INDIANAPOLIS—The Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers has added SAS Rubber Co. as its newest member.
The firm, which has been based in Painesville, Ohio, for more than 72 years, has hose and industrial division and is owned by Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. SAS does conventional molding, injection molding, extruding and hose manufacturing.
Don Patt, SAS executive vice president, said he decided the time was right to join the ARPM to take advantage of some of the value that the association has to offer members.
"I look at this as being a good organization for many different things. You can rely on information you get from other companies to help in areas such as safety, purchasing and production," Patt said. Some of his employees have attended ARPM-sponsored plant tours and found the results to be interesting and helpful.
"The rubber industry has always worked together well; it has always been a tight-knit group," he said. "Everybody cooperates with each other. Some of these companies may be your competition, but they are still friends. You don't find that in other industries where you can, in many cases, get help from your competitors."
The ARPM has more than 40 member companies.