Age: 34
Title: Director of purchasing
Company: Q Holding Co.
Why he was selected: Beier has helped Q maintain a steady supply of raw materials to sustain strong growth for the last seven years, navigating challenges such as strikes, bankruptcies and force majeure situations.
What do you love most about your job?
Being in purchasing, I work with suppliers of all shapes and sizes; from multi-billion dollar global corporations, to mom and pop shops down the street. That affords me the opportunity to visit these facilities, witness their processes in action and see how things are made. I get to see men and women working hard every day to improve their products and therefore their company on a global stage. To me, that's exciting because few people get the opportunity to get that perspective.
How has working in the rubber industry broadened your view of the world?
Whether it be the science behind creating the next generation material, to continuously fine-tuning the molding processes, to the automation and inspection equipment we produce on site, it's amazing to see the work and dedication my team members put into a relatively small, unseen product that's used in critical applications ranging from medical devices to cars to jets. That effort is something I don't take for granted now and it's given me an appreciation for the things I use in my everyday life that I don't think I could have learned outside of this industry.
What advice do you have for students considering a career in the rubber industry?
I believe the prospects for the rubber industry are very positive. It can provide the challenges and technical opportunities that come from working in many different industries—like health care, industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace, etc. to develop real world skills. And I know that it's a tight-knit industry, with great people to work with, so there's definitely a sense of camaraderie.
Other interests: His 6-month-old husky keeps both him and his wife, Michelle, very busy.