Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • ITEC
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • International Elastomer Show
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Hankook gains OE fitments on Audi RS Q8
    • Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Russia's Kama Tyres expanding truck, ag tire capacities
      Hankook gains OE fitments on Audi RS Q8
    • DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Flexan receives FDA registration for Suzhou facility
      63rd Polyurethanes Technical Conference set for fall
    • Phillips Carbon Black expanding capacity at site in India
      DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      New systems solutions advance the sustainability of automotive weatherseals
      Arburg: 2021 Technology Days in June will run for 6 days
    • DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Flexan receives FDA registration for Suzhou facility
      Coi Rubber adding on to plant in China
    • WCCO task force navigates pandemic, expands communications
      ASTM cancels April meetings as COVID-19 continues impact
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Detroit Auto Show canceled; alternative event being planned for September
    • A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Angelos Papadimitriou to leave position with Pirelli after six months on job
      Tero Peltomaki named Cimcorp CEO
      Synthomer CEO MacLean to step down by early 2022
    • Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Hwa Fong joins Taiwan tire makers' bid for alternative to import duties
      NLRB certifies USW as bargaining unit for Kumho Tire plant in Georgia
    • Editorial: Against a backdrop of turmoil, M&A deals give glimpse of normalcy
      Column: Pandemic looms over everything in life, business in 2020
      Column: Lessons from the 2020 Best Places to Work
      Editorial: Silicone hit hard by pandemic, expected to bounce back
    • Advancements in synchronous drive belt design for industrial and consumer markets
      Effects of multiple repurposed materials for reinforcements of standard rubber compounds
      Impact of peroxide blends on the cure rate and aged properties in HNBR
      Techniques to detect long chain branching in polymers
    • Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      IEC keynote: Communication key to logistics
      IEC speaker: Specialized elastomers may reduce spread of life-threatening pathogens
    • WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      New video celebrates women in rubber industry
      ITEC panelists say women can thrive in tire industry
      Rubber Division planning second Women of Rubber event
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: Nova thinks outside the box with sealing tech
      New Products: MonTech introduces 1,500 kN lab press
      New products: 3M introduces new durable, pliable medical adhesive
      New Products: Lanxess launches energy-efficient PU elastomer
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Biden signs executive order, prioritizes U.S.-made EVs, PPE
      Conti starts production of ‘HL' load index tires for select OE customers
      ITC votes to keep duties in place on China P/LT tire imports
      Hankook gains OE fitments on Audi RS Q8
    • DuPont investing in Liveo line of silicone products
      A change at the top for Stockwell Elastomerics
      Flexan receives FDA registration for Suzhou facility
      Coi Rubber adding on to plant in China
    • Bridgestone bets on guayule as alternative natural rubber source
      Synthomer CEO MacLean to step down by early 2022
      Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Synthomer optimistic, raises earnings forecast
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Peroxide Cureable Silicone Injection Molding
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Understanding and Selecting Performance Additives for Rubber Compounding
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2022 ITEC
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
November 15, 2013 01:00 AM

Exec: Peer pressure needed for rubber industry makeover

Don Detore
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    RPN photo by Don Detore
    Joseph Walker, corporate director of material development and chemical regulatory compliance, Americas, for Freudenberg-NOK Sealing, Technologies Inc., delivers the keynote address Oct. 8 at the ACS Rubber Division's International Elastomer Conference in Cleveland.

    CLEVELAND—The rubber industry need not look very far to correct its image problem, according to a longtime rubber executive.

    The very people who work in the industry—those who witness such substandard practices as dirty work sites, poor safety habits and overall inefficiencies—can help reverse perceptions prevalent both inside and outside the business.

    Joseph Walker, corporate director of material development and chemical regulatory compliance, Americas, for Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies Inc., said competitive peer pressure can change how some rubber companies act, and thus change how others, especially those considering a career there, perceive the industry.

    "If you're competing with a company that is, let's say, not modernized, and you know that, you have an obligation to your own company to point that out," Walker said after delivering the keynote address Oct. 8 at the ACS Rubber Division's International Elastomer Conference in Cleveland. "If something goes wrong, you have the technical wherewithal to figure out what went wrong, and you have steps in place to prevent those things from going wrong."

    Walker said it is incumbent on anyone, from an employee to a salesman to a competitor, to make others aware of any problems within a company, particularly those that prevent a manufacturer from selling its goods.

    "You get enough commercial people to deliver that message," Walker said, "and the owner will have to listen, or they'll have fold up their tents and go home."

    How peer pressure can work

    Walker, a former chairman of the Rubber Division who has more than 3 1/2 decades of experience in the industry, cited an example of how peer pressure can work.

