Innovative Team at Romeo RIM Continues to Grow, Collect Accolades for Work in Custom Reaction Injection Molding
ROMEO, Mich. — Award-winning Romeo RIM (www.romeorim.com), the world’s innovative leader in custom reaction injection molding and composite solutions, continues to strengthen its talented team of manufacturing professionals with the addition of automotive industry veteran Ian Smith.
Additionally, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Michelle Bourdage was named one of three finalists for 2017 CFO of the Year by Plastics News.
“Our servant leadership culture at Romeo RIM is not only attracting incredibly talented individuals like Ian and Michelle, but it is empowering them to excel at their work at an exciting time in our company’s growth,” President and CEO Randy Johnson said.
Joining Romeo RIM in 2016, Michelle Bourdage leads the financial and IT activities at the company including controllership, business planning, and corporate reporting in a LEAN manufacturing environment. Her selection as a finalist by Plastics News came after a review by an independent panel of judges including financial practitioners, top plastics executives, and members of government and academia who selected finalists based on excellence in financial or other corporate operational management and their contributions to the community.
As a finalist, Bourdage was featured in a major article published in the Plastics News online and print editions, reaching over 45,000 readers. In the article, she discussed how Romeo RIM aligns company goals with middle management and employees and operates with shared power and vision.
“From the executive team down to the plant floor, we look at everybody as leader, not just the executive team,” Bourdage said. “We look to mentor vs. monitor.”
Ian Smith is well-versed in composites manufacturing innovation from his time as an advanced vehicle development engineer at GM and senior engineer at Roechling Automotive, in addition to serving as senior project engineer at Continental Structural Plastics. As Composite Product Development Engineer at Romeo RIM, he will be leveraging his 26 years experience with injection molding plastics, compression molding plastics, and carbon fiber to develop products and processes to achieve customer targets in design, functionality, and durability while meeting product requirements.
“There are a lot of interesting things going on here in new product development processes, materials and customers,” Smith said.
During his time in the automotive industry, Smith was very involved in long fiber injection (LFI) technology, one of the main focuses at Romeo RIM. He said he sees LFI innovation as a tremendous opportunity to supplant sheet molding composite products as options for things like body panels and exterior cladding.
“LFI has in-mold finishing ability, and conforms to structural elements on the backside so you don’t need any features like brackets or clips, for example,” Smith said.
Romeo RIM’s LFI technology uses a mix of polyurethane and chopped fiberglass in molds to create products with the unique combination of superior strength and light weight, in sizes and weights up to 11.5’ x 11.5’ and 80 pounds. Multiple smaller parts are consolidated into one mold with no seam lines or leaks, with shorter cycle times leading to cost savings for customers.
To learn more about Romeo RIM’s design, engineering, and support experience in reaction injection molding, LFI, and in-mold painting email sales@romeorim.com, call (586) 336-5877 or visit www.romeorim.com.
About Romeo RIM
Award-winning Romeo RIM is the world’s innovative leader in custom reaction injection molding and composite solutions. The company serves markets including transportation, heavy truck, agriculture and construction, spa, and rail car with complex engineering applications and a commitment to quality customer service. Our experienced, growing workforce combines years of technical and industry knowledge with a spirit of creativity to develop the next generation of long fiber injection (LFI) molded products and technologies. Romeo RIM’s lean manufacturing and operational excellence enables us to build a strategic connection with engineering and purchasing professionals up and down the supply chain, aligning our strategy with their strategy to form strong, lasting relationships. For more information, visit www.romeorim.com.
