Blair Rubber Co. wins ARPM’s Manufacturing Day Educational Outreach Award
SEVILLE, Ohio – Blair Rubber Co. was recently honored as the winner of the Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers (ARPM)’s inaugural Manufacturing Day Educational Outreach Award.
ARPM designed the award to recognize a rubber products manufacturer that excels at spreading the message about the significant benefits of working in the manufacturing sector.
With Manufacturing Day in October, the association wanted a way to highlight what its members were doing to support their industry and created the outreach award. Blair Rubber Co. beat out 28 other participants to win.
“(Blair Rubber Co.’s) overall dedication to workforce development made them stand out more than some of the others,” said Ashley Turrell, operational support specialist at ARPM.
The annual award calls attention to how members can conduct workforce development, – a hot topic in today’s market. It also serves as inspiration to companies that may not shape and use their educational outreach programs yet.
“Blair Rubber Company believes in educating students with the truth about the importance of manufacturing,” said Dr. Tonjua McCullough, controller at Blair Rubber Co.
Blair Rubber Co. emphasizes its educational outreach efforts, from participating in local events to hosting plant tours. Every year, Blair Rubber Co. hosts high school plant tours to allow students to see the manufacturing process first-hand.
“With Blair Rubber, what was interesting about what they were doing is that they were coming at it from multiple angles. A lot of companies have maybe one initiative, whereas they were working with both area high schools, and with their local economic development corporation,” Turrell said.
“(Blair Rubber Co.) has several really great initiatives going on at the same time. They also have an apprenticeship program that they instituted as well, giving them just another way to have a pipeline for talented employees.”
As winner of the outreach award, Blair Rubber Co. won a $2,000 scholarship that can go toward any workforce development initiative.
“We are donating our scholarship to the Medina County (Ohio) Career Center for the future manufacturing program,” McCullough said.
“In Medina County, the career center is where students from all high schools go for trade and skills programs. Topics range from auto mechanics to nursing to childcare to welding. And we want to promote the great opportunities manufacturing can present any person.”
To learn more about Blair Rubber Co. and its culture, read a letter from the company’s general manager.
About Blair Rubber Co.:
Blair Rubber Co. is the only full service manufacturer in North America that has a complete line of corrosion resistant rubber linings. Since its inception, Blair Rubber has consistently invested in research and development to improve existing products and bring new products to market. The company is committed to quality – both in the rubber linings it manufacturers and in customer satisfaction.