Innovation, Green Products, Sustainability in a Global Market Drive TAPCO Growth

Move to Larger Facility Will Accommodate Rising Demand for Traffic Signs, Parking Controls, Streetscape Products 1.22.09

Traffic and Parking Control Co Inc. - TAPCO, an Elm Grove Company, that is benefiting from an increased desire for traffic safety and energy efficiency in the U.S. and internationally, is moving to larger quarters in Brown Deer to accommodate business growth. TAPCO is doubling its size in its new headquarters and expanding its workforce.

TAPCO is renovating a former printing plant at 5100 W. Brown Deer Rd., Brown Deer and expects to move into the 128,000-square-foot building in March, 2009.

“We need to give this company the space it needs to grow,” said Richard “Rick” Bergholz, the CEO, son of the company founder and one of its two owners. “We’re just jammed in here now,” he added, referring to the TAPCO’s 57,000-square-foot existing facility in Elm Grove.

The late Raymond Bergholz founded the company in the basement of his Wauwatosa  home in 1956. Demand for the company’s innovative traffic and parking control products has risen steadily since those early beginnings. “However, it’s not just a heightened concern for traffic safety that has fostered TAPCO’s growth,” according to John Kugel, president and co-owner of the company. “The growth also can be attributed to the company’s enterprising culture, to its early engagement with green, sustainable products and materials plus its recent entry into the Federal government’s marketplace,” he said.

Innovation Powers Business

BlinkerSigns® are perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the innovation TAPCO embraces. “The solar-powered traffic signs incorporate LED technology to create a blinking sign that is much more visible than an unlit sign, thus increasing safety for both drivers and pedestrians,” Bergholz said. “While the process was a long one to get the Federal government and states to approve the signs, they are now widely seen as a preferred way to increase safety in a wide variety of traffic settings,” he added.

BlinkerSigns are most commonly used at urban crosswalks and dangerous Stop sign locations but have been adapted to numerous ITS applications.

“Innovation is the No. 1 way to recession-proof yourself,” said Andrew Bergholz, a company vice president and Rick’s son. “At the end of the day, what really matters though is that the products work. BlinkerSigns® are a great example of innovation that responds to a real need and that works much better than traditional non-lighted signs.”

Traffic safety signs are not the only application for LED technology, however. “LED technology is a common factor in a variety of our new products,” Kugel said. “TAPCO is now making solar street name signs that are internally illuminated by the LED system. Expect to see LED street lights in the coming years as well, including Milwaukee’s historic Harp lights,” he added.

Green Is A Priority

“LED products are not only innovative, they are green as well,” Rick Bergholz said, “requiring far less energy to function and, in many cases, using solar power. LED Products can last up to 20 times longer than traditional lights. Green has become a priority for TAPCO, allowing the company to meet demand for sustainable products and to give customers ways to reduce energy consumption.”

“We are probably the most unknown green company in Wisconsin,” he said. “Its sustainable focus is especially seen in materials it uses. Signposts are made from recycled steel, for example.” Bergholz estimated the posts recycle one million pounds of steel each year. Speed bumps and car stops are another example – both made from recycled rubber and plastic, such as the plastic from milk jugs.

“Recycling only works when there are markets for recycled materials,” Kugel said. “We’re creating that demand, and at the same time giving our customers the green solutions they are looking for.”

New Markets

TAPCO’s traditional base of business has been municipalities, states and businesses in the U.S. but exports and Federal government contracting have opened new opportunities for TAPCO overseas. “Two years ago, exporting was zero percent of our business, now it’s 10 to 15 percent of gross sales,” Kugel said. TAPCO has done business in the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Russia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Iraq.

“Most of the developing countries seem to need our products even more than we need them in the U.S.,” Rick Bergholz said. “With so many developing countries trying to upgrade their highways, infrastructure and citizen safety, we believe we have a bright future in exporting.” The first major export contract was for Jamaica – a connection that has fostered continued business with the island nation.

“That contract involved providing all the traffic signage and peripherals needed for that country’s new freeway system that links all of the tourist destinations across the northern coast,” Rick Bergholz said. “Although the majority of those signs were delivered more than a year ago, we are still getting new orders from Jamaica today.”

The reconstruction of Iraq also has presented opportunities for TAPCO. The company manufactured and sold Arabic language signs and other products to help that country return to normal. TAPCO anticipates exporting will become a greater part of its business.

“The Internet has been a big help in that area, along with the Wisconsin Procurement Institute and other state-of-the-art marketing tools we have learned to use,” Rick Bergholz said. “It’s been nothing short of amazing that just a few years ago we had zero government business and zero export business.”

