West Coast mainstay: L.A. Rubber Group celebrates 90 years

LOS ANGELES—For many working in the rubber industry, part of the draw is joining in with other professionals and building relationships, on top of the interesting technical challenges and real-world applications.

For the past 90 years, The Los Angeles Rubber Group Inc. has been providing those connections and technical training for rubber industry professionals in its geographic region.

The group started at the request of the ACS Rubber Division, in an effort to build local sections around the country, according to TLARGI's history. The initial organizational meeting, with a total attendance of 43, was held Jan. 20, 1928, as "The Los Angeles Rubber Group of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society."

The group met occasionally at first with technical information and presentations. Its signature golf outings started not long after in 1931, starting to mix in the social aspect of the rubber industry.

The technical side still was a driving force for the growing group, as its first "Rubber Technology" course, a predecessor to its current Basic Rubber Technology course, showed up in 1934, taught at the University of Southern California by Ray Stringfield, its first chairman.

Eventually, the meetings became more consistent, with regular meetings beginning in 1936 and sponsored meetings beginning in 1938 (by Goodyear). The first Christmas party joined the group's growing schedule in 1942.

TLARGI incorporated in 1943, and brought its first Rubber Division meeting to Los Angeles not long after in 1948.

Social connections

For TLARGI's historian, Mike Haney, owner of S&H Rubber of Fullerton, Calif., he said he first heard about the group from his parents, as he was growing up. Haney is a third-generation rubber industry professional, descended from Bill Haney, his grandfather and former chairman of Kirkhill Inc.

"My initial thoughts were that it sounded like fun, like the thing to do," Mike Haney said. "My mom would go to a lot of the events, too. They had a lot of big social outings, and the summer conference was still a big deal for us. As a kid, you'd hear the adults talking about TLARGI, and something like the summer conference, and it sounds cool. It got instilled in me early on."

Jennifer Perez, vice president of operations at R.D. Abbott Co. Inc. and director-at-large for TLARGI, first came in contact through her husband, Martin, technical director for Vip Rubber Co. Inc. She attended the TLARGI events for several years as a spouse before she entered the industry, she said.

"My exposure to TLARGI was all of the fun stuff, all of the social events," she said. "My greatest memories were from going to the Christmas parties. It was such a dressy event. I became friends with different people, and would look forward to seeing them year after year."

As she and her husband had children, Perez was able to share pictures of the kids as they grew year after year. She looked forward to seeing her friends from the rubber industry at the TLARGI events, she said.

Growing up in the rubber industry, Haney found the social connections at the TLARGI meetings helpful for his growth as a professional, but also in keeping family connections alive, he said. When he would introduce himself, TLARGI members would recognize the last name and tell him about how his grandfather had impacted them, even after he had passed away.

"Everyone was tied to Kirkhill Rubber," he said. "Either they worked there, were a supplier or a customer. He gave them their first job or introduced them to someone. I would meet people I'd never met before, and they're telling me old stories about my grandfather. It was just awesome. I learned so much of my family rubber history through TLARGI."

The social connections have been a major part of TLARGI's history, giving members the chance to network. The organization has had several annual events in the past, between its summer conference, Oktoberfest, casino night, golf outings and Christmas party. And those opportunities go beyond just networking, Perez said.

"It's pretty tight-knit," she said. "I know our membership is kind of small with about 350, but I actually love that people are excited, and you see them embracing when they see one another at an event. They're truly happy to see each other."

Perez started working in the rubber industry directly through a connection at TLARGI, finding a position at R.D. Abbott. With the new job came a new appreciation for the technical side of what TLARGI offered, she said.

TLARGI events gave Haney another way to expand his perspective of the rubber industry as a young professional, he said.

"Especially early in my career it was, like, broaden your horizons and just learn about the suppliers and the competition," he said. "It still is today, a really unique experience. There's a lot of friendly competition around here, and I know them because of TLARGI."

Even though he and his competition are bidding on similar projects or sharing customers, the meetings give him a chance to meet the people behind the company name and make connections there, he said. It also provides a chance to go back to more personal ways of connecting with colleagues.

"Meeting with my suppliers has been good," Haney said. "Especially in the day and age of technology where we have less face-to-face interaction, it's good to get out from behind your computer and shake hands, see friendly competition and suppliers."

