Tekni-Plex Inc. - Tekni-Plex Healthcare Group

For nearly four decades, Tekni-Plex Inc. has specialized in providing services and products to the pharmaceuticals and healthcare markets. “We really are set up as kind of a one-stop shop,” Vice President and General Manager John Zripko says.

Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pa., Tekni-Plex specializes in consumer and industrial packaging and products for not only healthcare and pharmaceuticals clients, but also the consumer and packaging industries.

In 1967, the company was incorporated as Tekni-Plex, and operated from a location in Brooklyn, N.Y., until adding a second location in Somerville, N.J., in 1971. Throughout the years, the firm continually expanded through acquisitions and the addition of new plants, with a strategy of using global manufacturing redundancy and strategic dual sourcing to meet and exceed customer expectations.

Tekni-Plex’s products for the pharmaceutical and healthcare markets include a complete line of packaging blister films, closure liners and medical-grade tubing. For the consumer and food markets, the company’s products include polystyrene trays for fresh produce, poultry and eggs.

To ensure it is meeting their needs, Tekni-Plex focuses on providing “a total solution approach” to its clients, Zripko explains. “We work with our clients from the early stage package design and development, through the post-launch phase,” he describes. “We offer the complete package.”

Ahead of the Curve
A key to Tekni-Plex’s success, Zripko says, has been its willingness to adopt new business models. “[We try] to always meet and exceed customer needs and expectations,” he says. “We’re always trying to anticipate what our customers are looking at down the road. [We’re also] continuing to reach out on the technology side to stay ahead of the curve.”

For example, at one of the company’s plants in Belgium, Tekni-Plex commissioned a state-of-the-art extrusion line that will allow it to overcome previous limitations with its packaging, Zripko says. Now, he says, the company will be able to produce innovative films and sheets by means of co-extrusion and extrusion coating. Just like its laminator, the co-extrusion line is built in a cleanroom environment.

Currently, Tekni-Plex operates four plants in Europe, which are involved in different technologies related to healthcare packaging: pharmaceutical blister films, closure liners, gaskets, seals, medical tubing and medical grade compounds.

The Needs of Tomorrow
One of the hurdles Tekni-Plex had in moving forward in the healthcare market was the design and subsequent implementation of IV delivery systems for certain unique and unstable medications of tomorrow.

Tekni-Plex’s SurePath™ 151 Co-Extruded Tubing is a combination of polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), specifically designed for administering unstable solutions such as nitroglycerine and insulin. Its unique PE layer construction also makes it ideal for anesthesia monitoring lines. The next generation co-extruded drug delivery systems have to meet and exceed current delivery systems in the marketplace by providing additional protection from light and absorption.

Tekni-Plex has met this challenge head on with its new SurePath 252, which consists of a combination of PE and thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), and was specifically designed for administering unstable solutions in applications that require plasticizer-free tubing. The inner layer of PE virtually eliminates the absorption of solutions into the tubing walls, reducing dosage inconsistencies. The outer layer of TPE provides the bonding capabilities necessary for most assembly operations, and provides protection against oxygen, light and moisture.

Finding Solutions
Sometimes Tekni-Plex partners with other firms to serve clients. “If there are core competencies we don’t have as an asset, we’ll [look to a partner],” Zripko says. “We’re trying to drive our clients to the best intended solution for their application.”

Once, Tekni-Plex needed to develop packaging for a medicine that required a blister pack and additional packaging to control the moisture and air inside the blister. “The components are so moisture sensitive, [that] it required going outside the traditional realm of materials available,” Zripko recalls.

Tekni-Plex partnered with CSP Technologies of Auburn, Ala. It developed a special desiccant film to control the package’s humidity. “Traditional materials weren’t getting the job done,” Zripko says, noting the innovation has been launched into a single product line.

Additionally, the concept can be produced in a transparent form. “Companies want to be able to see their product,” he says. “We have the ability to provide [this] technology in a clear blister package.”

A Broad Base
Like many, Tekni-Plex has been impacted by the economy. “It’s hard to find any business that hasn’t been affected by the current economic downturn,” Zripko admits, noting the company’s diversity in multiple markets helps it cope. “[By] having diversified our product lines and our portfolio, we have a broad enough base of business that we will always have some segments doing well, even when there’s an economic downturn.”

Looking ahead, Zripko says Tekni-Plex plans to continue as a market leader within its segments. For instance, “Healthcare is a significant part of the future of our organization,” he says. “We will continue to deploy assets or resources [to] continue to improve our products or services to those markets.”

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