WPI Guides the Way

Sales to federal agencies have been fostered by TAPCO’s involvement with the Wisconsin Procurement Institute (WPI), a non-profit organization that guides companies into the U.S. government marketplace. TAPCO’s Federal government customers include the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Park Service.

“There is a learning process when you enter any new market, but the Federal sector has some unique business factors,” Andrew Bergholz said. “WPI has been a tremendous resource for us in gaining a growing share of that market. They are a great business resource for this state, giving companies the knowledge and tools to bring federal dollars back to Wisconsin.” He advises patience for businesses interested in the Federal marketplace. “You need to invest time to learn the market and make connections. There are a lot of intangibles involved,” he said. “But once you understand the system, the business can be good, and you can be pretty confident in the stability of the way business is conducted.” He also noted that payment is never an issue with the Federal agencies. “They pay, and they pay on time.”

Andrew Bergholz sees an additional benefit to the Federal contract work, along with the direct revenue it provides. “While TAPCO has long done business around the country, the Federal contract work helps raise our visibility. Wisconsin is sometimes out of mind for people in other parts of the country. This is one more way for us to gain exposure.”

“TAPCO has done an excellent job learning the process and then using that knowledge to win Federal contracts through the Government Services Administration,” said Aina Vilumsons, executive director of WPI. It’s good to see that the increased Federal business is a factor in their need for bigger facilities. We really try hard to help Wisconsin companies bring Federal dollars back to Wisconsin. That’s the kind of business we all want to stimulate – bringing outside dollars into Wisconsin.”

Busting at the Seams

The new business has left the company with no room for additional growth at its Elm Grove site. “If you look at it from the 20-year perspective, we just had to make this move,” Rick Bergholz said. The search for space was challenging and frustrating, stated Bergholz and Kugel.

“First, we wanted to stay in the Elm Grove/Wauwatosa area, but there isn’t much available with the square footage that we needed,” Rick Bergholz said. So they expanded their search, but became frustrated with a seeming lack of interest among community leaders to help them find a suitable site. “We did not see a lot of welcoming arms,” remarked Kugel. “Meanwhile, communities in other states, especially North Carolina, were courting us.”

They found allies in the Wisconsin Department of Commerce “who opened doors and made things happen,” Rick Bergholz said. “If it weren’t for their efforts, we would have moved to North Carolina,” he added.

Bonding Will Finance Move

The Department of Commerce in cooperation with the Village of Brown Deer helped the company secure a $5.1 million Industrial Revenue Bond allocation to help buy the Brown Deer building. 

"One of Governor Jim Doyle's top priorities is to invest in manufacturing," said Department of Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel. "I am pleased that we could help TAPCO expand its business and remain in Wisconsin."

The company anticipates its expansion project will lead to creation of 15 new jobs, on top of its current base of 120 employees. TAPCO will invest about $1 million to renovate the building, incorporating green, sustainable building practices as much as possible. Briohn Building Corp. of Brookfield is serving as the general contractor, working off architectural work by Philip Katz Project Development of Milwaukee.

Large Retail Showroom

Along with the additional manufacturing space TAPCO in Brown Deer, the facility will provide for a 20,000-square-foot customer showroom that will be open to the public. In Elm Grove, product displays are limited to the reception area and an exterior patio.

“With all the additional room, we hope to boost our nationally distributed cataloging efforts as well as providing new customer friendly services like a quick turnaround sign shop,” Kugel said.

The company anticipates that the new location will boost sales to the private sector. “We don’t just sell to government entities, we also sell to private businesses and to the public in general. The Brown Deer location will dramatically increase our local visibility,” Andrew Bergholz said. A new sign shop also will be part of the Brown Deer facility, allowing the company to provide 24-hour service.

Renovation Has Green Angle

“The renovation project includes installation of high-efficiency lighting, new ducting and controls for the HVAC system,” remarked Rick Bergholz. “Natural lighting will also be expanded through use of Solatubes. A portion of the roof will hold solar panels for electricity generation.”

An example of TAPCO’s unique green innovation is a parking canopy heated with solar power. TAPCO is developing single-vehicle canopies for commercial and residential use. Initially, the solar power will provide heat, but the company also envisions the systems could provide power for electric cars.

The Elm Grove building and property, which is zoned for light manufacturing, is for sale through The Boerke Co., a Milwaukee commercial real estate firm.

“It’s the only manufacturing building in Elm Grove,” Rick Bergholz noted. “But it’s suitable for a variety of uses.” 

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