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Bigger, Stronger, Lighter™
Manufacturing Quality since 1982 - Romeo RIM
Quality is a term that gets thrown around quite a bit, regardless of market sector, product or technology. Every business claims it has quality individuals, quality processes, and of course quality products.
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. That said, what exactly is the pudding? There’s really no one-size-fits-all definition of quality, but there are certain characteristics attached to quality that are common across industries.
Longevity
A Yale University professor found the average lifespan of leading U.S. companies has decreased by more than 50 years in the last century, from 67 years in the 1920s to just 15 years in modern times. According to a group of scientists at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico the lifespan is even less — about 10 years. New competition, aging technology, mergers and acquisitions, and basic mismanagement are some of the root causes, although there are more. That said, the companies that do survive for long periods of time have a consistent demand for their products or services, based on how they are received in the marketplace by customers looking for quality.
Romeo RIM has been around 36 years, with consistent demand for our reaction injection molding (RIM) process. Logic dictates that if we were not providing quality products and services, well, we wouldn’t be bucking scientific research as outlined previously.
Expanding Markets
When we first started as a polyurethane composite solutions company we were focused on the automotive marketplace. That changed, however, as we started to find new applications for our technology and approach to solving complex engineering challenges insofar as producing parts that are stronger than stamped steel or aluminum at lighter weights.
Our long fiber injection (LFI) molding attracted the attention of the transit and para-transit markets for buses and other transportation vehicles.
The heavy truck market found use for us in produc
ing large, complex parts like air deflectors, fenders, and rear side panels that are lightweight for improved gas mileage and cost savings.
The uniqueness of our LFI-produced parts being lightweight while still preserving structural integrity and strength was a draw for the agriculture and construction marketplace with its demand for front and rear fenders, body panels and roof modules.
Even the spa industry has taken note, with LFI proving to be a great fit for hot tub cabinets. We are able to produce beautiful, customized 7′ and 8′ side panels and corners requiring only a few steps for easier assembly, drastically improving installation and resulting in cost savings, not to mention providing endless design possibilities, unlimited in-mold paint color options, and deep, realistic wood grain appearance.
What markets are next? Well, we’re currently involved with a new customer in the utility terrain vehicle (UTV) market, which demands its vehicles be tough and lightweight. Using LFI, we are addressing the needs for roofs, doors, and hoods of UTVs, producing items with the stiffness and design features required to manufacture these amazing vehicles in less time at lower cost.
Industry Recognition
Talk is cheap when it comes from a business itself. People take notice, however, when independent third parties begin validating your work. Over the years, Romeo RIM has been recognized by many industry organizations for our quality processes, products and people.
Some of our recognition includes:
Being named a Diamond Award winner by Spartan Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPAR), a global leader in specialty chassis and vehicle design, manufacturing and assembly. The Diamond Award is Spartan Motor’s highest award level, recognizing top-performing suppliers and key supply chain partners instrumental in helping the company continue to improve supplier quality.- The influential environmental, health, and safety publication EHS Daily Advisor named Romeo RIM Safety Coordinator Andrew Varenytsia as a runner-up for its Safety Standout Awards.
- Chief Financial Officer Michelle Bourdage was honored as a finalist for the Plastics News CFO of the Year Award. The Award honors top individuals in senior management at plastics processing companies based in North America selected based on excellence in financial or other corporate operational management. Candidates were employees of companies that derive at least 50 percent of their sales from plastics-related components such as parts, equipment or other materials.
- The Reserve Group named Romeo RIM as a Safety Award Winner for the third consecutive year.
- Romeo RIM has been honored with the New Flyer 2016 Supplier Performance Award at the Gold Level — achieved by only 4 percent of New Flyer suppliers — for delivery, quality and cost performance, as well as support in engineering, service and the aftermarket. The largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, New Flyer offers a high quality transit bus product line including the Xcelsior® and MiDi® models, incorporating the broadest range of drive systems available including clean diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, diesel-electric hybrid, electric-trolley and battery-electric.
- Romeo RIM won the Material and Process Innovation Award from the American Composites Manufacturers Association for a material or process that best contributes to efficient manufacturing and product sustainability. Specifically, the award was for our Harvest Vehicle Roof, a Class A, inmold decorated, glass-reinforced polyurethane structure. With the continuous need for lighter weight materials, this material system has similar mechanical properties to sheet molding compound (SMC), but at 45 percent of the weight. Being able to produce a Class A surface in the mold also allows the total part cost to be 20 percent less than traditional topcoat systems, while maintaining superior paint adhesion performance.
- The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) awarded Romeo RIM its Polyurethane Innovation Award for its “Class A, In-mold Decorated Long Fiber Injection.”
Being named a Diamond Award winner by Spartan Motors, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPAR), a global leader in specialty chassis and vehicle design, manufacturing and assembly. The Diamond Award is Spartan Motor’s highest award level, recognizing top-performing suppliers and key supply chain partners instrumental in helping the company continue to improve supplier quality.
The influential environmental, health, and safety publication EHS Daily Advisor named Romeo RIM Safety Coordinator Andrew Varenytsia as a runner-up for its Safety Standout Awards.
Chief Financial Officer Michelle Bourdage was honored as a finalist for the Plastics News CFO of the Year Award. The Award honors top individuals in senior management at plastics processing companies based in North America selected based on excellence in financial or other corporate operational management. Candidates were employees of companies that derive at least 50 percent of their sales from plastics-related components such as parts, equipment or other materials.
The Reserve Group named Romeo RIM as a Safety Award Winner for the third consecutive year.
Romeo RIM has been honored with the New Flyer 2016 Supplier Performance Award at the Gold Level — achieved by only 4 percent of New Flyer suppliers — for delivery, quality and cost performance, as well as support in engineering, service and the aftermarket. The largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, New Flyer offers a high quality transit bus product line including the Xcelsior® and MiDi® models, incorporating the broadest range of drive systems available including clean diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, diesel-electric hybrid, electric-trolley and battery-electric.We could go on (seriously, we could) but the facts speak for themselves. According to Composites Manufacturing’s State of the Industry report for 2018, the future of composites manufacturing is bright, with increased demand for lightweight materials across market segments. In fact, growth is projected to reach $113.2 billion by 2022.
By then, Romeo RIM will be 40 years old. There’s no telling what markets we’ll have added by then, but you can bet we’ll still be alive and kicking thanks to that one magic word: quality.