An epiphany while watching a farmer harvesting made the difference between success and failure for Reading-based TAB Industries and its owner, Thomas A. Brizek, writes Joseph DiStefano for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Brizek started the shipping company 12 years ago in a 2,000-square-foot garage near Honey Brook. He signed a deal to distribute steel doors from a West Coast factory, but the doors kept arriving poorly wrapped and dented.

Fixing the doors, combined with slow orders, made it hard for the company to survive, prompting Brizek to add side work while he searched for the right packing product.

Then, six years ago, the solution presented itself while Brizek was watching a farmer in Elverson. He realized he could use a similar system by securing goods onto skids for his factory clients. Brizek then designed and built the very first models of the now popular TAB Wrapper Tornado.

Today, his product is sold worldwide from his 44,000-square-foot plant in Reading, with prices ranging from $16,000 to $23,000. TAB Industries has since exported to Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Germany.

“The idea was to make it simple and affordable, but also sophisticated enough it could be scaled up for assembly lines,” said Brizek.

Read more about TAB Industries in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.