Zochem recently hosted an event for the Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers (ARPM) at the Dickson Tennessee plant and headquarters. The open house was attended by a select group of 20 members, including production managers, quality managers, operations specialists and owners. The Zochem presentation included a brief history of the company, zinc oxide specifications and applications, safety record, and an outline of Zochem’s management philosophy. This was followed by and a tour of the plant and quality-control lab.
The Association’s rules are that the attendees for such ARPM sponsored events need to point out take-aways (both positive and negative) that they have derived from the visit. This can be as simple as a fire extinguisher missing its quarterly inspection tag or a potential OSHA compliance issue. In their informal report, the ARPM members attending reported that, all in all, the positives outnumbered the negatives by a factor of 5:1 with several positive comments on safety and efficiency (very few people).
The Association for Rubber Products Manufacturers was established in October of 2010 after elastomer products company executives, belonging to the RMA, mutually agreed that a stand-alone association was needed. Zochem is well known as a key supplier of zinc oxide grades for the elastomer industry.
ARPM has been designed to service the needs rubber products manufacturers, which is the reason the organization’s leadership team is comprised of company owners, presidents, and senior level managers on the ARPM Board of Directors. Rubber manufacturers are the largest users of zinc oxide powder.