As difficult a year as any in my memory is the best description of 2013 for myself and Romotech. Coming off a record year (as I am sure 2012 was for many of you), 2013 tossed us around like a cork in the Atlantic Ocean! All of the “as usual” practices we engaged going into…

For those who couldn’t make it to ARMO’s conference in Goa this month, Jonathan Wurr of Francis Wards provides an overview of the event. The event kicked off with a fabulous evening meal for early-arrivers at the Zeebop beach restaurant, hosted by Ravi Mehra, which provided a great chance to meet old friends and get…

Is ARM a “good old boys club”? A clique of a few molders? I have heard these comments over the years and, from my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Networking is at its most powerful in our organization and has proven its value time and time again. New attendees come to meetings…

During the Business Meeting at the ARM Annual Meeting in Cleveland, I told you that the ARM Board is working on understanding the perceived value that ARM delivers to our members, and exploring how we can create more value.  Over the past several weeks, I have spent a fair amount of time on the phone…

A group of 25 rotomolders and 16 suppliers attended the full-day All About the Shop Floor regional meeting conducted in Cincinnati at the end of November. Attendees told us it was an excellent meeting. Educational sessions included Preventative Tool Maintenance, Mold Release, How to Network, Resin Specifications, Safety, Hand Tools, Shrinkage & Warpage, and a…

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…