The flagship product of TemperPack Technologies is ClimaCell, a thermal insulating packaging liner. (Photos courtesy of TemperPack Technologies)
With a big round of capital in hand, TemperPack Technologies plans to expand its manufacturing square footage and launch new packaging products.
The Henrico County-based maker of the patented ClimaCell thermal insulation liners announced this week that it has closed on a $140 million capital raise. The funding pot is nearly twice what the company has raised to-date through investors.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management led the latest round, which included Tao Capital Partners, Grosvenor Food and AgTech, Harbert Growth Partners, Revolution Growth, Arborview Capital and SJF Ventures.
TemperPack intends to open two more manufacturing facilities, one in the Southwest and the other in the Midwest, in the next several years. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Henrico County and Las Vegas, and some of the raise will fund new equipment at the existing facilities.
Bob Beckler
“The investment is going to be used in a couple ways around ClimaCell to continue to invest in the expansion and efficiency of the line at those two plants and also to increase our footprint in North America over the next two to three years,” CEO Bob Beckler said Wednesday.
ClimaCell is intended as an alternative to Styrofoam for shipping perishable foods, medicines and other life science products.
Though mum on the details, Beckler said the funding will also go toward new product development. The company wants to roll out non-thermal packaging materials, which Beckler called the company’s answer to things like packing peanuts and protective foam for items like consumer electronics during shipping.
“Basically, we have a backlog of new products,” he said. “These funds will help us get to market.”
The company has used previous investment rounds to finance expansions at the Henrico plant, which is at 4447 Carolina Ave. and is now 300,000 square feet, as well as the now 200,000-square-foot facility in Las Vegas.
The new facilities would be in the range of 200,000 square feet, Beckler said.
ClimaCell liners are used by TemperPack customers to line boxes to ensure the contents remain at a stable temperature. TemperPack’s liners are used in the food and health sectors by companies like HelloFresh and New England Biolabs.
Beckler said there’s growing customer demand for environmentally friendly products like TemperPack’s liner, and the trend has increased during the pandemic.
“(The pandemic) increased ecommerce and increased delivery to the home. While consumers love the convenience of home delivery, they hate to throw the packaging in the trash,” he said.
He said the company sold enough liners in 2021 to outfit 30 million packages.
The company expanded into the European market in 2019. It plans to further expand its international business as well as eventually build plants in other countries to support those operations.
“We envision global expansion of the business, but plans aren’t fully defined, and they are several years out,” Beckler said. “This investment will get us well down that path and over the next couple years we’ll put pins in the map.”
The company has more than 300 employees, and about 60 percent of them are based in the Richmond area. Its headquarters is in its Caroline Avenue facility, and it has a research-and-development lab at 2660 Decatur St. in Clopton Siteworks.
TemperPack, which reached profitability last year, hasn’t been immune to inflation and hiring difficulties that have been felt across business sectors. Driver shortages at trucking companies have increased the cost of moving raw materials to its plants and finished products out to customers.
“It costs more, and availability (of drivers) has been less and that’s been a challenge for our business,” Beckler said.
Beckler said TemperPack has missed the worst of workforce shortages given it makes a product intended to replace plastics and environmentally harmful packing materials.
“You can go and get a paycheck anywhere,” he said. “But if you can get paid to work for a company doing something positive, there’s a sector of the labor market motivated by that.”
Beckler came on as CEO in mid-2021. He had been the chairman of TemperPack’s board of directors since 2017 and continues to hold that post.
Former CEO and co-founder Brian Powers is now the company’s chief growth officer. Powers founded the company in 2015 along with Chief Product Officer James McGoff and Chief Technology Officer Charles Vincent.
Prior to the most recent raise, the company had received more than $75 million in investor capital, Beckler said.
The flagship product of TemperPack Technologies is ClimaCell, a thermal insulating packaging liner. (Photos courtesy of TemperPack Technologies)
With a big round of capital in hand, TemperPack Technologies plans to expand its manufacturing square footage and launch new packaging products.
