AirBoss’s state-of-the-art rubber manufacturing facilities—and every other manufacturing plant in the world—is dependent on the materials that come in and go out the doors. For AirBoss, those materials are usually natural and synthetic rubber, rubber compound additives and chemicals, and any number of component parts or pieces. If a mixture gets a bad ingredient, or a material supplier ships in a bad batch, the entire manufacturing floor suffers.
That’s why it’s so important for Kenny Brown, AirBoss’s Shipping & Receiving Supervisor in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, to be an expert at what he does.
When we asked Kenny why his role is so crucial to AirBoss’s success, he replied, “The biggest thing is getting the correct amount of material and receiving the material on time.”
Kenny has gotten to know the manufacturing floor during his time at the company, so being the best at what he does is just part of the job.
Years of Sharpening Skills Means Invaluable Hands-On Expertise
Kenny isn’t shy about saying his initial attraction to AirBoss was simply its proximity to his home. His previous job, where he worked for 17 years, required a 45-minute one-way commute. Eliminating that trip was a big deal, and Kenny hasn’t looked back since.
“I’ve been here going on fifteen years,” he says. “I started at the mixer. I went from the mixer to the sheeter mill. From the sheeter mill to batch off. And from batch off, I went into receiving.”
Kenny’s skillset on the job evolved over time as AirBoss grew, and this is the norm for many employees here. Many of his co-workers, peers, and mentors started “small” and worked their way up. Some of today’s department heads were yesteryear’s manufacturing floor interns, and it’s this shared journey toward perfecting multiple skillsets and creating value that makes employees like Kenny invaluable to AirBoss.
“I stayed in Receiving for probably four years before an opening came up for supervisor. So, I put in for that and got it. That was probably eight years ago,” Kenny shares. He’s not hesitant to point out that all his time spent at AirBoss—from the mixer to his current supervisor position—has been an overall positive experience.
Manufacturing Mistakes Are Minimized When Kenny is On the Job
While in a perfect world everything would be on time and shipped in the correct amounts, mistakes do happen before materials reach AirBoss. Understandably, Kenny doesn’t like that, and he and his team do their best to optimize processes and maximize output without letting quality suffer.
“We’ll get some feedback from the customer, or our percentage will drop for the month,” Kenny says when materials don’t come in correctly. Fortunately, it’s easy to tell when something is off in Shipping and Receiving with Kenny at the helm, so feedback from a customer is as much motivation as it is a personal disappointment. “We try to keep our percentage high and the customers happy.”
Kenny is quick to correct any logistical errors and right the manufacturing ship, so to speak. His years of perfecting these skills make this easy and intuitive for him.
He’s quick to point out that his finely-tuned eye for errors, as well as his ability to perform quickly and efficiently, is due to a long line of mentors and leaders at AirBoss.
Some have retired, and others still work alongside Kenny today. “They taught me a whole lot,” he says proudly. “I’m happy to be a part of the team. All in all, everything is good.”
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Life is Good for Kenny Both at and Away from AirBoss
“I’m comfortable right now,” Kenny says. He’s happy with the work he’s done, the work he’s doing, and the work he looks forward to as the company continues to grow.
“I have about four more years until I retire,” he says, and he plans to spend them with AirBoss.
When Kenny isn’t at AirBoss, he enjoys the great outdoors. “I love the water, so I try to get to the beach a lot. I love the beach.”