Operations
Operations Overview
TRICOR Operations focuses on three specific Strategic Business Units (SBUs): Agriculture, Business Services, and Manufacturing. The various programs within these business units are the foundation of the occupational skills training that our program participants receive. These transferable skills serve to enhance the marketability of our participants and increase their chances of employment upon release.
Agriculture
Our agriculture operations consist of two farms. TRICOR farms offer program participants experience and skills in farm operations, including but not limited to animal management and care for the beef herd, land management, and operating the latest equipment. The TRICOR farm at the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex (BCCX) in Pikeville, TN, works directly with the beef herd, managing day-to-day care of the animals, including the farm-raised calves, the breeding and pass-through animals.
The row crop operation is located at the West Tennessee State Penitentiary (WTSP). The farm utilizes the latest GPS guidance and monitoring technology in its equipment. This enables our participants to be trained on best-in-class equipment used by farmers across the nation. In addition to equipment operation and maintenance training, participants also learn crop/land management, pest management, and receive Private Applicators certificates through the county extension service. Our crops include wheat, corn, and soybeans.
Business Services
TRICOR Business Services unit partners with outside organizations, including call center operations, a textile manufacturer, outside correctional industries, and Prison Industry Enhancement (PIE) Program partners, including hardwood flooring manufacturers. Call center operations are currently located at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center (DJRC), the Women's Therapeutic Residential Center (WTRC), and the South Central Correctional Facility (SCCF). These centers provide participants with real-time employable experience, managing calls, auditing and quality control.
Prison Industry Enhancement (PIE) programs are being managed in the wood flooring industry at the Turney Center Correctional Complex (TCIX) in Only, TN and the BCCX in Pikeville. Here, the men in these programs are learning to manufacture laminate and real hardwood floors, respectively. At Morgan County Correctional Complex (MCCX) in Wartburg, TN, TRICOR has managed textile related PIE programs manufacturing quality textile pieces for a private sector partner. The realistic work environment enables participants to develop marketable skills and produce high-quality products. PIE programs are evidence-based to decrease recidivism.
TRICOR also partners with other correctional industries to provide services to support our southeastern counterparts with license plate image processing. In this operation, the participants utilize computer technology to process images to collect revenue for our industry partner.
Manufacturing
TRICOR strives to introduce new manufacturing operations, bringing our participants the most relevant job skills. As a part of TRICOR’s Manufacturing team, participants learn responsibility, teamwork, and planning in addition to the job skills. Our manufacturing sites include license plate manufacturing at the TRICOR License Plate Plant in Nashville, TN. This plant manufactures all license plates for the State of Tennessee, including regular, motorcycle, and personalized plates, serving all 95 counties.
Industrial Cleaning Products include manufacturing laundry detergent, including a new enzymatic formulation laundry detergent, and a new safer germicide. TRICOR, as a part of this program, also installs automatic detergent dispensers and has provided state-of-the-art air purifiers and electrostatic germicidal sprayers.
Textile operations continue to flourish as our clothing operations grow, manufacturing offender uniform products as well as mattresses and standard bedding materials such as sheets. These operations are located at WTSP and MCCX, respectively.
SCCF is home to TRICOR’s print manufacturing operation. The new 6-color offset press was installed and launched in our Clifton, TN, location. The latest press has greatly improved TRICOR’s print technology and quality. The participants have experienced all the steps necessary to install and make operational a complex press with new graphics, plate making, complex software, and proofing systems. TRICOR also added embroidery services at this location, teaching graphic design and mechanical skills in a time-sensitive and high-quality industry.
At Mark Luttrell Transition Center (MLTC) in Memphis, TN, the men in the TRICOR program are learning the craft of carpentry, masonry, forklift driving and safety. Graduates of this program will earn a certification from the Home Builders Institute.
The braille program continues to develop new transcribers each year in both the men’s program at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI) and with women at DJRC, in Nashville. Participants in these programs learn braille transcription to work toward receiving their braille literacy certification with the Library of Congress. Advanced transcriptionists can be certified in braille textbook formats with the National Braille Association, Nemeth Braille Code for Mathematics, and in Unified English Braille (UEB). We have been able to provide significant cost savings to the Tennessee School for the Blind and the State of Tennessee.
Commissary Operations
TRICOR manages two Commissary operations to pick, pack, and ship purchased items to all locations across the state. The operations are housed at both the Northeast and Northwest Correctional Complexes. This program will teach participants valuable occupational skills. These partnerships provide opportunities to link offenders' training directly to the needs of the private industry.