The Henrico County-based maker of the patented ClimaCell thermal insulation liners announced this week that it has closed on a $140 million capital raise. The funding pot is nearly twice what the company has raised to-date through investors.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management led the latest round, which included Tao Capital Partners, Grosvenor Food and AgTech, Harbert Growth Partners, Revolution Growth, Arborview Capital and SJF Ventures.
TemperPack intends to open two more manufacturing facilities, one in the Southwest and the other in the Midwest, in the next several years. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Henrico County and Las Vegas, and some of the raise will fund new equipment at the existing facilities.
Bob Beckler
“The investment is going to be used in a couple ways around ClimaCell to continue to invest in the expansion and efficiency of the line at those two plants and also to increase our footprint in North America over the next two to three years,” CEO Bob Beckler said Wednesday.
ClimaCell is intended as an alternative to Styrofoam for shipping perishable foods, medicines and other life science products.
Though mum on the details, Beckler said the funding will also go toward new product development. The company wants to roll out non-thermal packaging materials, which Beckler called the company’s answer to things like packing peanuts and protective foam for items like consumer electronics during shipping.
“Basically, we have a backlog of new products,” he said. “These funds will help us get to market.”
The company has used previous investment rounds to finance expansions at the Henrico plant, which is at 4447 Carolina Ave. and is now 300,000 square feet, as well as the now 200,000-square-foot facility in Las Vegas.
The new facilities would be in the range of 200,000 square feet, Beckler said.
ClimaCell liners are used by TemperPack customers to line boxes to ensure the contents remain at a stable temperature. TemperPack’s liners are used in the food and health sectors by companies like HelloFresh and New England Biolabs.
Beckler said there’s growing customer demand for environmentally friendly products like TemperPack’s liner, and the trend has increased during the pandemic.
“(The pandemic) increased ecommerce and increased delivery to the home. While consumers love the convenience of home delivery, they hate to throw the packaging in the trash,” he said.
He said the company sold enough liners in 2021 to outfit 30 million packages.
The company expanded into the European market in 2019. It plans to further expand its international business as well as eventually build plants in other countries to support those operations.
“We envision global expansion of the business, but plans aren’t fully defined, and they are several years out,” Beckler said. “This investment will get us well down that path and over the next couple years we’ll put pins in the map.”
The company has more than 300 employees, and about 60 percent of them are based in the Richmond area. Its headquarters is in its Caroline Avenue facility, and it has a research-and-development lab at 2660 Decatur St. in Clopton Siteworks.
TemperPack, which reached profitability last year, hasn’t been immune to inflation and hiring difficulties that have been felt across business sectors. Driver shortages at trucking companies have increased the cost of moving raw materials to its plants and finished products out to customers.
“It costs more, and availability (of drivers) has been less and that’s been a challenge for our business,” Beckler said.
Beckler said TemperPack has missed the worst of workforce shortages given it makes a product intended to replace plastics and environmentally harmful packing materials.
“You can go and get a paycheck anywhere,” he said. “But if you can get paid to work for a company doing something positive, there’s a sector of the labor market motivated by that.”
Beckler came on as CEO in mid-2021. He had been the chairman of TemperPack’s board of directors since 2017 and continues to hold that post.
Former CEO and co-founder Brian Powers is now the company’s chief growth officer. Powers founded the company in 2015 along with Chief Product Officer James McGoff and Chief Technology Officer Charles Vincent.
Prior to the most recent raise, the company had received more than $75 million in investor capital, Beckler said.
I was curious about the company’s claim that its products were “environmentally friendly,” so checked its website. I am skeptical about recycling programs in general (especially re: plastics) but this company’s products and approach appear to be impressive. From the website: “The next question about recyclability is: “do paper fibers in ClimaCell liners provide valuable material in the making of new products?” The answer is Yes. ClimaCell is certified repulpable by Western Michigan University’s Pilot Plants Program, using the OCC-E Voluntary Standard testing protocols laid out by the Fibre Box Association and the American Forest & Paper Association. In the… Read more »