News

6/10/2019 – Akron, OH – Independent testing and development laboratory Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, Inc. (ARDL) announced the June 7 grand opening of its new Barberton campus, located at 75 E. Robinson Ave. in Barberton, OH. The facility will provide ARDL with the space to add more capacity to current testing, as well as to add new capabilities. The design team spent well over a year developing the master plan for the 134,000 square foot building, with input gathered from all levels of the ARDL organization. In the long term, as more operations are moved to the Barberton campus, customers will notice faster turnaround time and better communication as a result of all departments being in one facility. Until then, customers will not experience any delay in service, as ARDL will still be operating out of the three current buildings. For ARDL employees, the building itself is functional, inspiring and will provide enough space for all equipment and laboratory needs in one place comfortably. The building opening ceremony on June 7 marked the completion of the first 30,000 square feet of renovations and coincides with ARDL’s annual Spirit Day celebration, honoring all of the ARDL employees, organizations that have directly helped on the project and invited special guests. ARDL understands the need for environmentally-friendly buildings, and energy efficient improvements allowed ARDL to qualify for long-term project financing through the Project Assessment Clean Energy (P.A.C.E.) program. This program was introduced to ARDL by the Development Finance Authority of Summit County. Legislators in Summit County and the City of Barberton acted to create Energy Special Improvement Districts so businesses like ARDL could benefit from this program. The new building features a 79,000 square foot white roof, new LED lighting and upgraded wall insulation, has energy efficient HVAC systems and a process water chiller to reduce use of city water. So far, ARDL has donated pallets of ceiling tiles and carpet tiles to Habitat for Humanity ReStore and recycled over 20,000 pounds of metal scrap during demolition. ARDL is being conservative and is intentionally proceeding at a measured pace to ensure this investment does not hamper operations or delay customer projects in any way. The goal for total completion is 2026 or 2027, and when finished, it will be the single largest capital investment made in company history. According to Greg Simms, ARDL’s director of innovation and sustainability, said, “It has been my honor to have been the project lead for this project since 2016, and I have had a lot of help to get to this point. We have worked with so many great people in the community and around the area to overcome the challenges that come with this scale of renovation. I’m very proud of the work that was completed by our design/build teams, and especially grateful for the contributions and sacrifices made by the entire ARDL staff. It’s been so exciting to see how those early ideas and design concepts played out in reality and have positively impacted the individuals who work in those areas. This project is a culmination of all the lessons we have learned over ARDL’s 57-year history. Few companies get this opportunity, so we’ve done our best to lay the foundation for a very bright future.”