PORT ARTHUR -
Ken Broussard owns the rights to 22 U.S. patents.
"It's a gift from God. I've been given the ability to see a need and then develop something to satisfy that need through the use of equipment," Broussard told 12 News Tuesday afternoon.
He's the CEO of Climate Controlled Containers, Inc., based in his hometown of Port Arthur.
His newest invention, which he calls "The Cold Box", is his biggest project yet.
"From what we're hearing from the Fed Ex's of the world... this is going to change the paradigm of shipping temperature-sensitive products," he said.
The Cold Box is a portable refrigerated shipping container. It can transport anything that needs to be stored at a temperature ranging from 140 degrees to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. And it runs completely on batteries.
There's a control panel located on the side of the box; all you have to do is punch in the temperature and it will maintain that temperature to within one degree for several hundred hours.
Broussard expects the box to be the first container of its kind to be allowed to transport materials by air. All these factors got the Department of Homeland Security interested in using the box to ship anthrax vaccines.
"They could not guarantee the safety of their vaccines because of lack of control. They called me and they said... 'we'd like you to come up to Washington (D.C.) and do a presentation," said Broussard.
Broussard thinks his company could make as much as half a billion dollars worldwide off The Cold Box. Not bad for a man who never went to college.
Broussard plans to hire 100 new employees in the coming months, and says 75 will be people from Port Arthur. You can't apply for a job right now, but Broussard says he will begin accepting applications through Workforce Solutions in about a month.
