RUBBER PRODUCT DESIGN FIRM EXPANDS
By Tom Droege
World Staff Writer
TULSA, OK— A Tulsa company that engineers rubber products is bouncing higher this year with record sales and plans for a new headquarters.
“I never knew it would be this big,” said Rick Hudson, president and founder of RL Hudson, a supplier of molded components, shaft seals, and formed hoses.
Hudson, a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, started the company in his home 23 years ago. Today, RL Hudson employs 55 people and has outgrown its 21,000 square feet of space in east Tulsa.
The company reported $17 million in sales last year and projects nearly
$20 million this year, continuing an estimated 15 percent growth rate.
By the end of this year, Hudson said the company will be moved in to
its new, $3 million headquarters in Broken Arrow near 61st Street and
145th East Avenue. Plans call for a 36,000 square-foot facility with
offices, labs and a distribution center on seven acres. Construction
started this week.
All this is occurring while many manufacturers suffer amid the shaky
economy, but Hudson said the downturn has actually benefited RL Hudson.
“A lot of big companies have scaled back their in-house engineering departments, so they appreciate the fact that we can step in and fill that void,” he said. “Because we’re small, we just service the heck out of them.”
The company has five engineers on staff, two with doctorates. Two of the engineers speak Chinese and are instrumental in working with Chinese manufacturers.
RL Hudson has relies on about eight manufacturers in the United States, Mexico, Taiwan, China, and Italy to produce finished parts for its customers.
A walk down the aisle of any major retail store shows that nonmetallic components end up in a variety of everyday items. Rubbermaid, WeedEater, Jacuzzi, DitchWitch and Coleman are some of the brand names that carry RL Hudson parts. They can also be found in many American-made automobiles.
“We make parts that make the bigger parts work,” Hudson said. “We do all the design work here.
Inside the Company’s current location, at 9504 E. 55th Place, engineers rotate three dimensional images on computer screens, tweaking dimensions and making tiny changes such as adding a single thread to the end of a plastic tube.
Perfection is the goal, Hudson said, which is why five employees work in the quality assurance department. They inspect the end product before it is shipped out so it meets international quality standards required by many customers.
“Our quality manager is also and engineer, and that helps as we strive to meet customers stringent quality control standards,” he said. “Quality is a critical area that is closely related to engineering.”
The company’s specialty is solving problems, Hudson said. In fact that’s how it won the Rubbermaid account, which has become one of its largest.
Years ago when Rubbermaid produced gasoline cans, it received numerous complaints about leaks where the spout and container screw together. In response, RL Hudson developed a gasoline-friendly gasket that sealed the connection and stopped the leak.
In addition to engineering, Hudson takes pride in his company’s prompt shipping and attention to such details as keeping shipping labels straight on packages.
“By doing a good job, your reputation grows,” he said.
RL Hudson employs 47 people at their Tulsa location,
about 75 percent of whom are involved in the design process. Another
eight people work in the company’s other locations – in Arkansas,
Ohio, South Carolina and Taiwan.
Hudson is the sole owner of the debt-free company. He had planned on moving to a new facility two years ago, but 2001 was a flat year – only $13.3 million in sales – so he decided to wait. With the move, Hudson plans to add a number of new employees.
© 2002 World Publishing Company
Note: This is an edited version of an article that appeared in the February 6, 2003 edition of the Tulsa World.
