Forging Ahead is Made Here featuring Rubberatkins

Conroe recognizes and celebrates the importance of manufacturing. Manufacturing fuels the economy by spurring innovation, creating high-paying jobs, and delivering critical products. Manufacturing has long been a key industry in Conroe and one of the linchpins of the local economy.

Rubberatkins is one of Conroe’s newest manufacturers that showcases the power of manufacturing excellence and displays how Forging Ahead is Made Here.

Founded in Aberdeen, Scotland 36 years ago, Rubberatkins manufactures elastomer components found in the oil & gas, space, and semiconductor industries. Still owned by its original founders, Nick Atkins and Jill Webster, the company has experienced significant growth in recent years.

Growth and success in the United States led Rubberatkins to explore manufacturing in the U.S. Rubberatkins received requests from customers based in the Conroe region to manufacture in Texas. Rubberatkins found their ideal U.S. manufacturing home in Conroe in 2022 and manufactured its first products in Conroe in February 2023. This marked the company’s first manufacturing outside of Scotland.

“Experience elastomer excellence” is Rubberatkins’ mantra to describe what customers can expect from the company. The company takes ownership of its products and processes by doing everything in-house, from design to production to customer support. Excellence throughout the process is what helps the company forge ahead in Conroe and Aberdeen. 

“Excellence in our products brings customers to us.” offered Rebecca Lay, HR Coordinator for Rubberatkins. “It is excellence in terms of the process that is taken from the initial customer conversation all the way through to an excellent product at the end that is ready to do what they need it to do.”

The Rubberatkins team creates bespoke materials from elastomer compounds that can thrive in difficult conditions. This complex manufacturing and the company’s ability to tailor products to meet customers’ exact needs attract customers to Rubberatkins.

“We can look at something that might not have been possible even a year ago and with our research, development, and innovation we bring our customers a product that works for them,” added Lay. “We simulate our customer’s environment and provide detailed reports on the testing.”

Advances in modern manufacturing have not removed people as the lifeblood of great companies. Happy, effective, responsible, and decisive are the values that define Rubberatkins employees. These core values for employees have helped them forge ahead for more than three decades.

Lay spent several weeks in Conroe helping the company find people whose personal values align with the company’s, with visits from potential employees learning about the company’s vision for their Conroe operations.

“What’s been quite important for me, from an HR point of view, is building that vision for our team in Conroe. When you bring them into what was an empty warehouse and say, ‘come and join us,’ you understand why people might be a little bit wary. It’s about showing them what we have here in Aberdeen and letting them in on the vision of Rubberatkins,” said Lay.

Rubberatkins presently employs around 14 people in Conroe. The company has plans to continue forging ahead.

“We’re ambitious in terms of our plans. As Aberdeen grows, we expect Conroe to grow with us,” added Lay.

The company plans to fill entry level and experienced positions in 2024 and beyond. Rubberatkins values promoting from within, allowing for growth into leadership positions for several of the new roles opening in Conroe.

Rubberatkins’ dedication to innovation and performance is evidenced by its people, products, and processes. As the company continues to grow in Conroe, its best practices produce manufacturing excellence. Rubberatkins exhibits how, in Conroe, forging ahead is made here.