Meyer: Counting down to RPN's anniversary

Editor's Note: Rubber & Plastics News will celebrate its 50th Anniversary with a special issue Aug. 9. Leading up to that, we will be publishing a number of columns online by current and former staff members reflecting on their time with the publication.

As editor of Rubber & Plastics News since late 2013 and a staff member of the publication since 1988, it's humbling to me that we are about to celebrate our 50th anniversary reporting on the tire and rubber product manufacturing industry.

That's a testament to the loyalty of our audience, be it those of you who look forward to reading the print copy every two weeks, or those who get their fix of RPN on our website at rubbernews.com, or through or daily or niche newsletters. I also write this with a sense of gratitude to our hard working staff—including our editorial, sales, marketing, events and other members of our team—along with the support of Crain Communications Inc., which has owned Rubber & Plastics News since early in its history.

As I reflect on my 33+ years here, I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say, "Once you get in the rubber industry, you never get out." It appears I myself am living proof of that axiom.

With that in mind, I find it intriguing how people got into the rubber business in the first place. I've heard many of these stories over the years, but I find the most recent one quite fascinating.

It comes from Dave Corron, general manager of Graphic Arts Rubber, a custom mixer and calendering firm based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He's been there for 23 years and, to my mind, his background would lend no insight into a future career in rubber.

Corron, you see, came from the food industry. He worked for Hershey Foods, running a pasta making plant in Solon, Ohio. When Hershey was consolidating its pasta operations nearer its headquarters in Pennsylvania, the company wanted him to transfer to Lebanon, Pa. But his family balked at the idea, so he explained to them he'd have to start over in something new.

He came to interview with Glen Hofmann, and the rest, as they say, is history. Corron says he tells people that pasta is made in a batch process, much the same way Graphic Arts mixes rubber with its open mill mixing. Ingredients are blended together and a sheet of pasta—or rubber in this case—is the result.

"When I walked in, I was like, 'Yes, I can relate to this. This is an easy thing to put the two together,' " Corron said.

As for my introduction to the rubber industry? My father, also Bruce Meyer, had a career in the rubber industry. He worked in sales for General Tire, first in Ohio, then in California. The family moved back home to Ohio in 1968, after which he went from General to a short stint with Long Mile Rubber. He left there when my mother—not unlike Dave Corron's family—didn't want to move to Zelienople, Pa.

My dad ended up going to Goodyear, becoming the first plant manager for the firm's retread shop in Brunswick, Ohio. It's actually there where I had my first exposure to the rubber industry.

A few weeks back, in fact, my wife and I took a Sunday drive and ended up at the plant's location at the intersection of state Route 303 and Interstate 71. I couldn't resist the urge to pull in the driveway and snap a shot of the outside of the facility. In my high school days, my dad would have me come up and cut the grass at the site. It was a thankless job using a self-propelled push mower to navigate around the myriad of holes made by trucks picking up or delivering to the factory.

Although I never worked in the shop, I remember the machinery where the production staff worked to transform a casing back into usable retread tires for use on semi truck trailers. Never during those days did I envision myself having a career tied to that industry. But here I am, decades removed from those days, still happily reporting on such a vital industry.

Why do you love the rubber industry? We want to share your story, too. Send one or two sentences about your passion for the industry to [email protected], and we will share it on our social media.