    During his previous job at Honeywell International Inc., he encountered a small company that had been awarded a contract by the Department of Defense to produce a molded device for a weapon. When the DOD found the products to be inferior, Walker said, pressure from the government prompted the company to alter its work, helping both parties succeed in the long run.

    A company also can change its approach to its customers, Walker said, by not necessarily following specs of a particular product.

    He said a company should tell its customer, " "I'm interested in giving you something that works and not something that meets the print, because I may be able to meet the print, but the part failed,' " Walker said. " "So, let's talk about what you expect the part to do, and how long you expect the part to do it.' That's the real difference."

    During his address, Walker shared some compelling statistics based on a report by IBISWorld Market Research, "Rubber Product Manufacturing in the U.S.: Market Research Report." Among them (statistics do not count hose, belt and packing manufacturers):

    • The U.S. chemical industry generated 25 percent of the country's gross domestic product, or $760 billion in revenue;

    • Of that total, rubber product manufacturing accounted for 2.4 percent, or $18 billion; rubber manufacturing is expected to grow to $20 billion by 2015;

    • There are nearly 1,100 rubber manufacturers in the U.S.; the average annual growth is 2.5 percent, and the average net profit is 3 percent;

    • The average company does $22 million in business each year and has 79 employees;

    • The average rubber professional is 58 years old, and the average salary $45,000; and

    • Half of the rubber corporations anticipate adding employees next year and beyond; 53 percent say they will reinvest in their business.

    Rubber companies will grow as they play key roles in producing rubber components that help achieve fuel economy, meet emissions standards and find technological innovations for alternate energy systems that have stringent performance standards, according to Walker. Companies that are bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. also are driving growth.

    While Walker said he found some of the statistics troubling—particularly the average net profit of 3 percent—he said he especially is concerned about the industry's image.

    "We have an image problem because if you go into one of our shops, they are sloppy," he said. "When you bring customers in and try to tell them the value of the parts you produce, and you take them to the mill room or the mixing area, they see ... operators themselves wearing as much as they are putting in the rubber compound. This doesn't go well in telling everyone we're a high-tech industry."

    Having the responsibility

    Walker said entities such as universities and rubber-related associations can help change that image. But he said the main responsibility lies with a rubber company. The firm has an obligation to keep its facility clean, well-organized and ensure that employees wear the right protective equipment.

    "You go into some of these jobs, and the guy has no mask on, and he's ... dirty from head to toe. That's just not a strong sell point. Why would you have somebody in your kitchen and say, "Oh, by the way, don't touch the dishes or you'll get dirty.' Why would you want to eat there?"

    Walker cited his own employer, Freudenberg-NOK, as an example of a company that promotes the industry in a positive way through innovation.

    "People use rubber because it solves problems," he said. "The flexibility, the movement, the resilience, the compliance ... all of those you can't get out of anything but rubber," he said. "In many cases, the use of rubber allows more freedom when it comes to make metal parts or mating surfaces, because the rubber member can take up for those wide tolerances.

    "No other industry has such a rapid concept to reality-tackling than the rubber industry does."

    Yet, he said, the industry projects an image of being a non-technical, non-scientific career, and that, in turn, hurts companies as they compete against plastics and industries with other applied sciences as it recruits the best and brightest engineers and chemists.

    "They're going to look at this and say, "I'm not sure I want to do this.' ... We're not getting the returns on our things that we should because the image that we have doesn't reflect well for us."

    He said the time is ripe to change those perceptions.

    "We keep talking about art and not enough science," he said. "That's a dirty, provocative statement. It's reflected in our operations and returns."

    Management, he said, must understand and support the value of modern manufacturing technologies.

    The Freudenberg-NOK executive strongly encouraged his peers to focus on innovation and technology, especially as they focus on securing the next generation of professionals.

    "We have an obligation to showcase our technology, to showcase our industrial know-how, our scientific reach, and we do that each and every time that we have our customer in, our sales force in, or a young kid looking for a job coming in," he said.

    "We can control the image that we project. We can make an impact on our markets, which in turn will make an impact on profits, which is going to make an impact on our longevity."

    Related Articles
    Freudenberg-NOK sees opportunity in fuel-cell hybrids
    Walker discusses challenges facing rubber industry
    Freudenberg brings plungers to America
    Freudenberg launches new crankshaft seal
    Freudenberg launches new crankshaft seal
    Rubber industry in desperate need of image makeover
    Freudenberg introduces new polyurethane for seals
    Early registration available for Rubber Division symposium
    Rubber Division seeks abstracts for October meeting
    Rubber Division offers scholarship opportunities
    Letter to the editor: ARPM: Rubber industry must act to alter perception
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • ITEC
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • International Elastomer Show
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION