Do employees at your companies talk about the organization’s culture?  If so, how do they describe it? After participating in the excellent Lean Manufacturing workshop at the ARM Annual Meeting in Cleveland, I believe the facilitators (Rich Maguire of Remcon Plastics and Kent Pottebaum of Solar Plastics) would agree that the answers to the above…

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…

I know my friends and colleagues are tired of the flying metaphors but I can’t help it because the ARM Rotomolding Education and Development Foundation is taxiing for takeoff and I am excited! The sky is normally the limit, but like any foundation the purposes must be outlined in the incorporation documents and followed for…

Lake Erie, Cleveland Browns, Great Lakes Science Center, The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and Museum, Cedar Point, Pro Football Hall Of Fame, Cleveland Cavaliers, Put-In-Bay, Bridgestone Invitational, All American Soapbox Derby. Northeast Ohio has twenty State Parks and five State Forests providing hundreds of miles of hiking trails, boating, kayaking and educational opportunities. …

“Stay out, we’re full.” These words were carefully sewn onto a patch, surrounding an American flag.  It caught my daughter Lindee’s eye as she pointed it out to me in the Milwaukee airport.  Sadly enough, it wasn’t on a trash can or toilet stall, rather on the jacket worn by a fellow American. This occurred…

You may know that in 2011, a group of our younger members formed the ARM Future Leaders, a networking group open to anyone in the Association. The Future Leaders focus on troubleshooting, learning from one another, and becoming leaders in ARM and the rotomolding industry. They have also taken part in two plant tours –…

Recently, a customer sent in a PO for 300 pcs. of a brand-new rotomolded part – great news! Upon further examination, though, a major problem was discovered: the specified “MUST” ship date was 3 days from receipt of the PO. This would prove difficult to accommodate for a number of reasons, most significantly that it…

Cleveland’s had some tough times over the years, but things are looking up.  There hasn’t been a river fire on the Cuyahoga since 1969, Lebron was replaced by a slightly lesser known Tristan Thompson, the Brown’s are still mathematical contenders for the Playoff’s, and the 2013 ARM Annual Meeting is returning to the Rock and…

I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the principle of true leadership as of late. Every time I do, my thoughts turn to someone I always considered to be a fantastic leader … my father, Dwight Laws. Before he passed away, he was Director of BYU’s Independent Study department, one of the…