After examining the material and
confirming his hunch, Klingman and PPG discussed marketing opportunities for the
material in the clean-room industry. (Klingman doesn't comment on the material's
name or specific makeup.) But because clean rooms adhere to stringent federal
guidelines, the synthetic material needed to be tested. PPG tested it to see how
many particles the material emitted when it was handled, flexed and so on. The
company sent the results to Klingman. Success! The material met the necessary
guidelines.
Klingman shared information about the
synthetic material with several manufacturers. Thanks in part to his instinct
and research, the material was an industry standard for clean-room printed
products for several years.
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Chuck Klingman, owner of
distributorship Commonwealth Graphic Services in Roanoke, Va., thrives on
new technologies, including radio-frequency identification, biometrics,
2-D bar codes, and smart cards and labels.
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The Move Into Print
Clean-room products account for approximately 45 percent of Commonwealth Graphic Services' sales. But Klingman wasn't always involved in this niche--or in the printing industry at all. After graduating with a degree in business administration from East Carolina University, Klingman pursued a career with JCPenney. He held several management positions with the retailer, including personnel manager and general manager. But after 15 years with JCPenney, Klingman wanted a change.
"I had always wanted to get into sales, and I thought I should do it before I got any older," Klingman says. This is where his story takes a familiar path: Klingman worked for UARCO, spending more than 12 years in sales with the former direct-selling manufacturer. UARCO provided a wonderful training ground, Klingman says, but he wanted to test the independent waters. He wasn't prepared, however, to branch out on his own. "When you're with a major company, you know how to get things through that company," he says. "But you need experience with independent sources."
To gain experience, Klingman worked as a sales rep with a Virginia distributorship for more than three years. He fostered relationships with label and forms manufacturers and continued to build a loyal client base. In 1997, he founded Commonwealth Graphic Services because "when you're working really hard, you want to make the money," Klingman says. "I knew I had the volume and the professional image to start my business."
The 5-year-old distributorship targets clients in a variety of markets, including health care, fiberoptics, computer and government. Klingman runs a lean operation: Although his title is owner and president, he acts as a jack-of-all-trades. Commonwealth Graphic Services' only other employee is Klingman's wife Betsy, who works part time handling filing and other secretarial duties.
A Clean Break
Klingman ventured into clean-room products for the same reason most distributors market new products--a customer request. One of his customers was a fiberoptics company that used bar coded labels to track parts during production. After items were manufactured, the company removed the labels, which included permanent adhesive, by soaking them in a vat. Afterward, the items were stored prior to shipment.
Most distributors would recognize a problem with this system: Why use a permanent adhesive when it forces the additional step of soaking products to remove labels? But the fiberoptics company had a bigger problem. The solution in which items were placed for label removal was contaminated by label, liner and glue residue. As each new item entered the vat, it also became contaminated. "They were continually contaminating products as they were trying to clean them," Klingman says.
The distributor tackled a 2-part project. First, he had to find a removable adhesive that would stick to parts during production, yet remove easily afterward. Second, he had to select clean room-friendly face stock, liners and adhesive, subjecting items to the least amount of contamination. Klingman began his quest by hitting the books.
Knowing very little about clean rooms, Klingman researched the industry at North Carolina State University, where his father was a professor. He uncovered an article about papers used in clean rooms that compared how six different papers reacted when tested in a small chamber for contaminants. The papers were flexed repeatedly, then a laser particle counter totaled the number of particles emitted.
After research and discussions with manufacturers, Klingman found a solution for the fiberoptics company. Today, he offers cut sheets, cards, labels and other printed products for clean rooms. He carefully selects the materials used in these products. For example, if a client requires roll labels for a thermal transfer printer, Klingman typically recommends a nylon or plastic core. Such materials emanate fewer airborne particles than cardboard cores, he says. In addition, some paper stocks, such as those bound by synthetic latex, minimize contamination.
Klingman's knowledge gives him an edge on competitors. Rather than deal with purchasing departments, he can talk to engineers about the correct labels and forms for their operations. Klingman stays up-to-date on new technologies by reading industry publications, such as CleanRooms magazine, and attending annual clean-room conferences.
Better, Cleaner, Faster Solutions
Klingman's clients have pushed him into newer technologies as well. "If I don't stay on top of the newest technologies, someone else will," he says.
One of Klingman's customers is a company that makes nuclear fuel. Because of the potential for terrorism, the client wants more secure employee ID badges. Among the options Commonwealth Graphic Services is researching is a badge with a 2-D Superscript bar code by Datastrip Inc. This high-density symbology allows users to store 2,100 bytes of information in a 3/4 x 3-inch space. The symbology can store biometric data, photographs and text, all of which can be verified online or offline with a hand-held bar code reader.
Another technology Klingman pursues for customers is smart cards and labels. These products are embedded with computer chips that can be either microprocessors with internal memory or memory chips only. They can store large quantities of data, carry out functions such as encryption and digital signatures, and interact intelligently with smart card and label readers. In addition, biometric templates can be created on smart cards and labels.
Like the captain of the starship Enterprise, Klingman likes to travel where no one has gone before. He excitedly discusses the possibilities inherent in new technologies, such as implanting DNA in paper as a security measure. Sure, he can offer clients run-of-the-mill solutions. "A blank piece of paper and a No. 2 pencil will work for a lot of applications," Klingman says. "But when you look at things like security, a bar code and other products will work a whole lot better."
As Klingman shows, distributors don't have to work in a sterile lab to succeed in the clean-room niche. They do have to develop knowledge and embrace the mission Klingman seems to take: better, cleaner, faster.
Susan Keen Flynn, a freelance writer based in Cleveland, is a frequent contributor to Print Solutions. Email us your comments at bholt@printsolutionsmag.com.
Clean-Room Basics
A clean room is a controlled environment with minimal contamination from dust and bacteria. People, processes, facilities and equipment continually generate contaminants. In clean rooms, people follow strict procedures to prevent contamination and to remove particles from the air. Airborne particles in clean rooms are kept to specified limits set forth by Federal Standard 209E.
Clean rooms typically are found in critical manufacturing environments, such as those in the electronics, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, medical device and aerospace industries. In addition, scientific and research labs rely on clean rooms. The only way to control contamination is to control the total environment: Air flow, pressurization, temperature, humidity and other factors are monitored tightly.
The air in most office buildings contains up to 1 million particles that are .5 microns in diameter and larger per cubic foot of air. (By comparison, a human hair is approximately 75 to 100 microns in diameter.) A Class 1000 clean room, however, contains no more than 1,000 particles per cubic foot. Particles that lead to contamination originate from numerous sources, including air conditioning debris, human skin flakes, clothing debris, cleaning chemicals, floor finishers and paper. In many industries, contamination can lead to expensive downtime and increased production costs.
