Solutions Current Issues > January/February/March 2007 > FIRST ARTICLES
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RL HUDSON TEAMS WITH UNITED WAY
RL Hudson’s Oklahoma-based personnel recently took part in the company’s first-ever campaign to raise money for the Tulsa Area United Way. The campaign ran from October 9 through 13, and it featured a series of fundraising events. These included ping-pong, golf, an executive car wash, and a dodgeball tournament. (A “Best Dodgeball Uniforms” contest was also held; the winning team is shown at right.) In addition to participating in the fundraisers, many employees also opted to annualize their giving through regular payroll deductions.
As an incentive, Hudson founder and CEO Rick Hudson had vowed to match whatever the employees could raise. As a result, United Way representatives were presented with a check for $20,000 on the last afternoon of the campaign. At a celebratory banquet held on November 9, the Tulsa United Way honored RL Hudson with its prestigious ONG Green County Award. This award recognizes the level of company-wide support given to a campaign.
The funds raised by RL Hudson and other companies in and around Tulsa benefit the Tulsa United Way’s 65 health and human service member agencies. Last year, these agencies helped more than 640,000 people. To learn more on how you or your company can help the United Way, visit them on the web at national.unitedway.org.
RL HUDSON TO ACQUIRE GRAND RIVER RUBBER & PLASTICS
We at RL Hudson are excited to announce our intention to acquire Grand River
Rubber & Plastics. Based in Ashtabula, Ohio, Grand River is a leading
manufacturer of lathe-cut seals, extruded rubber products, and drive belts.
The agreement is expected to be completed by the end of January.
For RL Hudson, the acquisition will add U.S.-based manufacturing capabilities, new products, and access to new markets. Grand River will gain RL Hudson’s material and product design expertise, as well as expanded new markets in both the U.S. and Asia. No changes are planned for the work forces in either Ashtabula or at Hudson headquarters in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and Grand River’s current management will remain in place. Grand River employs 215, while RL Hudson employs 100.
Richard Selip, president of Grand River, says that the agreement, which has been negotiated for a year, is the result of a 20-year business and personal relationship between the two companies. “Grand River was looking for a strategic partner who shared common values and vision,” says Selip. “We’ve long admired RL Hudson’s management style, how they serve customers, and how they treat their personnel. It’s a great fit.”
RL Hudson founder and CEO Rick Hudson is equally excited. “Grand River’s workforce is outstanding,” he says. “Their success shows that there is a strong future for U.S. manufacturing. It’s exciting to me that many of Grand River’s products are presently exported to China. We want to build on that.”
LEAN EVENT TARGETS QUOTING PROCESS
Members of the RL Hudson engineering, quality assurance, customer service,
and sales teams recently met for a daylong Lean Event focusing on the quoting
process. Conducted by Rick Haynes, a Six Sigma Master Black Belt from Smarter
Solutions, Inc., the event was held at our Oklahoma facility. The focus of
the event was to pinpoint opportunities for improvement in the way in which
RL Hudson processes and responds to customer requests for quotes. The objective
was to further improve both the accuracy and lead-time of our customer quoting
process.
“It was the first time I had participated in a Lean Event,” says Connie Barber, our Customer Service Manager. “I found it to be a great way to interact with different departments and get everyone's perspective on current functions and how we can improve them.”
Project Manager Rose Rhodes echoes those sentiments. “This was also my first Lean Event,” she says, “so I went into it with curiosity and a little skepticism as to what the outcome would be. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a wonderful opportunity to work together in cross-functional teams to identify not only our strengths and weaknesses but to brainstorm ideas and solutions to improve our quoting processes and practices.”
Additional Hudson Lean Events are planned for 2007, including one on the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) and one on Corrective Action Reports (CAR).
IN MEMORIUM: LLOYD (BUD) HUDSON
June 2003: RL Hudson CEO Rick Hudson, his mother
Ruth, and his father
Bud shared many happy memories.
All of us here at RL Hudson were saddened by the recent passing of Lloyd B. (Bud) Hudson, Jr., father of company founder and CEO Rick Hudson, and grandfather of Territory Manager Jason Hudson. Bud passed away on September 20, 2006, after an extended battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 89. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, of 64 years, as well as two sons, two daughters, eight grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
“Many of our longtime employees knew my father,” says Rick. “He was a wonderful, sweet man who loved our employees. He was a big part of the business in the early stages. He retired from his company, Holcomb & Hoke in Indianapolis, Indiana, shortly after I started RL Hudson & Company. He spent many hours in Tulsa helping me build shelving and shipping stations. He also opened and developed our Southeastern territory. We still have customers he called on back in those first days.”
“My grandfather was a tremendous source of strength and wisdom,” says Jason. “He always preached honesty, integrity, and responsibility to me as a boy. Those lessons stay with me today.”
