WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—George Halages claims he is never the "smartest guy" in the room. Yet Halages is the co-founder and CEO of a North Carolina-based manufacturer that is celebrating its 25th year of operation and continues to expand both within the sector and geographically.
Halages credits his employees with doing most of the heavy lifting for Archer Advanced Rubber Components, a manufacturer of seals, gaskets and molded rubber components in Winston-Salem. The company has benefited from consistent growth in recent years, and Halages and his fellow executives aim to double revenue by 2030, all while maintaining a family-oriented, small firm environment that offers big company expertise. That atmosphere is embodied by the company's "One Team—One Direction" motto which Halages believes emphasizes unity and shared goals.
Archer's success has been made possible because company employees bring a level of skills and experience to their roles that allow Halages and other leaders to concentrate on strategic initiatives and long-term planning. In other words, he credits his team with proven hiring practices.
"We've done a good job at building a cohesive team that can run the operation and manage the business," Halages said. "We're fortunate to (have hired) talented and accomplished people who are industry experts. It's not just a mom-and-pop place."
Archer provides customized seals and gaskets for outdoor power equipment and irrigation systems OEMs, along with appliance and other commercial and consumer product manufacturers. Those customers contract Archer for die-cut, extruded, lathe-cut and molded rubber component product lines capabilities.
"We offer a comprehensive range of product and process capabilities with the flexibility of either domestic manufacturing or global sourcing," said Troy Scott, senior vice president of sales and marketing.