Zeon's Harber to drive SAE committee as CARS chairman

When Sam Harber started his professional career 44 years ago as a production worker, he learned two things:

"It told me I love the rubber industry and I wanted to be involved in it, but it also told me I better get a degree," he said.

Harber is a lifelong member of the rubber industry, getting his start as a little boy accompanying his father at work, "back when you could do that," he said.

"My dad was a degreed chemist and rubber compounder for 50 years, so I grew up in the rubber industry," Harber said, joking he was the kid running around the Banbury mixers.

While his rubber ventures as a kid were probably not crucial to the success of a company, they played their part in igniting his interest in the industry, he said, commending his father as his teacher and the reason he joined compounding.

As a production worker, Harber ran Banbury mixers, running mills, extruders, calenders, you name it. This hands-on work, he noted, is what gives him a leg up in the industry and allows him to better guide customers and colleagues, whether that be via phone call, email or on-site.

Harber, now a senior applications development scientist who holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Radford University in Virginia, has worked with Zeon Chemicals L.P. for 22 years. In this role, he provides feedback and support for customers and colleagues near and far, noting he also travels to provide support for the Southeast Asia market.

And as a "senior guy" at Zeon, he does his share of helping newer colleagues in any technical challenges they may have.

"It's very collegial here," he said. "We work very closely together."

No stranger to leadership, it makes sense Harber would be elected the 2022 chairman of the Committee on Automotive Rubber Specification (CARS), a segment of the International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

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"This lead role demonstrates to the rubber industry and our customer base that Zeon is committed to being dynamically engaged in the future of our industry," Zeon said in a statement on Harber's election. "This is especially true as the global automotive space begins to transition to include electric vehicles."

SAE mostly comprises volunteer technical experts and is a worldwide organizer and publisher of key standards for automotive parts' compliance with rigid performance and safety requirements, Zeon said in a statement.

When you pop the hood of your vehicle and take a look at the many rubber components that keep Ol' Reliable running, you'll likely notice the SAE initials, followed by a series of numbers, identifying the parts' compliance to the latest standards.

And it's volunteers like Harber, who also is a member of the Non-Hydraulic Hose Committee, that keep the standards up to date in the evolving automotive industry.

Harber has been with SAE for about five years. And now as the CARS chairman, he will report to the SAE executive committee, coordinate all CARS committee activities, including recruitment, membership and growth, and global parts performance standards review.

"I see my position in two ways," Harber said. "The longevity of the CARS committee, being sure we have continued support, and then, of course, being sure that the standards are kept up to date as the (automotive) industry moves along toward electric vehicles."

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In his role for standards review, Harber said he understands that as the automotive industry evolves, SAE will need to keep itself at the forefront of what makes a safe and properly performing part.

"Zeon is certainly on the forefront," he said of the company's products and involvement with SAE, "and we realize electric vehicles are here, and they're here to stay—I mean, there's no question about that."

While there might not be new types of rubber going into the latest electric- or battery-powered vehicle, the requirements for that rubber may differ, he said, and SAE will need to communicate this.

Harber notes recruitment and growing SAE and CARS remain at the top of his priorities as the CARS chairman, making up the biggest challenge he plans to tackle in his new role.

"It's no secret the rubber industry is aging," he said. "I've been in this (industry) a long time. I have a vision, and I want to be sure that as folks retire and decide they don't want to participate, that there's longevity for SAE and for the CARS committee."

Membership of the CARS committee includes representatives from OEMs such as General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis N.V.; materials suppliers; and many Tier 1 and Tier 2 direct customers.

"There are a lot of things that go on in the background that sustain the (automotive rubber) industry," Harber said. "And we would challenge our members in the industry to participate (in SAE) as they can.

"These efforts are voluntary," he added, noting that companies in the rubber industry, not just Zeon, give technical experts the time to attend SAE committees and are to be commended, especially with the current challenges the industry faces in the supply chain.

"We all are just slammed with challenges these days," he said, noting prospective members often worry about not having the time to participate. "Everyone is really pushed for time.

When encouraging new members to join, he said the best thing to do is to "just jump in and do it."

"Do as much as you can," he said, adding that every bit helps."If you jump in and start somewhere, usually you can work it out. That's what I've experienced."