Leader Views

May 2021 Anniversaries As we all celebrate spring this month, don't forget to also celebrate our team members with anniversaries! Out of this group, we would like to highlight Dorothy Stein, an assembler at our Winesburg facility who rounded out an impressive 42 years...

Melanie Day has been a team member at KEP for the long haul! Melanie first worked on the strip line at our Winesburg facility from 1991-2004. She then returned to KEP in 2019 and has been a line coach at Winesburg since. Melanie's daily contributions to our strip line...

Durrell Jenkins, a KEP team member for over 2 years, currently works as a custom dipping operator at our Kent facility. Durrell is the jack of all trades! He held a position as a dip room operator, then an extrusion operator, before assuming his current role. Durrell...

Big Picture Accountability Cheri Thompson, Manager of Winesburg Operations, keeps everyone on task, making sure our business runs smoothly without interruption. Cheri not only keeps our team accountable, she’s always available – and employs an open-door policy with...

April 2021 Anniversaries April showers bring May flowers – and a fresh batch of KEP team members celebrating anniversaries! This month we have a combined 193 years to celebrate, a HUGE number for a relatively small (but mighty) group of team members! We have two team...

Ken Jarvis, an operator/lead person at our Kent facility, has been a KEP team member for 3 years. Ken's commitment to quality and precision is put to work as he oversees the production of natural rubber latex tubing and process changeovers to fulfill customer orders. ...

For tubing products suppliers that serve the medical and surgical industry, partnering with a manufacturer that offers high quality products backed by thorough quality assurance practices and adheres to the different standards for medical products is essential. For...

What is PVC made of and how does it work?PVC is a popular and effective material choice for a broad range of industries and applications, from medical tubing to automotive and construction. PVC is durable, versatile and cost-effective to produce. The experienced...

Kent Elastomer Products offers assembly services. KEP clients value the quality of our assembly services. We not only offer a wide range of assembly services – but also practice a continuous improvement methodology to assure high quality, efficiency, and savings that...

KEP Commands the Court KEP isn't on the basketball court this season, but we are working as a team to help our customers take command of their game! Whether we're helping customers overcome product challenges or providing smart solutions that help them exceed business...

KEP is the Best In Our Bracket KEP isn't on the basketball court this season, but we are working as a team to help our customers take command of their game! Whether we're helping customers overcome product challenges or providing smart solutions that help them exceed...

March 2021 Anniversaries Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s no secret that our lucky charm and the key to our success is an outstanding team!Our team of experts give you decades of product development experience. For KEP, improvement is more than a set of tools, it is our...

February 2021 Anniversaries Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow earlier this month, so it looks like we're in for a longer winter. But we don't rely on groundhogs to predict the future here. We already know that our team members are dedicated to KEP for the long-haul!...

Helping Families Served by RMHA Our team at KEP recently wrapped up this year’s donation drive for the Ronald McDonald House of Akron. We raised a total of $22,056 to donate! On January 19th, 2021, KEP team members Keith Wengerd, April Butcher, Michael Stecyk, Cheri...

Shelly Lucas has been an extrusion operator at our Mogadore facility for 10 years and has 17 years overall with the company! Shelly is always focused on doing her job with precision – making her a great source for catching any quality issues and helping us maintain...

January 2021 Anniversaries It's a New Year, but the dedication of our team is nothing new! Join us in celebrating the KEP team members with anniversaries this month. Of this group, David Martin, weekend shift leader at Kent, and Yolanda Brinkley, Custom Dip inspector...

2020 Seniority Awards This month we want to spotlight KEP's 2020 Seniority Awards recipients! Once a team member reaches 5 years of employment with KEP, they receive an award and their choice of gift. Additional awards are given out at each 5-year increment...

Sarah Plum has been a custom dip operator at our Kent facility for five years, after starting as an assembler at our Mogadore facility. Sarah recently finished training to run all lines in custom dip. Sarah is a hard worker who prides herself on completing her jobs...

The Season of Giving This is the Season of Giving, but our team members give KEP their 100% every season! We have another great group of KEP team members celebrating anniversaries this month. Two of these team members who have been with us the longest are Carlos...

Partnering with Suppliers Just as we aim to be a great partner to our customers, we also know the importance of expanding our relationships into successful partnerships with our own suppliers. “Kent Elastomer Products has been a significant customer to our business...

100% American-Made Elastomer Products Manufacturing quality, American-made products is something we’re very proud of – and it makes us equally proud to play a role in helping our customers offer American-made products. A new customer came to us with this very goal –...

November 2020 Anniversaries As we're giving thanks this month, we can't forget about our dedicated team members who are celebrating anniversaries! We want to highlight Don Tomello, Gregory Graham, April Butcher and Carrie Ewart, who have been with us for over a decade...

Improving Processes & Building Relationships KEP’s Kaizen improvement events are an important part of our success story for many reasons. Holding hundreds of these Kaizen events over the years has not only made a positive impact on our bottom line, they have also...

Kirsten Reinker is our newest supervisor in our Mogadore facility, with less than a year of supervising under her belt. Despite her lack of extensive experience, she is proving to be very thorough. She soaks up advice like a sponge and applies lessons learned...

Overcoming Our Limitations In less than ten years, from the late nineties to 2006, Kent Elastomer Products went from a small, pilot dipping operation with little room to grow, to arguably the largest batch dipping operation in the United States. Sales in this product...

KEP’s team members are original participants in Kent State University’s Spirit of Women in Business conference. Our involvement began in 2010 when Bev Kiglics saw an announcement for the very first Spirit of Women in Business Conference. Bev invited four other women...

Dedicated to Providing Solutions As our customers’ needs change, we are quick to react and provide solutions. One of the ways we have recently demonstrated this commitment to customer solutions was with an immediate reaction to a customer’s request for new materials...