Trenton maker of cold-temp gear finds room to expand with $1.2M off-market deal

Courtesy / Tempshield Tempshield in Trenton makes protective gear for ultra-cold environments. The company is expanding.

Write a Comment

By Laurie Schreiber

The owner of a Trenton-based Tempshield, which manufactures protective gear for ultra-cold environments, found room to expand right across the street from its existing facility.

The buyer, 16 Industrial Way LLC, acquired 12-16 Industrial Way from RM Revocable Trust for $1.2 million. The property includes a 10,000-square-foot industrial building on 2.6 acres.

Tom Dunham and Greg Hastings from the Dunham Group brokered the sale.

“Our business is such that we need more space for manufacturing,” said Jim Woldenberg, who owns Tempshield.

Boat business leaseback

Dunham said the off-market deal came about when he made a "cold" call to the property’s owner, Ronald Murphy, who had developed a significant business but was beginning to consider semi-retirement.

Courtesy / Jim Woldenberg

An industrial building at 12-16 Industrial Way in Trenton will accommodate expansion of Tempshield, which makes protective gear for ultra-cold environments at its existing facility across the street.

Murphy has operated his boat transportation and storage business, Murphy Yacht Transport Inc., at the property for more than 20 years. He negotiated a leaseback with Woldenberg on a portion of the property to continue to operate on a smaller scale for the next couple of years.

The Hinckley Co., which has a boat manufacturing plant next door, is one of Murphy’s biggest customers. Other boatbuilders, including SW Boatworks in Lamoine and Wesmac Custom Boats in Surry, as well as fishermen, also regularly use his services.

Ultra-cold protection

Woldenberg is also the president of Heathrow Scientific LLC, a Vernon Hills, Ill., manufacturer of equipment such as centrifuges and microscope slide storage equipment.

Tempshield, at 23 Industrial Way, was acquired in 2018. But Heathrow Scientific does not own Tempshield, which is an independent company, he noted. They are sister companies under common ownership.

Tempshield started in 1980 to make cryo-gloves. According to its website, the founders’ goal was to create a much-needed product that would protect the hands from dangerous burns that could be caused by liquid nitrogen and other cryogens.

The product was well received, and the business grew quickly. Operations were moved from the founders’ home to the Trenton facility, which is approved by the International Organization for Standardization.

Since then, the company added aprons, face shields and gaiters. Tempshield now has 25 employees, up from 14 or 15 in 2018.

Woldenberg expects to be operational in the new facility by the end of 2022, or early 2023. The site will be dedicated to cutting operations, while sewing and assembly will be expanded in the existing facility.

To create the gloves and other products, fabric is cut by hand and the multiple layers are assembled. Each glove is individually inspected. The products are certified by U.S. and international testing agencies to meet stringent requirements for safe cryogenic handling. Ultra-cold applications may be as low as minus-320 degrees Fahrenheit.

Growing business

Business at Tempshield has continued to grow, said Woldenberg.

“We like Trenton and our team members live nearby,” he said. “When the property across the street became available, we were able to purchase it, which makes managing multiple locations easier.”

The property includes three structures. The seller has leased back about half the land and two smaller structures. Tempshield will expand into a 10,000-square-foot structure for manufacturing.

Renovations of the building are underway.

“It was used for boat repair, so it needs some infrastructure,” Woldenberg said. “We’re putting in new electronics and windows and closing some of the overhead doors — we don’t need to move boats in and out. We’ll install our cutting machinery, moving it from across the street, and bring in new equipment.”

Total investment for the fit-up is expected to be under $500,000.

“The structure is sound,” he added.

Consumer brand

Part of Tempshield’s expansion is due to the establishment of a consumer brand.

“We took our manufacturing and materials expertise and designed a mitt for consumers,” he said. “They’re being sold by a select group of retailers in Maine. This fall they’ll be sold by L.L.Bean at their flagship store and online.”

Courtesy / Tempshield

A pair of Tempshield’s new consumer mitts, Mainers.

Unlike the gloves for scientific, industrial and military use, the consumer gear isn’t rated for cryogenic applications. Instead, they’re waterproof and highly insulated for uses such as snowmobiling, ice fishing and cross-country skiing.

The consumer brand is called Mainers, and launched in November 2020.

“A week later they announced the Pfizer vaccine and we got inundated with orders for cryo-gloves, so we had to pull the product launch,” he said.

The product was relaunched in 2021 and was picked up by retailers such as Portland Dry Goods and Bangor Motor Sports, with further rollouts this fall at places such as Kittery Trading Post and L.L.Bean.

“We’re producing as many as we can,” Woldenberg said. “It’s closely tied to what we’re projecting for demand.”

About half of Tempshield’s products are exported overseas. Woldenberg said that not a lot of winter wear is made in the U.S.

“Some companies make gloves for government contracts,” he said. “But at any sporting goods store, you’ll see almost all are made in Asia. So we’re kind of unique in that way, too — a U.S.A. product, made in Maine.”