Those connections are at the heart of the organization, said Scott Kearns, chief operating officer for R.D. Abbott and chairman of TLARGI.

"I genuinely believe it's the relationships that folks build coming here. It's the relationship first, then business comes along with it," he said. "It's the rubber industry that brought us together, but this relationship holds us together."

Technical learning

Education is another important aspect to TLARGI, with technical sessions covering multiple topics across the industry, Kearns said. That includes the group's annual Basic Rubber Technology course, a 20-week course that runs on Thursday nights, taught by Rick Ziebell, technical manager at R.D. Abbott.

"It's a key part of our program," Kearns said. "I still remember my instructor's name. They were an influence on my life at that time. I hope our graduates continue to feel that way as they come through the program."

When Perez started working in the rubber industry, she took the Basic Rubber Technology course along with a friend.

"It's as technical as they want it to be," she said. "Just the way they explain the chemistry, it's put in such a user-friendly language so anyone, based on any education, could receive it.

"For someone like myself, who is a lifelong learner, I found it extremely valuable, and I use it in my work. It made all the difference in my job as a customer service rep, which is what I was doing then," she said.

The course was a great way to learn about the larger rubber industry, as well as make some industry connections as a young person in the industry, Haney said. Year after year, it keeps bringing in new students and potential rubber professionals.

"The Basic Rubber Technology course is so important for us to continue," he said. "The attendance has been really good for a long time. For the last 10 years, it's been solid, about 30-50 people in the group. That's great, and it's important for us to continue that."

TLARGI also encourages education by reaching to an even younger group with its scholarship program, Kearns said.

"We understand that the future of the rubber business is premised on education and those who are coming up in the organization. We're interested in recruitment and bringing people into the industry," he said.

Scholarship funds come from membership fees and events. For the 2017-18 academic year, TLARGI gave 16 undergraduate scholarships totaling $19,000, Kearns said.

A scholarship committee reviews all applicants and chooses the prime candidates for the fund, Perez said. The application fee for the TLARGI scholarship is $40.

"To me, I think that's the most special thing, giving that scholarship," she said. "Then you see their pictures in the yearbook, and they'll do a presentation once a year that shows who the scholarships were awarded to, what their college is and what their major is. We've had a couple that have gotten it a few years in a row, and it's just really nice to see them grow as adults, because this is our future generation. These are our future employees in this industry."

Going forward

Staying together for 90 years is an accomplishment on its own, but the group is trying to maintain its membership, Kearns said. Through the 1940s, TLARGI had about 250 members, reaching a peak in the 1970s of about 750. In the 1990s, membership slid to about 500 members, and today has about 300.

"In the immediate time here, we're working on reinventing ourselves, reassessing what is of value to the membership," Kearns said. "What do they want to see? What are the things they want to be involved in?"

One area that needed focus was reducing costs, analyzing where money was being spent for a better return on investment for members, Perez said. Some entertainment events were cut back, or were relocated to more affordable venues.

TLARGI members meet six times each year currently, but that number could change to something that makes more sense for the group, Kearns said.

"We may be slightly reducing the amount of meetings, and making the meetings we have extremely relevant," Kearns said.

The group also is leaning heavily into using more electronic communications, Perez said. The group is looking to be more active in social media, and text reminders for sessions during events to help with participation. Going forward, that also could mean an increase in digital availability for registering for the Basic Rubber Technology course.

"I know in the past, people from Mexico have driven up every Thursday to attend that course. That's how important it is," she said. "If we could find a way to reach out to individuals in that aspect. I think the value that Rick brings to that course is phenomenal, and it could be very wide-reaching."

Reflecting the wider industry, TLARGI also is focused on bringing younger people into the group, Kearns said. The group is trying to encourage younger professionals to get involved, work with committees and bring in technical content.

"It's very challenging, bringing young folks into the industry and getting them excited about it," he said. "What we've found is that when you bring them in, introduce them to the industry, and really show them, they look at the equipment and the parts. Then they get excited about it."

But with 90 years behind them, TLARGI's track record for finding value for its membership is strong, Kearns said.

"I could not imagine somebody being in the West Coast rubber industry without being affiliated with TLARGI," he said. "TLARGI's intention is to bring us all together to learn about things that are happening, whether it's environmental, health and safety issues, other regulatory issues, whether it's process or the future of rubber. It brings us together for the shared vision of what's happening in front of us."