Akron, Ohio – Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, Inc. (ARDL) has announced with most sincere gratitude and well wishes the retirement of President Jerry Leyden effective June 2, 2017. During his 25 years with ARDL, Mr. Leyden contributed immensely to the company’s success and advancement as a world-leading independent testing and development laboratory for the rubber and plastic industries. He will continue his relationship with the company in the capacity of President Emeritus.
In the search for a new President, ARDL sought candidates who excelled technically and embodied founder Bob Samples’ vision of “A Passion for Problem-solving”. The ideal successor was found internally and the company is proud to announce Bonnie Stuck’s promotion to the position of President. Bonnie’s leadership skills, integrity and work ethic build on ARDL’s reputation within the industry and her technical aptitude will help sustain ARDL’s position as the true experts on rubber and plastics long into the future. Bonnie joined ARDL in January 2009 in the position of Senior Technical Advisor, bringing with her decades of experience across broad sectors of the rubber and plastics industries.
Bonnie Stuck says of her new role, “ARDL is a unique, challenging and fun place to work. I use my technical skills every day in helping customers with problem solving. We have grown considerably in the last few years and the purchase of a new building to house all of our laboratories in one location will help us to grow more and better serve our customers. I look forward to working with our staff in transitioning to a new facility and to keeping the vision alive that our founder C.R. Samples started the company with.”
In addition, ARDL Team Members Ted Nelson and Ana Barbur will assume new roles within a re-defined corporate structure, ensuring the growth and continued success of ARDL. Ted Nelson will fill the newly-created position of Vice President, Compounding/Physical Testing Services and will oversee the Physical Testing, Plastics Testing, Compounding Services and Adhesives departments. Ted has been a part of the rubber industry for over 28 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and has prior experience as a Compound Development Chemist, Process Chemist, Technical Director, Plant Manager and VP of Technology with multiple companies within the industry.
Likewise, Ana Barbur has been promoted to the position of Vice President, Chemical/Analytical Services. Ana holds a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and has extensive industry experience as a Research Scientist. For the past 15 years, Ana has managed ARDL’s Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Microbiological laboratories. Under the new structure, Ana will also be responsible for Microscopy Services at ARDL.
ARDL’s CEO, Tim Samples says of the changes, “I am proud of where we came from, and I am confident in the direction that we are heading. My family and I share a long-term vision for ARDL.”
About Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, Inc. – ARDL is an ISO 9001:2017 Registered, ISO 17025:2017 A2LA Accredited, FDA compliant, independent testing, development and problem-solving laboratory dedicated to serving all facets of the polymer industries. ARDL finds solutions to customers’ toughest problems regarding polymers, including compound analysis and development, conducting process and production audits, creating highly advanced test systems when a standardized testing specification does not exist, designing application-specific failure analysis programs, predicting service and shelf-life and much more.
