Jun. 17—COKE OR PEPSI?

Vibrac counts both as customers.

The small company tucked at the end of an industrial park at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport employs fewer than 20 people but has carved a niche in the consumer products and aerospace industries.

Founded in 1960, Vibrac began its history making high-performance magnetic clutches and brakes. Now its growth is primed on manufacturing high-precision test systems that measure torque — the twisting force that tends to cause rotation.

Soft drink companies need those systems to measure how much strength a consumer needs to open a twist-off plastic bottle cap.

Aerospace companies need the machines to test ball bearings used in jet engines.

This week, Vibrac will be hosting a booth at the Paris Air Show, an aviation industry event that gathers vendors and buyers from around the world. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is co-leading a Senate delegation attending the show, recently visited Vibrac to learn more about the company.

While waiting for the senator to arrive, Vibrac Vice President Lisa Rogers showed off a machine Vibrac built for Pepsi. A 20-ounce plastic bottle of the soft drink was nestled in place for testing.

"If you've ever encountered a difficult-to-remove cap, that has to do with torque, and it usually goes to the capping heads," said Rogers, who, with her husband, Tom, has owned the company for about 20 years.

"This system will address that hands-free so it removes any operator influence," she said. "It gives you a very accurate reading of what's going on with that cap."

When Coke learned about the proprietary system Vibrac made for Pepsi, it requested the company do the same for them. Bottles of each beverage stand side by side in a display case at Vibrac's office that offers examples of its customers' brands, which include Budweiser and Blue Moon beer.

Vibrac also manufactures systems for pharmaceutical companies that replicate the downforce used on a child-proof cap.

"We sold several of these during COVID," Lisa Rogers said. "We never had to close because we received letters that we were an essential supplier so we were able to keep every single person employed."

During an informal talk with Shaheen, Vibrac President Tom Rogers continued the Coke/Pepsi narrative. Also on hand for the visit were Tina Kasim, who handles policy and projects for the senator, and Justin Oslowski, director of the U.S. Commercial Service in Portsmouth.

"We first started working with Coke in the '90s," he said. "They had contacted us and said, 'Can you make us a device for removing a bottle cap and testing how much torque it takes to do it?'

"The first one was manual. It didn't work out because ... stronger people can open things easier and with more acceleration."

So Vibrac built a motorized version that it eventually also started selling to Anheuser-Busch.

"As we came into more recent years, that kind of exploded. We now have an exclusive system that we manufacture for Pepsi. Pepsi buys it and puts it in their plants globally," Tom Rogers said.

A couple of months ago, representatives of Vibrac met with Coke officials at the company's headquarters in Atlanta. Coke requested the same kind of system Vibrac built for Pepsi.

"I said, 'First of all, how do you know what we're doing for Pepsi?'" Tom Rogers recalled. "He said, 'There are no secrets between Pepsi and Coke.' We're going to start making exclusive systems now for Coke, too."

Vibrac's testing systems and sensors are also used in the automotive, aerospace, defense, computer, cosmetic, chemical, hardware and academic fields.

The company has built testing systems for NASA, which uses them to test bearings used in spacecraft. That work has led to contracts with aerospace companies and the Department of Defense. Defense work represents as much as 45% of the company's business, Lisa Rogers said.

Orders are up for times over last year, and the company has been bringing in new workers — mostly through word of mouth and personal contacts.

"I don't always think in a conventional way," Tom Rogers said. "As I go through my life and I meet people, I remember them. And some people who impress me, I may go back at some point and bring them to the company and see if it's a fit."

Exit interview

This is my last column for the New Hampshire Union Leader, my home for the last 11 years. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had helping to direct news coverage for a statewide newspaper and working with such a talented, hard-working group of people both in the newsroom and throughout the building at 100 William Loeb Drive.

Next week, I'll begin a new adventure at Yankee Publishing, where I'll be working with NH Business Review and New Hampshire magazine.

Mike Cote is senior editor for news and business.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not represent the views and opinions of the sponsor, its members and affiliates.