duo, the Sweeney's, Laura and Ted, on their kitchen table. They lived in Massachusetts at the time, and they were responding to a need in the marketplace. There were people that were getting injured handling liquid nitrogen and they had first discovered that there was a use for liquid nitrogen around 40 years ago in laboratories. There was a need for people to be protected because as the use grew, people started getting injuries. They developed their very first cryogenic protective glove and from there they developed aprons and gators because liquid nitrogen is a liquid, and it can splash on your clothes. If it gets on your clothes, it will absorb into the clothes and then of course right onto your skin.
They grew the company to the point where they needed to expand their factory and they decided to move up north to Trenton, Maine.
Courtesy of Tempshield
Jim told me his first experience being in Maine was when he was visiting the Tempshield space when he officially took it over back in 2018 and how he was taken back by the staff’s hard work and culture surrounded by perfection. “One of the things that struck me when I walked into that factory, which was the first time I stepped foot in the state of Maine in December 2017. This is a heck of an introductory time to come to Maine but when I walked into that factory I knew was a special place. It was a special place because they're making the world's best product in its category. The way that they make it is so meticulous and detail-oriented because if they don't make the product perfect, someone could get hurt. This is what was established by Laura and Ted Sweeney and is continued to be pursued at the company. It is deeply ingrained in the people that work there. So I knew this was a special place I knew was a special company with products that are, you know, how often can you be involved with a company that makes the best product in the world? Right? And, and I pointed that out to the people that work there. I said, you guys may not realize this, but you make the best product in the world in its category. It's not a huge category, but you make the number one product,” said Jim.
While the takeover was exciting it definitely had its challenges as the employees didn’t want to face change. “When I bought the business, I got on an airplane and flew out to me. So I wanted to be there the day that people found out that ownership change introduced myself because it can be a scary thing. Especially because I'm from out of town and that kind of thing. So I showed up there and we had a meeting where I explained why I was there and what the thinking was behind this acquisition, and they were peppering me with questions, all kinds of questions about you know, what my plans were, what was going to happen, you know, why are you doing this, who are you, all this stuff and I felt like I was on the spot. Finally, somebody in the back room stands up and says, Okay, look, I'm from California. I've lived in Maine for 15 years, but I'm from California. I’m going to try to translate what's going on in this room right now. These people are all from Maine, Maine towns all over Maine have been decimated by outsiders coming in buying businesses and then shipping the jobs elsewhere, whether it's to Asia, Central America, or someplace else. So these towns that had a paper mill or a shoe factory, or a textile factory or a shirt factory that employed 1000 people, all those people got put out of work, and the town started going downhill. That's what's happened all over the state and that's why you're getting these questions. That's what people are really concerned about. Now today, we employ more people than we did when I bought the business and the business is growing at a rapid rate. We're making all kinds of investments,” said Jim.
Courtesy of Tempshield
Tempshield’s gear is used in the medical field, particularly with handling the recent rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the rocket fuel, food preparation, particle physics industries, and much more.
“Our gloves are unlikely to be seen when folks get their vaccine because the nurse or the medical technician that will be handling the vaccine has it already in the syringe. The way that we recognize our gloves, is we see them on the news all the time, which is really, you know, quite satisfying for people involved in making the product. It's blue and the label has black writing with a little red stripe on it and so it's very easy for us making the product to tell it's ours,” says Jim.
There is a high demand for these gloves especially with the ongoing rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines; the team never slows down. “We ship all over the world into 7080 countries every year and our demand is up magnitudes from what it was a year ago. We're working seven days a week to produce the gloves for the customers. That is our number one focus. We're not even focused on the profit margin on the gloves at this point. We just need to get them made and out to the customers. We're just focused on producing enough to meet demand,” says Jim.
The design process behind the gloves is quite intense and they’re a lot of variables to consider before shipping out the product to the customer.
“The cryogenic gloves are highly regulated. In certain jurisdictions like in the EU, they're extremely regulated. So we have to, once we establish the design, it has to be made that way; down to the threads that we use and the number of stitches and the components or it won't meet its certifications. The certifications involve physical testing, as well as you know, the component lists, and the description of how we make the product. We're also an ISO 9001 rated factory. We work in a highly regulated area in safety products and so the design of the product has to meet these very stringent needs and abrasion resistance on cold resistance on liquid resistance. And all that is very, very regulated and tightly controlled,” said Jim.
Courtesy of Tempshield
Who knew we had highly skilled Mainers crafting cryogenic protective gear, hear more about the craft behind Tempshield in this new episode of Makers of Maine.