Creating a Culture of Continuing Education

By Kaitlyn Triplett, managing director, ARPM

ARPM’s purpose states that “ARPM is a giving organization comprised of the rubber industry’s most successful manufacturing companies. We are committed to shaping the industry through continuous evolution of improving leading-edge training and setting product standards.” One way the ARPM leadership teams are embodying this purpose is through the development of the ARPM Training Academy.

According to the Association for Talent Development (ATD), companies that offer comprehensive training programs have 218% higher income per employee than companies without formalized training. But it doesn’t stop there. These companies also enjoy a 24% higher profit margin than those who spend less on training.1 For years, companies have struggled with the Return on Investment (ROI) for investing in the training of employees. However, these statistics illustrate how devoting more resources to training will save a company time, money and resources and enhance the company’s technical depth – which are all reasons why the ARPM Training Academy was created.

Rubber industry professionals have expressed a need for in-depth technical training, and ARPM was able to facilitate a Seals Product Design and Manufacturing training course in June 2023. While the foundation for this course lies within ARPM’s industry-leading best practice documents and product standards, Joe Walker of Elastomer Technologies and ARPM’s Training Academy director, took the lead in developing the agenda and bringing in industry veterans with over 140 years of combined experience in the rubber industry. This course was an industry first and, due to the technical depth of the instructors, became the industry’s most powerful training event offered.

Attendees spent five days immersed in comprehensive training in rubber science, product design (for static and dynamic sealings) and producibility. One attendee shared, “These were some of the best, most knowledgeable and experienced people to teach this kind of class.”

When ARPM shared with the industry that a training course of this depth was going to be offered, Walker stated to the members, “The quality of a company’s associates directly is related to their knowledge of materials, design, products and processes that are the fundamental backbone of the products that are being delivered to the customer. The ability of these associates – design engineers, commercial teams or process designers – to respond to the voice of their customers is key to a company’s reputation in the industry.”

Ensuring the associates have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed is the responsibility of the company. Walker continued, stating, “The most effective way to enhance the quality of these associates is to have them gain experience from industry experts. By making use of the knowledge of these experts, who come from a variety of industry-leading companies, this program allows associates, and therefore the company, to benchmark their own internal knowledge base and practices. It evaluates and implements industry-wide best practices to gain enhanced knowledge and demonstrate an investment in the company and its associates. It is not common to have an assembly of such industry experts as ARPM has gathered to provide this comprehensive series of training in sealing technology. There simply is no more efficient or cost-effective way to invest in associates and enhance a company than through this industry first.”

In early June, eleven world-class organizations sent their leaders to participate in the Seals Product Design and Manufacturing training, investing in their employee continuing education and knowledge base. The ARPM

Training Academy, in essence, amounts to focused industry graduate studies for products. The 13 rubber industry leaders who completed these studies were left with enhanced product knowledge, along with a certificate of completion to showcase the time they committed to investing in themselves.

ARPM celebrates the companies that are investing in their employees and the employees who are investing in their continuing education. Congratulations to all the attendees of the Seals Product Design and Manufacturing training:

● Dana Incorporated

● Datwyler Group

● Eagle Elastomer

● Ebco, Inc.

● Engineered Seal Products

● Grace Technology and Development

● Precision Associated, Inc.

● Rainbow Rubber Extrusions, Inc.

● Safran Landing Systems

● Tremco, Inc.

● Uni-Grip, Inc.

Training and development are recognized investments. ARPM will continue to foster the ever-evolving need for new training opportunities for the rubber industry through the ARPM Training Academy. n

References

1. http://businesstrainingexperts.com/knowledge-center/ training-roi/profiting-from-learning/

ARPM Events on the Horizon

August 2-3, 2023 – Human Resources Forum

August 16, 2023 – PFAS – A Deeper Dive

August 23-24, 2023 – Peer Networking

September 18, 2023 – ARPM Building Leaders of Character Program

October 4-6, 2023 – Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference

October 18, 2023 – ARPM Connects at the International Elastomer Conference

November 9, 2023 – Stockwell Elastomerics Plant Tour

November 15-16, 2023 – Finance Forum the importance of providing immediate feedback and how it should be delivered; conquering communication challenges by applying time-tested military methods to relay objectives and key mission points; and being equipped to better improve organization performance with After Action Review tools.

