Tech Products, Inc. is a Veteran Owned source for quality identification products to the utility and OEM market. Since 1948, Tech has been manufacturing brands like Everlast, Fasttag, Tech-3D, TechBrite, Three-D and Tag-Eze.
Interview with John Conte, Executive Administrative Assistant at Tech Products, Inc.
A brief description of the company and its activities.
John Conte: Tech Products, Inc. has been a leader and innovator in the identification and signage market since 1948. Founded by Ken Nelson Sr., an MIT graduate and engineer, Tech Products, Inc. began with the production of embossed nameplates and dataplates. With machine presses originally built for naval production during the Second World War, we’re an industry leader able to stamp aluminum, brass, and cold rolled or stainless steel in almost any thickness. In 1986, Ken developed a process for dual injection molded polypropylene pole tags and signs and thus began our patented Everlast technology. With UL Labs tested longevity of 48 years in any weather condition and permanent legibility, Everlast revolutionized the pole tag, signs, and marker industry. Today we continue that revolutionary legacy, and almost all new telecom, utility, and oil projects use Everlast signs and tags for their identification needs. Tech Products, Inc. is a veteran-owned company, and we are 100% Made in the USA.
What are the main areas of activity of the company?
J.C: We produce premium signs, tags, and markers for Utility, Telecom, Rail, and Oil industries. Our specialty is our 1-inch Everlast poletags, used for marking utility and telecom poles. We also manufacture custom nameplates and dataplates for ASME tanks, OEM’s and trucking/automotive applications.
What’s the news about new products/services?
J.C: Tech Products, Inc. is always looking to continue our innovation, and most recently we’ve been experimenting with metal photo and metal screen printing for our nameplates division, which allows for more intricate designs and color, and expanding our Everlast into new markets. There are endless markets in which Everlast can be of service, from marking valves and mile markers on oil pipelines, to long-lasting railroad signage, to marina and dock markers, to military bases. The product is so great that our biggest challenge is coming up with all the ways it can be used!
What are the ranges of products/services?
J.C: Tech Products, Inc.’s Everlast line comes in a range of sizes to fit every need, with 1”, 2”, 3”, 6” 8” and 12” for our alphanumerical tags, and 5”x7”, 7”x10”, and 10”x14” for Danger/Warning signs, both stock and custom. Our FastTag range is a small alphanumeric tag designed for cable marking and valve marking, with a wide range of other applications.
Our Nameplates division offers embossing, etching, debossing, of any size in materials of brass, aluminum, cold-rolled steel, and stainless steel. Our machine presses stamp with enough pressure to ensure clear lettering in thick steel for heavy-duty applications. We can produce any combination of colors and letters and work closely with our clients to ensure the vision they have becomes reality. Our baked enamel paint process ensures long-lasting legibility and vibrant colors!
Our catalog contains over 10,000 different products, with new products and variants always being added to meet any customer need!
What is the state of the market where you are currently active?
J.C: Tech Products, Inc. is a global company, with customers from Canada to Brazil and Europe to Israel. We are 100% domestic in both supply and manufacturing, so the fluctuations in macroeconomics and trade policy have little effect on our business. We have grown YoY since coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, and as a legacy company with 77 years of experience and institutional knowledge, we are a fixture of American business.
What can you tell us about market trends?
J.C: The market for signs, tags, and markers is a consistent and growing one. It is almost impervious to short-term volatility that might impact other businesses, since regardless of what may be happening elsewhere in the economy, roads, utilities, pipelines, substations, and railroads will still be built, and they will still need to mark all the aspects of their network for maintenance. Additionally, as developing foreign nations begin to experience their own economic and infrastructure changes, the opportunity for expansion presents itself overseas as a market that can be tapped into.
What are the most innovative products/services marketed?
J.C: Our Everlast is an industry leading product, developed in 1986 to solve the problem of disappearing legibility on poletags. The average lifespan of a telephone pole is around 40 years, but a painted stamped aluminum tag will begin to fade and lose legibility after around 10 years. This leads to tremendous costs in both materials and labor to re-mark those poles when they fade. Everlast is a dual-injection molded polypropylene formula, with no ink or paint involved. It can be made in almost any color combination for any application, and the technology scales up to be able to accommodate substation signage, construction signage, Danger/High Voltage signage, and anything else our clients need. With a UL Labs rating of 48 years for Everlast, the tag lasts the life of the pole, saving companies a lot of money over the long haul.
What estimations do you have for the second half of 2025?
J.C: We envision a strong close to 2025 and into 2026, as infrastructure projects continue to develop nationwide on the city and state level, with some states retrofitting their grids to incorporate alternative power sources, and others building more pipeline/oil infrastructure. As broadband and telecom access expands into more rural areas of the United States Tech Products, Inc., Inc. stands well-situated to meet those identification needs.