Cambridge Security Seals LLC.

 

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November 23, 2015 Issue

The Most Powerful Name In Corporate News and Information

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Manufacturer of Tamper Resistant and Tamper Evident Security Seals and Loss Prevention Seals

 

 

Elisha Tropper

CEO

 

Cambridge Security Seals LLC.

www.cambridgeseals.com

 

Interview conducted by:

Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – November 23, 2015

 

CEOCFO: Mr. Tropper, Cambridge Security Seals has a sixty plus year legacy. What is the focus of the company today?

Mr. Tropper: Cambridge Security Seals is a domestic manufacturer of tamper evident and tamper resistant security seals and also a distributor of high security loss prevention seals to customers across a very wide range of industries and vertical markets.

 

CEOCFO: Would you tell us a little bit about the range of products you are making seals for and why we want a seal from Cambridge?

Mr. Tropper: Just about any industry can or does use security seals since they serve an important purpose in providing tamper evidence to anything that needs to be secured. Security-conscious industries, in particular, such as the freight, logistics, distribution, and trucking markets, use specific types of security seals. Other transportation industries who count on security seals include railroads and airlines. Of course, you have those markets and industries who are ever-vigilant about deterring theft and tampering, including pharmaceuticals, medical, food and beverage, electronics, consumer goods, agriculture, cash handling, and even retail. And then there are the more niche specialty areas, like fisheries, ballot boxes, and couriers. Virtually every business has a use for security seals, particularly those that are looking to ensure that items being transported from point A to point B arrive at Point B in the same secure condition in which they left Point A.

 

CEOCFO: Since there is such a large variety why are they all under one roof with Cambridge?

Mr. Tropper: CSS primarily sells the specific types of security seals that secure containers – from a small specialty bag for diamonds to a 40 foot container or even a warehouse – at any and every point of access. For example, seals go on the back of trucks. They secure retail distribution totes. They secure ballot boxes. They secure airline catering carts. In most cases, they are essentially customized single-use locks or ties that are individually and uniquely marked to serve as security seals. What defines and distinguishes a single-use security seal is that it needs to be broken to gain access, and once it is broken it can never be sealed again.

 

CEOCFO: Are there standard types of seals? Where does the customization come in? Are you selling some sort of commodity like products as well? 

Mr. Tropper: Each customer has at some point chosen a type of seal that they are comfortable with and that meets their needs. There are several different families of seal designs in a variety of constructions. Within each family there are customization options. For example, you can select a pull-tight seal or a fixed-length seal. You can choose the different materials such as HDPE or polypropylene. You can choose different strengths of seals. Each seal typically has a space to print information, and some of CSS seals offer the ability to extend that print area to accommodate more information or graphics. You can choose from a wide range of seal lengths. You can choose different colors, or in the case of multiple component seals, different color combinations. You can choose to print standard or 3D barcodes. You can choose to print logos or alphanumeric characters. Essentially, there is a great deal of customization that you have the option to explore, with the key security-driven factor that each seal must be a unique seal.  Every company wants a program in place that enables them to keep a secure and auditable trail, so their seal must not be something that can be easily replicated.

 

CEOCFO: Would you typically help a company figure out what is best for them?

Mr. Tropper: Yes. In some cases, we work with experienced companies who have already spent a great deal of time on their security program and know exactly what they need. In other cases, customers will come to us and say, “Can we do better?” and we are happy to sit down, review their programs, analyze their seals, and show them what options they may or may not be aware of to improve their seals and improve their program. Remember, it is not just the seal itself that is essential to providing security, but it is the entirety of the program and ability to track and trace using the seal as the security reference point. You can put all the seals in the world on your container, but if no one is tracking the seals properly to ensure that the same seal that leaves point A is still affixed when it arrives at point B, then the seal merely serves as a visual deterrent, and not really a full-fledged element of a tamper-evident or theft deterrent process.

 

CEOCFO: Do you develop tracking software? Would it work with a software program that a company already has? Where does that portion come into play?

