_____________________________________________________________________ Roy
Metal Finishing Company to the largest independent electroplating shop in the Southeast . It offers barrel and rack plating , electrodeposition painting , powder coating , and warehousing capabilities , as well as direct shipping for the transportation , construction , agricultural , appliance , and industrial fastener markets .
Pursuit of perfection
“ The next significant step in our journey was to find the right partner that could help us continue to grow , provide us with additional structure , standardization , and investment , but one that also aligned with our existing core values ,” Dean explains . “ In September 2018 , RMF joined the Aalberts family of companies . Aalberts , a publicly traded company based in the Netherlands , is a collection of 150 hightechnology , industry-leading businesses .
“ We are now in our fifth year within the Aalbert ’ s family , and we are completing our rebranding campaign , ‘ Spread the Red ,’ later this year , which will result in a change of our company name to Aalberts Surface Treatment ,” he reveals .
“ When John retired as President in January 2021 , I was honored to be appointed President by Aalberts ,” Dean reflects . “ Most of my experience is in operations and quality , so I certainly had a lot to learn about the other aspects of presiding over a company of our size , including governance and compliance , as well as sustainability .”
He continues : “ Since being appointed President in 2021 , we ’ ve dealt with various challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic , such as supply chain disruptions , inflation of raw materials , and a tight , ever-changing labor market . But overall , I consider myself to be very fortunate to work with such a committed , experienced , and effective leadership team at RMF , which has navigated challenges together .
“ One of the many things I love about RMF is the people we attract ,” Dean states . “ Our culture is one of a team-based , performancedriven , relentless pursuit of perfection . At RMF , we realize that we live in a land of variables where perfection is not always attainable ; but along our journey toward pursuing perfection , we often find excellence .
“ Our core values are : ‘ leave it better than you found it ,’ ‘ none of us is as good as us ,’ and ‘ earn your position on the team every day ,” he details . “ We try to focus on ‘ doing the right thing first time ’ by eliminating wasteful activities . We continually look to recruit people who are a good fit for our environment , and who are resourceful , reliable , and accountable , without any quit in them ; what we do at RMF is difficult and it isn ’ t for everyone . But we do walk the talk here , by promoting from within our organization . In fact , every one of our current team leaders and managers started in an entry-level role , which has given the leadership team a strong and credible foundation .”
The next challenge for RMF is embracing technology and automation on its Piedmont campus . “ We will continue the transformation of our production area and we have identified appropriate technology and integration partners that will contribute to our goal of automating the shop floor ,” Dean explains . “ We need to convert manual , repetitive , and ergonomically challenging roles into technician-level jobs through the introduction of relevant technology and automation , such as robotics , vision systems , and artificial intelligence .
“ With current labor challenges across the industry , we need to do everything we can to appeal to potential employees and make RMF a place where people want to work and continue the strong commitment of offering mission-critical technologies to our customers ,” he concludes . ■
www . roymetalfinishing . com
manufacturing-today . com 149