As the new President of ARM, I want to share a couple of my goals for the coming year.
At the 2012 Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, I opened the doors of Solar Plastics to members of the ARM Education Committee, Future Leaders, and Board of Directors. I got as much from the feedback I received from our visitors as they did from seeing inside another rotomolding shop. I think that this opportunity to learn from one another is the greatest benefit of being a member of the Association of Rotational Molders.
As a result of the success of the Solar Plastics tour, the Future Leaders visited three rotomolding plants in the Los Angeles area in May. At the Annual Meeting in Cleveland this October, almost 100 ARM members visited Hedstrom Plastics, Ferry Industries, and Vitamix (where we learned about that company’s lean manufacturing process). In the coming year, we plan to open the doors to more plants and hope to conduct tours that coincide with the Spring Meeting in Las Vegas (March 16-18) and Rotoplas (October 7-9).
These additional tours are part of the Board’s goal to continue adding value to ARM membership and meetings.
Last year, the Association unveiled a consolidated Committee plan. I was one of the drivers of that plan. Our Board knows we need to better communicate that plan and the scope of each Committee. We also need to provide each Committee with guidance as to how they can help support ARM’s Strategic Plan. I’m happy to report that work has already begun: ARM Vice President Corey Claussen and I met with the Committee Chairs during the Annual Meeting in Cleveland and again for a teleconference immediately after we returned.
The ARM Promotion Committee, chaired by Sandy Scaccia, will promote ARM’s benefits to members, non-members and those who can help grow the rotomolding process. The ARM Inspiration Committee, chaired by Jim Hummel, will communicate success stories both inside and outside of the industry. The ARM Education Committee, chaired by Dru Laws, will collect and share relevant educational information to ARM members. The ARM Future Leaders, chaired by Dan Goodlin, will continue to ensure that we have fun throughout the year.
The excellent volunteer members of our Committees have been working hard on these projects. They have shared with many of you during our Annual Meeting some of the deliverables that our members will see in the coming year. I’d like to thank all of our volunteers for the support they have provided to ARM.
I am excited to take the reins of ARM for the year and show you everything we can do. As part of that excitement, I have committed the ARM Board to call every molder member of ARM in North America. We want to discuss with each of you what we can do for you to continue adding value to the Association.
Rick Carlsen is an owner and the VP of Sales and Marketing at Solar Plastics, Inc.
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For more information about the Association, visit www.rotomolding.org
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