More agile, broader Preferred changes name

BARBERTON, Ohio—When Preferred Rubber Compounding Corp. acquired Associated Rubber Co. in 2006, it added three manufacturing facilities and significant production capacity. But the transaction also allowed the Barberton-based custom rubber mixer to make new investments and some needed changes as the two companies merged and became a unified, stronger Preferred. The latest move, announced April 19, is Preferred's renaming and rebranding.