Glendale | Founded: 1954
Industry: Industrial Manufacturing | Employees: 80
Great Lakes Rubber and Supply distributes sealing products including rubber, plastics and metals to equipment manufacturers and repair operators around the world.
How has your company navigated the challenges of the past few years?
George Baumann, president: “The key challenge we have had to deal with is the tight labor markets. We have navigated this challenge by hiring an internal HR generalist who has helped us hire more proactively, we have used outsourced HR firms for some key roles in sales and technology, and we have continued to invest in the development of our current team to improve retention and reducing the amount of hiring needed to replace roles.”
What factors have contributed the most to your growth in the past three years?
“Acquisitions, hiring a strong team and developing a strong culture. For acquisitions, we have bought five companies in the past 13 months that have bolstered our manufacturing and software capabilities. It has also expanded our footprint from two locations to six locations across the country. We have also hired over 50 people in the last two years that have given us new talent, different skill sets and helped us build our internal brand. Finally, we have invested money in our team, both internally and externally, to develop our talent pool and retain quality people.”
