Tec Laboratories

Last updated
Tec Laboratories, Inc.
Company type Private
Industry
[1]
Founded1977
Headquarters Albany, Oregon, United States
Key people
  • Robert L. Smith (Founder)
  • Steven D. Smith (CEO)
  • Vern W. Smith (Vice President)
Website www.teclabsinc.com

Tec Laboratories, Inc. is a manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical dermatological preparations. The company was founded in 1977 by a former Mead Johnson executive, chemical engineer Robert L. Smith, and is headquartered in Albany, Oregon. The company's products, including its flagship poison oak scrub, Tecnu, are sold in approximately 47,000 retail outlets which have sold over 53 million units, as of 2014.

Contents

History

In the early 1950s, during the Cold War, chemist Dr. Robert Smith invented a waterless skin cleanser for the removal of radioactive dust. [2] [3] In 1962, Smith relocated his family from Indiana to Oregon, where his wife Evelyn Smith, discovered that the cleanser, by then named Tecnu (for “technically new”), [4] had another use. After an exposure to poison oak, to which she knew she was allergic, she washed the affected areas with Tecnu and did not get a rash. [4] [5] After more testing the cleanser was proven successful at removing the rash-causing oil found in the resin urushiol of the native plants poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac from skin, clothing, and pets’ fur. [6] Smith also learned that the cleanser removed grease, pitch, sap and even skunk odor. [3] Additional testing was conducted by the Oregon State University Forestry Department. [2]

In 1977, Dr. Smith established Tecnu Enterprises to manufacture his Tecnu scrub for commercial distribution. Initially housed in the family's garage in Corvallis, Oregon, the firm soon moved to a more permanent manufacturing facility in neighboring Albany. [4]

In the mid-1980s, the company name was changed to Tec Laboratories, Inc. As of March 2014, Tec Laboratories occupies a 58,000 square foot building in Albany, employing 35 people on a year-round basis, with additional workers hired during the busy summer season. [4] The company estimates that it has sold 53.3 million units of its various products from the company's establishment in 1977 through the spring of 2014, with some 47,000 retail outlets carrying the company's wares. [4]

The company is now run by two sons of the company's founder, with Steven Smith serving as CEO and Vernon Smith serving as vice president. [4] [7]

Products

The company's flagship product is Tecnu, a cleanser which prevents the oils which cause poison oak rash from bonding to the skin. Tecnu 12 oz bottle.jpg
The company's flagship product is Tecnu, a cleanser which prevents the oils which cause poison oak rash from bonding to the skin.

The product line of Tec Laboratories has gradually grown to include additional over-the-counter skin preparations, insect repellents, head lice treatments, [8] and wound care preparations. The firm has expanded from a manufacturer of specialty lines sold mainly to safety suppliers to products that are now available in chain drug stores and other outlets throughout the United States. [9]

The company's products, all manufactured in Albany, include Tecnu Outdoor Skin Cleanser, Tecnu Extreme Poison Ivy Scrub, Tecnu Rash Relief Spray, Licefreee! Non-toxic Lice Killing Hair Gel, Calagel Medicated Anti-itch Gel, 10-Hour Repellent, and Corticool 1% Hydrocortisone Gel. [10] Licefreee was launched in 2011 and was developed by an employee of Tec after she was displeased with the "bug spray" smell emitted by an existing product to treat head lice. [4] [11] By 2013, Licefreee's sales increased to become more than 35 percent of Tec's total sales, resulting in a 48 percent increase in size for the company. [11]

In April 2011, one of the company's products, StaphAseptic First Aid Antiseptic/Pain Relieving Gel, a topical disinfectant and pain reliever found by an Oregon State University study to be more effective than two more common products against community-associated MRSA, [12] [13] was the subject of a warning letter from the United States government's Food and Drug Administration. [14] The letter charged that "as presently formulated, labeled and promoted, this over-the-counter (OTC) product violates provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act" and was "an unapproved new drug" owing to claims made about the effectiveness of some of its ingredients. [14] The company was given 15 days to respond to the warning letter. [13] [15] A product recall was not anticipated. [15] By 2014, Tec Labs' trademarked StaphAseptic name had been discontinued from the company's product roster and a product called Tecnu First Aid Gel introduced. [10]

Company culture

The firm's mission statement is "Tec Labs is a pharmaceutical institution that fosters a culture of innovation, trust, joie de vivre and esprit de corps." Its supervisors are called "coaches", a change made in 1997 when the company moved away from "traditional top-down management" and toward "self-directed work team", [16] and it practices open-book financial management. [17] The company makes use of a so-called "Appreciation Station" in its main hallway to which employees can post thank-you notes for their co-workers. [4] The firm also designates a percentage of its pre-tax profits for its employee profit-sharing plan, paying out $9,000 per worker during calendar year 2013. [4]

The firm has received the Hall of Fame Award from Oregon Business magazine for making that publication's "Oregon Top 100 Small Businesses" list for 12 years. [4] [7] The company is selected frequently as one of Oregon's "100 Best Companies to Work For," including one of the "100 Best Green Companies to Work For in Oregon", [18] [19] and has won numerous business and industry awards. [16] [20]

Related Research Articles

<i>Toxicodendron radicans</i> Species of plant

Toxicodendron radicans, commonly known as eastern poison ivy or poison ivy, is an allergenic flowering plant that occurs in Asia and eastern North America. The species is well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch it. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The species is variable in its appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a true ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed. It is a different species from western poison ivy, T. rydbergii, which has similar effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany, Oregon</span> City in Oregon, United States

Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the 11th most populous city in the state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, just east of Corvallis and south of Salem. It is predominantly a farming and manufacturing city that settlers founded around 1848. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Albany, Oregon was 56,472.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmetics</span> Substances applied to the body to change appearance or fragrance

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urushiol</span> Oily mixture of organic compounds

Urushiol is an oily mixture of organic compounds with allergenic properties found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendronspp., Comocladia spp. (maidenplums), Metopium spp. (poisonwood), and also in parts of the mango tree as well as the fruit of the cashew tree.