For the most up-to-date information and to register for events, visit www.arpminc.com/events.

Registration is limited to 35 participants on a first-come, firstserved basis. For more information, questions or to register, contact info@arpminc.org.

2023 Human Resources Forum

HR Professionals in the manufacturing industry continue to face challenges in hiring, retaining and engaging employees. ARPM is hosting the annual Human Resources Forum (virtually), August 2-3, 2023, to facilitate discussions on best practices and challenges facing the industry today.

Presentations will cover company culture, training best practices, hot topics in compliance, career paths, apprenticeship programs and much more.

For more information and to register, visit www.arpminc. com/events. Can’t attend the event? Submit registration and receive access to all recordings and event materials.

ARPM Building Leaders of Character Program

After years of research, ARPM partnered with Thayer Leadership to create the Building Leaders of Character Program, starting September 18, 2023. Thayer Leadership at West Point builds leaders with a simple premise: Character is foundational to the ability to lead. Combine this with knowledge and action, and it unleashes the “whole” leader every organization needs.

Building Leaders of Character Program 1.0 is made up of 18 virtual sessions over a 14-week span. During the program, attendees will become more robust in holding people accountable; developing and maintaining trust; pulling people together to meet organizational objectives; understanding

Upcoming In-Person Plant Tour

Stockwell Elastomerics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will host ARPM’s fourth-quarter plant tour on November 9. Plant tours offer the opportunity for APRM members to visit other member facilities, see how others are approaching challenges and help the host company see new areas of opportunity. Being able to attend member-hosted plant tours is one of the top benefits of being an ARPM member.

During this plant tour, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to the Stockwell Elastomerics team discuss how it has remained an employee-owned company, its safety and continuous improvement initiatives and how it has successfully implemented a return-to-work program.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, attendees will have the opportunity to walk away from this plant tour with several implementable best practices and solutions to challenges the rubber industry is facing.

There are a limited number of spots reserved for nonmembers on this tour. Interested in seeing what a plant tour is all about? Reach out to ktriplett@arpminc.org.

ARPM Training Academy Partners and Sponsors

The ARPM Training Academy is a dynamic technical training resource that teaches fundamentals and advanced topics for the rubber industry. Rubber industry professionals came together June 5-9, in Columbus, Ohio, for the Seals Product Design and Manufacturing training course facilitated by ARPM. The Training Academy course was a success thanks to partners, including Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies and MAPLAN, and lunch sponsors, including Akron Rubber Development Lab, DESMA and SIGMASOFT Virtual Molding. For more information, visit www.arpminc.com/training-academy.

Akron Rubber Development Lab; DESMA and SIGMASOFT

Virtual Molding. For more information, visit www.arpminc.

ARPM Product Standards Update

ARPM works to ensure that the interests of the United States Hose, Belt and Seals manufacturers are kept as a priority on the world’s stage and holds positions on Technical Committees of ISO through its membership in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Through the support of ARPM’s two technical experts and several volunteers, ARPM is able to oversee the developments and modifications of global standards while providing feedback and governance on suggested changes to international standards. Additionally, ARPM fosters a relationship with the Mechanical Power Transmission Association (MPTA), the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association (CEMA), the Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution (NAHAD) and the Compressed Gas Association (CGA).

All the product standards go through a revision by ARPM’s technical committees every five years, to follow the ANSI requirements. In the last month, ARPM announced two newly updated sealing standards – OS-4: Application Guide for Radial Lip Type Shaft Seals and OS-15: Measuring Radial Lip Seal Torque and Power Consumption.

ARPM provides over 120 product standards at no cost to members, including the new versions as they are updated. To view the full list of product standards, visit www.arpminc.com/publications

Welcome New Members

Please join ARPM in welcoming the following new members!

R.T. Vanderbilt Company Tremco, Inc. Qualiform, Inc. n

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