Best Places to Work: Teamwork key to Specification Rubber's success

ALABASTER, Ala.—Specification Rubber Products Inc.'s culture, well-trained and dedicated employees and strong team environment are three of the company's greatest assets—and what sets it apart from other firms.

That's the way Specification Rubber President Steven A. Smith views the business. Couple those assets with top-quality products and fast service, he said, and the company has a winning combination.

"In the state of Alabama," he said, "we love our college football. Some may say we're fanatics. The team concept and setting the expectation bar high are things we get. Not only get them, we live them. Every teammate has a special role to play, and no single position is any greater than the other.

"We're challenged to safely perform our role to the best of our abilities daily. It is doing that which has helped create an exceptionally strong and vibrant company."

Smith is not the only one who's extremely upbeat about Specification Rubber. Its employees feel the same way, which is why the company was selected as one of the Best Places to Work for 2020 by Rubber & Plastics News.

A producer of various rubber gaskets, specialty mechanical molded rubber goods and a number of other products, it serves a multitude of industrial markets, but primarily waterworks. The Alabaster-based firm invests heavily and frequently in training and coaching its employees. Each understands their role—not only within the company, but how it relates to the marketplace, Smith noted.

In a survey conducted by the Best Companies Group, employees said Specification Rubber has a great work environment because of the teamwork among all members of its work force, which totals about 100.

They noted that salaried and wage employees get together often at tailgate parties, quarterly bonus celebrations or on other occasions, creating a culture that is positive and uplifting. Those events prove important along with the camaraderie built between staff members when key manufacturing issues arise.

And employees reported that Specification Rubber's benefit package is second to none. It includes everything from health insurance to life insurance to 401(k) plans.

It's obvious that employees at the company are happy to work there, proud of the high-caliber products they produce and the services they provide. They noted the quality policy at the firm is excellent and rubber gaskets made by the company are NSF-61 certified to guarantee safe drinking water.

One of the products Specification Rubber developed several years ago was a colored restrained gasket to differentiate between the dark pipe and dark gasket, to ensure they are installed correctly, Smith said.

"Seven years later, and we're still the only one that makes them domestically," he said. "We also have three patents for meter seal gaskets. We create solutions for the industry."

He pointed out that the company is a union shop and management works closely with all employees.

"They have a voice in the process," Smith said. "Everything here is about safety. We want everybody to go home as good or better than when they arrived."

Specification Rubber, which was founded in 1968 and acquired by American Cast Iron Pipe Co. in 1969, operates under the golden rule, which has guided the parent company since its inception in the early 1900s, Smith said.

"Our diversity strengthens us," Smith noted. "While not perfect, our ability to listen to different views and being open to suggestions and opinions has led to remarkable breakthroughs.

"We do not ask our teammates to check their brains at the door—but rather encourage input to create solutions to the challenges we face. The ownership and buy-in here is incredible. The work we do is tough, it's hot and it's challenging. There's nothing our team can't accomplish."

Specification Rubber's quality motto is "to meet, or exceed, customers' expectations daily," he said.

"Our team lives by this motto, regardless of the role each person plays," Smith said.