ARDL partners with Rubber Division

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio—The ACS Rubber Division and Akron Rubber Development Laboratory Inc. have entered into a partnership where ARDL will help the division with education and training related to the testing area of elastomers.

The partnership fits in with the "Chemistry to Componentry" theme that Michael Morrow, consultant with MBG Associates L.L.C., is concentrating on during his year as Rubber Division chair. It was announced during the Rubber Division's Spring Technical Meeting, held April 30-May 2 in Independence.

"It seems like everything the Rubber Division does can be found on this pathway, from the chemists who work on molecules to the entities who manufacture those molecules through a variety of processes into things used by end user customers," Morrow said. "In between lies testing and validation, where chemists and component manufacturers make sure their work will meet or exceed the needs of an end user to improve on existing materials and products and create new ones."

This is where ARDL comes in, as it will provide the education and training along this area of the "Chemistry to Componentry," path, looking to engage both those currently in the industry and younger people who may someday look at the rubber industry as a potential career path.

ARDL already presented a 3½-day rubber course in late May, utilizing both its own operations and also the Rubber Division's newly opened training center at its Akron headquarters. It also plans to conduct four courses at the Rubber Division's International Elastomer Conference in October, totaling six hours of classes.

"ARDL recognizes the need for transfer of knowledge from experienced technologists to the younger generation," ARDL President Bonnie Stuck said at the division meeting. "We are facing this need within our company and we have added younger technologists who we are mentoring and preparing them for the future of ARDL."

Stuck looked around the room during the announcement ceremony and saw that two of her mentors were in attendance, John Long, now a consultant, and John Dick, retired from Alpha Technologies.

"John Long taught me how to cut tires, with he in a suit and a tie, and me in a dress," she said. "And John Dick helped me a lot on testing and continues to answer my questions. So it's like a full circle. We want to complete that circle. We don't want to break that circle."

To that end, ARDL sees a need for education to facilitate the knowledge transfer, and said the partnership will coordinate the efforts of the Rubber Division and the testing firm.

"We not only want to reach new people who have joined the rubber industry, we want to attract more people," Stuck said. "We want to get younger people from universities, from high schools, and also down into the middle school level, to get them interested in technical fields such as polymers and rubber and plastics."

She added that ARDL also will be looking to have some of its younger people the firm already has started mentoring on its staff to help with the teaching, as sometimes students may relate better to someone closer to their generation.

One such person to be involved is Nicole Hershberger, ARDL manager of compounding development. "So many people have retired and there are so many young people in the industry now," she said, "and we're trying to train the next generation of rubber chemists."

Gretchen Cermak, Rubber Division marketing manager, said ARDL jumped right in and volunteered to help when they heard what Morrow was planning with his theme. "They're just 100 percent on board to do anything in partner with us in any aspect and any outreach," Cermak said. "Our goals just aligned to have that partner with that expertise."

The training and education will be able to take advantage of the electronic capabilities of both the new Rubber Division training facility and ARDL's own online technology. For example, there can be a split screen or two monitors, one with the instructor teaching and the other showing the actual test on the machine, Morrow said. "When they do get near the machine in real life, they've already seen it, so they'll have a better idea of what it does," he said.

The ARDL partnership is the first of what Morrow hopes will be a number of such collaborations that eventually cover all aspects of the rubber industry.

"So anytime we are approached with a request for education or training, we can say 'Where does it fit on the pathway?' and hopefully we'll have an educational partner we can go to and solve the needs of the people who are requesting the education."

Likewise, if something doesn't fit on the line, then the Rubber Division will know not to spend human and financial resources on it, according to Morrow.

"This is just the start of what we hope will be over many years a cohesive, coordinated group that can address education and training anywhere on that pathway," he said.