Mr. Tropper: For the vast majority of customers, a security seal works within their own system, where they simply note the seal number at point A, where seal is affixed - whether it is a container, a truck, or a beverage cart or anything else. Upon sealing at point A, the unique identifying number or barcode is scanned or manually recorded. That information goes into their system. When it arrives at its destination, Point B, before breaking the seal, the receiver must confirm that the seal is the same seal as the system indicates was affixed Point A, and that the seal is intact. That simple process ensures integrity. There is specialty software that can do this, but most companies have this capability built into their systems and processes already.

 

CEOCFO: What is the competitive landscape?

Mr. Tropper: There used to be quite a few different security seal manufacturing companies in North America. A private equity fueled consolidation has dramatically reduced the options for customer in North America. At this point, there are really just a handful of manufacturers that actually manufacture in North America. And there are companies that import products that are manufactured in Europe and Asia.

 

CEOCFO: Is Made in America important today?

Mr. Tropper: Made in America is important, but not to the point that customers are willing to sacrifice quality, price, service or options. From our standpoint as an American manufacturer, the big advantage that Made in America gives us is quicker turnaround times for custom products. Our lead times are dramatically shorter than anything that is not produced in America. In addition, domestic manufacturing enables us to produce and ensure a very precise, high level of quality. In fact, customers are able to come, if they like, and observe their product being produced at our facility, to better understand the extensive levels of quality control and security that go CSS’s manufacturing of their products.

 

CEOCFO: Is customer service used a great deal in your industry? Is it important to have customer service provided from the US? 

Mr. Tropper: We’ve all seen many businesses where there was a lot of lip service paid to the importance of customer service. I have never been in any industry where it was literally as critical as any other component to providing the product effectively to the customer. Customer service at Cambridge Security Seals is very important because we are dealing with customers ordering, over the course of a year, hundreds of thousands or millions of seals, each individually and uniquely identifiable, with multiple options, where customers can not afford to ever run out of a security seal. Therefore, it is imperative for us to work with our customers to ensure that they have the exact product they need, constructed exactly the way they want it, when they want it, and where they want it.  And in many cases, we are dealing with customers shipping seals to multiple locations. Simply put, security seals are critical to their operations. Seals may be a very small part of their entire operations, but those operations can be brought to a sudden halt if the seal is not produced and delivered with precision.

 

CEOCFO: Do most of your customers realize how important it is or do they realize it when there is a problem and then they can back it up, because it is CSS?

Mr. Tropper: Customers who have had problems in the past certainly know, all too well, how important the services we offer are. Customers who have never had problems intuitively know that the services are important, but until they experience a service failure, might not fully understand the full impact. At CSS, we work to provide our customers with the ability to sleep at night, to know with confidence that the one thing they do not have to worry about is getting the right seal, that it will perform properly, and that it will be there on time, when they need it and where they need it.

 

CEOCFO: What is your geographic range today?

Mr. Tropper: We are currently servicing customers all across North America. We also have CSS Europe, which sells throughout the European continent. We are also selling to various spots in Central and Latin America as well. To this point, those areas have been the focus of our business. We certainly have plans to cover the rest of the world, but at this point those are our core areas of concentration.

 

CEOCFO: How do you reach potential customers? Do people use online search as a way of reaching you as well?

Mr. Tropper: Certainly, online search is important. Our website, www.cambridgeseals.com, is important and we try very hard to communicate in a simple, but effective way, exactly what our products are about and what we can do for customers. We have a small but very strong sales force that targets certain industries to develop relationships with customers, especially those customers who have more extensive seal or service requirements. In general, word of mouth for us has been fantastic. We get a huge number of referrals from other customers, which has helped us grow our business as well.

 

CEOCFO: Are there new materials and new equipment that you are able to take advantage of or has it been tried and true for a while now?

