Rubber firms see job candidates at career fair

CLEVELAND—"Consultative Sales Engineer—Custom Rubber Products," read the flyer from Tinley Park, Ill.-based Aero Rubber Co. Inc.

"Prefer at least five years of successful rubber sales experience (molded, extruded and fabricated parts)," it said. "Inside sales 95 percent, outside 5 percent or less."

Aero Rubber said it preferred applicants with knowledge in the details of industrial rubber sales, materials selection and application engineering, as well as quality system experience. It offered top salary and benefits, and—in all caps—a comprehensive relocation package.

Altogether, it sounds like a great opportunity for an ambitious sales engineer in the rubber industry. However, finding the right person for the job has been difficult.

"This is the same ad we've been running in your publication for months," Aero Rubber CEO John Kasman said.

Kasman was with John Hanley, application sales manager at Aero Rubber, to man the company's booth at the Career Fair held Oct. 12 in Cleveland, on the last day of the International Elastomer Conference.

Aero Rubber manufactures a broad range of custom rubber parts, including molded, extruded and fabricated goods; sheeting, rolls and matting; tubing and cord; gaskets and seals; and custom hose and sleeves.

The company's most important product, however, is rubber bands—an enormous variety including clear bands, pallet bands, stationery bands and all-weather bands. One of its biggest specialties is silicone and polyisoprene rubber bands imprinted with logos, slogans and mottos for advertising and promotional purposes.

"Our slogan is, 'Not Your Grandfather's Rubber Band,' " Kasman said. "We can do any color, inside or outside, with bar codes and logos. We're also the only manufacturer in the U.S. that makes pallet bands. We sold our first pallet band in 1974."

Aero Rubber was seeking a salesperson who knows the industry and knows about rubber, according to Kasman and Hanley. The alternative, which they don't want, is to hire a salesman they have to train to the industry, they said.

"It used to be Mohammed going to the mountain," Hanley said. "Now it's the opposite."

Aero Rubber was one of 10 companies with recruiting booths at the IEC Career Fair. They varied widely in size, in product range and in the number and types of employees they were trying to recruit.

Hankook Tire America Corp.'s Technical Center in Uniontown, Ohio, was seeking tire development engineers, rubber chemists and tire test engineers, according to Alan Shirley, a materials engineer at Hankook in Uniontown.

"We hope to hire half a dozen in the next six to 12 months," Shirley said. "We have a staff of 55 in Uniontown, and we hope to expand aggressively to support the new tire plant in Tennessee."

The competition is strong for experienced engineers at Hankook, according to Shirley.

"The specific skills we require take years to develop, and there are no college courses for them," he said. "This is work that prepares someone to develop a tire."

Hankook is a large and growing organization—currently sixth among world tire manufacturers, with plans to rise higher on the list, according to Shirley. The plant in Tennessee opens up the possibility of more original equipment business in the U.S., he said.

Performance Health Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of polymeric clinical and rehab products, was at the Career Fair looking for a product development engineer at its Akron office; a process engineer for its Cedarbury, Wis., facility; and a marketing associate for its Performance Health Academy, which educates its customers on health issues in general and the company's products in particular.

It also sought an associate product manager for specialty products, according to Jessica Wood, a human resources generalist for the company. Performance Health—formerly Hygenic Corp.—is looking especially for someone with experience in tourniquet strap technology, she said.

"It's hard to find people in the medical device field," Wood said. "FDA-certified engineers are few and far between."