A Proud Past, An Exciting Future For CRL Rapid Transfer Ports
In the fall of 1945, as World War II was concluding, three graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Frank G. Chesley, Demetrius Jelatis and Gordon M. Lee – combined their resources to found a company they named Central Research Laboratories®, Inc., (CRL). Backed by their undergraduate experience as researchers for the U.S. War Department, their company began life as one that designed radar-testing equipment for use by the various branches of the U.S. armed forces.
Over the years, CRL has branched out into other areas of concentration and continued to evolve and expand its product expertise, moving from the nuclear industry to the development of systems for use in the life science market, with the company’s first Rapid Transfer Port (RTP) technology developed in 1997. That was a watershed moment as the company fully turned its attention to optimizing performance in life science product-handling. Still, no matter the market, at its core CRL has always remained committed to offering solutions that protect the operator environment when handling sterile/aseptic or hazardous/dangerous materials.
CRL’s commitment to innovation and search for new markets to conquer has led to the expansion in a number of exciting new directions over the past decades for its RTP technologies. The most significant advances have been a move away from static multi-use RTP systems to those that offer more variety and flexibility for the user. Within that realm, the most obvious and recent evolution has been the development of the Single-Use Beta Bags product line that eliminate the costly and time-consuming acquisition, cleaning/revalidating, outfitting and upkeep needs of multi-use stainless-steel RTP systems.
Also, CRL’s RTP portfolio has been filled out by more robust technologies, especially the new ERTP model. The ERTP uses the same double-door transfer system as a typical RTP but includes a revolutionary new handle that utilizes minimal rotation to break the seal on a Beta container, which reduces operator effort for safer handling. The ERTP also features a streamlined interlock system with interchangeable mounts that can be replaced without breaking containment. The new-and-improved design also eliminates exposed fasteners and incorporates a smoother surface for easier cleaning.
While it’s always difficult – if not impossible – to anticipate future evolutionary changes, CRL does, in general, plan to continue to expand its product lines, invest in single-use systems, find ways to make operating RTPs easier and easier – while sacrificing none of their product-containment and safety qualities – and evolve with changing regulatory requirements. This means that as the customer’s market- or regulatory-driven needs evolve, CRL will work closely to meet those needs and evolve with them.
To realize this, CRL will continue to optimize the flexibility that allows it to move with the market, which will help keep its RTP technologies on the cutting-edge of transfer-system innovation and performance.