Mr. Tropper: Our team is continuously researching materials and designing new products and innovative manufacturing processes. Each production line that we develop is better than the previous ones that we have made. We take advantage of design enhancements and new technologies that become available. Sometimes, we take advantage of the lowering cost of technologies, employing that which was previously too expensive to make sense in this type of operation. The training of our employees in specialty areas is also very important in order to maximize our production advantages. So while our product itself may look very somewhat similar to other competitive products in the marketplace - and to products that have been around for quite a few years -  in reality the product that we are producing today is a better product, produced in a considerably more effective and efficient way than has been done before. That innovation is what enables us to compete so effectively with the lower cost countries while still manufacturing in the United States.

 

CEOCFO: Do people understand the quality? How can you prove quality to new people?

Mr. Tropper: In some cases, customers test the product and we happily let our performance speak for itself. Often, if a potential customer has not had problems with the quality of a competitive product, then the quality is really not an issue for them. I like to think of it as: we may produce the Cadillac of the product, but if someone is very happy with their Chevy, that’s their prerogative. We are comfortable producing the very best product we can. Incidentally, it’s not like we charge more for our product than anyone else. We are confident that we are delivering much more than any of our competitors.

 

CEOCFO: You mentioned CSS Europe, which is a fairly recent launch for you. Why is this the time to go into Europe?

Mr. Tropper: Our company is relatively young and we needed time to establish both a product line and a solid customer base in North America, which is where we are based. The time to set up shop in Europe was dictated by the market, as we found ourselves responding to more and more inquiries and requests from European customers. Rather than try to continue to service them from New York, we felt it would be much more effective to service them from Europe itself. As a result, CSS Europe was set up earlier this year, and based in Amsterdam.

 

CEOCFO: What is ahead? What might be different a year from now for CSS?

Mr. Tropper: We are still experiencing very strong growth. We are adding products, adding customers, and with CSS Europe we are really adding a whole new geography. When you are continually expanding like we are - adding production lines, capacity, products, and geographic markets – I think that what drives you is the pursuit of that greater scale. Scale gives us the ability to invest further in the company to provide more for our customers, and to continue to broaden what we offer our customers. Looking ahead, we will be increasing the breadth and depth of our product lines and services, and continuing to develop into a comprehensive organization that effectively competes on a global scale in the security seals business.

 

CEOCFO: Are your manufacturing facilities adequate for the anticipated growth? Will you need to add to your facility?

Mr. Tropper: At some point in the near future, we expect to embark on a more significant expansion of our facilities. Right now, we are adequately positioned following some minor expansion activities which we have completed over the past year. At CSS, we engage in lean manufacturing, which is a crucial contributor to our success. Adding capacity without having to add to our physical footprint is a challenge we continually embrace. However, we will reach the point where we will simply have to expand, and we are looking forward to pursuing that at some point in the next year or two.

 

CEOCFO: Why should people choose Cambridge Security Seals?

Mr. Tropper: What makes CSS such an extraordinary company is our dedication to providing a top quality product with extremely strong customer service - and doing so at a price that is as competitive as anyone out there. This makes us the overall best value in the industry. That being said, I think that customers get a feeling when they work with our company. It’s a good feeling that makes them want to work together with us. They know we have their back. They know we are looking to build a long term relationship with them and help their business succeed and grow. CSS really is that kind of company. Our customers appreciate that we are trying to understand their needs and continually trying to improve the delivery of our products and services to meet those needs. There is a comfort factor that many of our customers would tell you really is the best reason to buy from Cambridge Security Seals.



 

“From our standpoint as an American manufacturer, the big advantage that Made in America gives us is quicker turnaround times for custom products. Our lead times are dramatically shorter than anything that is not produced in America. In addition, domestic manufacturing enables us to produce and ensure a very precise, high level of quality.”- Elisha Tropper


 

Cambridge Security Seals LLC.

www.cambridgeseals.com

 

Contact:

Elisha Tropper

845-520-4111

et@cambridgeseals.com






 

 


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