Schill said that “we have many visitors for trials and audits, and by far the majority comment that we have the cleanest and finest mixing facility they have ever seen.”

The firm ships to virtually any location in North America, with the majority heading east of the Rocky Mountains, he said.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

Like other rubber mixing companies, GoldKey has experienced its share of problems over the last few years. The overall rubber market growth has been slow, Schill said, “probably due to foreign outsourcing and to invasion of the rubber market by plastics and other replacement materials.”

He said shrinking margins of major domestic auto and truck manufacturers because of foreign competition are causing firms to become more price-conscious when dealing with their supply base.

Then, of course, there’s the constant surge in the price of raw materials, which constitute two-thirds of the selling price of rubber compounds and have an adverse affect on gross margin, Schill said. The company has been forced to periodically pass on material increases, but whenever possible it suggests alternative materials or reformulation of a formula to offset increases. “However, we never change sources or reformulate without a customer’s knowledge and consent,” Schill said.

The future looks bright for GoldKey, he said, and growth could come from several directions. “In the final analysis, we think our future growth will come from servicing and satisfying our customer’s needs - whatever they may be.”

Reprinted with permission from Rubber & Plastics News, February 20, 2006.

GoldKey has focused on small and medium-sized customers since its inception, and it continues to serve them as part of the firm’s base. But it’s also added bigger companies along the way. Throughout the plant, there is a great deal of emphasis placed on promptly filling customers’ needs, which is the best way to build the reputation of a business, according to Toth.

“We service virtually the entire gamut of the rubber industry, including large and small alike, except we do not offer silicone mixing at the present,” Schill said. “Automotive parts constitute the single largest segment of the rubber market; so, understandably, by far the largest single end-use of our output goes to auto parts suppliers.”

The firm also works with companies in the construction, pharmaceutical, recreational vehicle, heavy-duty truck and a variety of other industries, Seeley said.

Its management team is experienced in all elements of custom rubber mixing and the firm’s production crews are all rubber mixing veterans, Toth said. The core of its mixing operation is the firm’s intermix technology, which he said features superior dispersion and mixing uniformity. In addition, the company uses a dual-mill system for better temperature control and stock blending.

The idea behind every move it makes is to provide more value to the customer, Vancura said. “It’s a team effort. We have the best technology and high quality products. We take care of our customers and they take care of us.”

The business operates 24 hours a day, five days a week, but keeps a sixth day available, “which we use a lot,” he said.

Because of its team concept, Toth said, and strong cross training, the company has a highly versatile work force. “We attract good people with a high level of retention and a low absentee rate.