Thermoid strives to build off long history

DUBLIN, Ohio—The Thermoid brand has been around since 1883, and the team at HBD/Thermoid Inc. is working hard to ensure the venerable name remains a force in today's competitive industrial rubber goods business.

"We like to say it's 130 years of innovation," said Christopher Denick, president of what is the Rubber Products Group of Dublin-based parent HBD Industries Inc. "Our roots are extremely important, and we are committed to continue obtainable growth."

Thermoid—as it's known in the market—employs 500 and operates five manufacturing facilities in the U.S. that produce a variety of rubber goods, including industrial hose, ducting, V-belts/timing belts, conveyor belting, and industrial rubber bands and budding strips. They go into an equally wide range of markets such as aerospace/aviation, material handling, mining, petrochemical and power transmission, among others.

Denick was brought in as Thermoid president about two years ago, following a 28-year career at Parker-Hannifin. He started in Parker's hose and fittings business in Canada, had a three-year stint as plant manager at a hose factory in Fort Wayne, Ind., served as plant manager for two sites on the metal side of the business, and also got experience in sales.

In Thermoid, Denick saw a chance to lead a business that was doing well to the next level. It was smaller than Parker and he saw the chance to make a positive impact. "Thermoid allows the possibility of making a great deal of changes in a short amount of time," he said at his Dublin office.

Seeking cohesiveness

What Denick found upon arrival was a group with tremendous experience in the field from a sales and commercial standpoint, with a similar amount of know-how in operations. But it also was quite decentralized.

"I saw a strong sales and operations team backed with the technical and application knowledge, and an opportunity to continue to build upon their alignment to provide specialized solutions for our customers," he said.

While Thermoid had experts in the field that knew what market expectations were, Denick said it wasn't properly transferring that into its operations.

"I saw a strong sales and operations team backed with the technical and application knowledge, and an opportunity to continue to build upon their alignment to provide specialized solutions for our customers," he said

One main emphasis was to ensure that specific goals and objectives were properly aligned throughout the organization. At first Denick said there wasn't a lot of buy-in, not in a negative way, just from years of being decentralized.

But as management started to communicate the process on a regular basis, it resulted in sales and operations cooperating more and working closer together. "It really harmonized the group," he said. "We found that we were becoming more engaged on all sides of the business. Everyone's responsibility was profitable growth. That got to be the mantra."

Subin Sethuram, brought in a year ago as director of marketing, said it helped Thermoid "close the loop" more as management looked to bring about change. "There is a great deal of collaboration within the team," he said. "It's a well-rounded way of approaching the whole business."

Denick said there's now a better overall "understanding of what the customer expects, what the market expects, what our opportunities are and how we achieve it. That was the communication. That was the improvement, and we still work on that. It's a journey."

Organizational changes

One of Denick's goals was to improve its standing with distribution and its other channels. He found distributors looked at them as being a bit limited because its product range wasn't as wide as some of the other fluid power players such as Eaton, Conti or his prior employer, Parker.

While Thermoid wasn't necessarily the leading choice for some distributors, he said there was a lot of good to build on, including some great niche products and a good brand name.

"Thermoid has always been a strong player in the market backed by over 130 years of experience," Denick said, "but we are continuously focused on improving upon our legacy and broadening our services and product portfolio services for our customers."

To try to improve customers' views of Thermoid, Denick made changes on sales organization, including assuming the role of national sales manager. "I wanted to keep a close feel to the commercial side of the business," he said. "I knew we wanted profitable growth, and I wanted to get a better connection right to our customers through our field sales team."

The group president also added regional managers in the West, Northeast and the Gulf region, all experienced either in rubber or energy fields.

Thermoid also wanted to be better able to support both its specialty and standard products, so it increased the number of product managers in the organization to focus on such areas as hose, aerospace ducting, lightweight belts, V-belts and timing belts.

Applications specialists also were added who are based at individual plants to provide technical assistance for customers.

And the company also brought in a national accounts manager to better serve bigger players with multiple branches across broad geographies so these customers would have a single focus point for assistance and support from Thermoid.

"The commercial structure has evolved," Denick said. "But I think it has to. You have to adapt, and adapting commercially I think is where we're seeing that success and will continue to see that success."

The majority of business goes through distribution, and 85 percent of sales are in North America, a percentage Denick doesn't expect to change.

Manufacturing side

Changes also came to the manufacturing side, with management changes at the five factories and a focus on lean practices.

An existing manager now oversees both the Elgin, S.C., and Salisbury, N.C., plants; a new manager at its hose facility in Bellefontaine, Ohio, who has experience in the field; a new manager in Chanute, Kan.; and a new manager in Oneida, Tenn., with the leader having worked there for many years.

"The individuals who are plant managers are not only experienced leaders, but also experienced in improvement and lean advancement," Denick said.

The focus on lean is a journey, but one that he wants to accelerate. "At Thermoid we don't want to compromise on quality," he said, "and I want to make sure that we're continuously improving."

Denick said Thermoid's lean initiatives are now more of an identified process, but where different plants and departments are at different places along the spectrum. "You have to recognize it's never a cookie cutter situation, and I don't want it to be," he said.

It also can't be a process where one or two people at the top mandate the changes, but one where everybody is involved—from machine operators on up.

"We change all the time," he said. "We're always adapting, and we make a continuous effort to keep our employees informed and involved. I believe that people don't fear change. What they are afraid of is the unknown."

That's why it's imperative that the people who are dealing with the change, he said, know how it's going to affect them. "I strongly believe smart goals are key for all of us," Denick said. "Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound."

While lean programs often go through ups and downs along the way, Sethuram said the improvements are visible. "You see the ownership of it all levels for the products coming out, and the pride in what we're doing," he said. "That really drives the business."

Differentiators

One thing Denick believes sets Thermoid apart is its status as a "one stop shop," where it can take a product from development through mixing and manufacturing. Particularly in specialty applications, he said, is where the firm can truly supply solutions to customers.

Part of that includes having a group chemist reporting directly to Denick, supplemented by chemists at most locations, along with an extensive engineering staff.

Being a domestic manufacturer also is a plus. "Customers can come on-site during trials very easily because we're right here," he said. "The communication to the customer that way is second-to-none."

Being that close to the customer also allows for faster product development, according to Denick. He cited cases where—in a pinch—the company took a new order, developed it, ran it and shipped it all within a week.

Thermoid is investing in its factories to upgrade its equipment process and other areas such as product finishing. The rubber product maker will continue to invest where it makes sense.

"We have a very robust capital investment process," Denick said. "Technology is continuously evolving, and are strategically focused on investing in technological advancements across the entire organization."

The company also is putting in a new ERP system that will be in place by mid-2018. "We'll roll it out across the entire business," Sethuram said. "It's one system which caters to everything order to cash."

Denick said customers will see information flowing much more quickly—in some cases instantaneous—and will see major improvements in communication.

Looking forward, he said a year from now he wants to see Thermoid engaged even stronger in specialty applications and solutions, an area where he sees room to grow.