<i>Toxicodendron diversilobum</i> Species of plant

Toxicodendron diversilobum, commonly named Pacific poison oak or western poison oak, is a woody vine or shrub in the sumac family, Anacardiaceae. It is widely distributed in western North America, inhabiting conifer and mixed broadleaf forests, woodlands, grasslands, and chaparral biomes. Peak flowering occurs in May. Like other members of the genus Toxicodendron, T. diversilobum causes itching and allergic rashes in most people after contact by touch or smoke inhalation. Despite its name, it is not closely related to oaks, nor is it a true tree.

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Calamine, also known as calamine lotion, is a medication made from powdered calamine mineral that is used to treat mild itchiness. Conditions treated include sunburn, insect bites, poison ivy, poison oak, and other mild skin conditions. It may also help dry out skin irritation. It is applied on the skin as a cream or lotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis</span> Medical condition

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Tecnu is an over-the-counter skin cleanser manufactured by Tec Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company based in Albany, Oregon. It is intended for use by humans and furry pets after topical exposure to urushiol, the active ingredient in poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac. Tecnu is made from deodorized mineral spirits, water, propylene glycol, octylphenoxy-polythoxethanol, mixed fatty acid soap, and fragrance.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poison ivy</span> Allergenic plant of Asia and North America

Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus Toxicodendron native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, Toxicodendron radicans, poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate species: Toxicodendron radicans, Toxicodendron rydbergii, and Toxicodendron orientale. They are well known for causing urushiol-induced contact dermatitis, an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash, in most people who touch them. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. They are variable in appearance and habit, and despite its common name, it is not a "true" ivy (Hedera), but rather a member of the cashew and pistachio family (Anacardiaceae). T. radicans is commonly eaten by many animals, and the seeds are consumed by birds, but poison ivy is most often thought of as an unwelcome weed.

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References

  1. ↑ Multnomah County Library /All Locations
  2. 1 2 Fryer, Bronwyn (December 1, 1998). "No False Moves". Inc. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  3. 1 2 LaBar, Ryan "Squirrel" (2010-11-03). "Tecnu Inventor Dr. Robert Smith Dies at 88". Bike Magazine. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Moody, Jennifer (March 30, 2014). "A Rash of Innovation: A Half-Century Ago, a Yard Full of Poison Oak in Corvallis Lit the Fuse on a Pharmaceutical Power". Corvallis Gazette-Times. pp. A1, A5. Online version: An itch to innovate sparked Tec Labs," Albany Democrat-Herald, March 30, 2014.
  5. ↑ Burris, Gary. "The Story of Tecnu and Tec Laboratories, Inc". Tec Laboratories.
  6. ↑ "What Is Poison Ivy/ Poison Oak?". Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
  7. 1 2 Kirkpatrick, Maria L. (March 4, 2011). "Happy employees drive enterprise". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  8. ↑ Flinder, David; De Schweinitz, Peter (January 15, 2004). "Pediculosis and Scabies". American Family Physician. 69 (2): 341–348. PMID   14765774.
  9. ↑ "TecLaboratories breaks into chain drug market". Chain Drug Review. October 8, 1990. p. 34.
  10. 1 2 "Tec Labs: Products". Tec Laboratories.
  11. 1 2 "Albany mom develops head lice solution". Albany, Oregon: KAL. October 1, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  12. ↑ Uceda, Santiago (January 23, 2008). "First Line of Defense". Oregon State University . Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Latrop, Steve (April 22, 2011). "FDA questions product labeling". Albany Democrat-Herald. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  14. 1 2 Breen, Charles M (April 18, 2011). "Inspections, Compliance, Enforcement, and Criminal Investigations: Tec Laboratories Inc. 4/18/11". Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, Seattle District.
  15. 1 2 Terry, Lynne (April 20, 2011). "FDA warns Albany company against false claims on label of over-the-counter pain relief gel". The Oregonian.
  16. 1 2 Wang, Linda (October 22, 2007). "Workplaces That Work". Chemical and Engineering News. 85 (43): 67–72. doi: 10.1021/cen-v085n043.p067 .
  17. ↑ Williams, Christina (July 2005). "Mission Accomplished". Oregon Business Magazine.
  18. ↑ Hall, Bennett. "Atop spot: Tec Laboratories again listed among Oregon's best employers". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  19. ↑ "100 Best Green Companies to Work For in Oregon". Oregon Business. May 31, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Smith has built a successful development, testing and marketing laboratory for consumer products such as insect repellent and poison-ivy salve". Oregon Business. 28 April 2023.

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