{"id":12505,"date":"2025-07-31T21:00:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T21:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/?p=12505"},"modified":"2025-09-12T18:02:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T18:02:15","slug":"data-driven-culture-at-hca-fuels-constant-pursuit-of-quality-improvements-for-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/data-driven-culture-at-hca-fuels-constant-pursuit-of-quality-improvements-for-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"Data-Driven Culture at HCA Fuels Constant Pursuit of Quality Improvements for Customers"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Strategic collaboration between leaders of HEXPOL Compounding Americas\u2019 (HCA) continuous improvement and quality teams in recent years has cultivated a culture of data-driven excellence inside the company that consistently and directly benefits customers.<\/p>\n

Through nomination and subsequent participation in a rigorous five- to eight-month-long Green Belt program and a preliminary two-day Yellow Belt training, which the company has run for over six years, associates representing virtually every corporate function are empowered to use data insights to act with precision in their pursuit of operational and process efficiencies and product development advancements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just manufacturing products,\u201d says Ramakrishnan Sukumar, HCA\u2019s Director of Continuous Improvement <\/b>\u2013 Operations since 2020. \u201cWe\u2019re fostering data-oriented leaders throughout our organization to better equip our teams to partner with customers. Every decision is informed by robust data analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sukumar considers HCA\u2019s significant investment in continual improvement and quality\u2014specifically the Green Belt program that has empowered over 80 associates across the company\u2019s factory footprint in the United States and Mexico\u2014as a giant competitive advantage. Nearly 100 associates have completed the company\u2019s Yellow Belt training, which is a requirement to be considered for the Green Belt program.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur data expertise and comfort with so many details and variables are invaluable during our problem-solving work with customers,\u201d he says. \u201cOur ability to collaboratively analyze challenges, identify root causes, and implement highly effective solutions is unmatched. We\u2019ve made the investment in our people, and they\u2019ve invested the time needed to up their game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The operational excellence realized through 80-plus Green Belt projects locks in customer benefits such as high-quality products delivered on time. As Sukumar puts it: \u201cCustomers are supported by a partner who truly understands and utilizes data to achieve superior outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sukumar\u2019s co-leader in the Green Belt program is Tom Roberts, Director of Quality<\/strong> for HCA for 11 years. His customer-focused mission is to develop, implement, audit, and improve business and manufacturing processes.<\/p>\n

Roberts sums it up this way: \u201cMy responsibility is primarily to drive HCA toward perfection for every customer every day. Perfection equals people plus process minus problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts focuses on quality metrics and customer issues while Sukumar has a broader continuous improvement focus on all the key performance indicators of the organization and implementation of the HEXPOL Production System (HPS), a combination of Lean manufacturing and Six Sigma concepts and tools, which serve as complementary forces in HCA\u2019s drive for operational excellence.<\/p>\n

Differentiator: Fully integrated Lean and Six Sigma Methodologies<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Sukumar believes the results HCA achieves for customers through its multi-faceted approach to continuous improvement distinguish it from other rubber compounding manufacturers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go far beyond standard practices,\u201d he notes. \u201cOur fully integrated Lean and Six Sigma methodologies ensure a holistic focus on both waste elimination and defect reduction. We support these efforts with a highly structured, step-by-step program that allows associates to progress from White Belt to Green Belt, building a broad base of data-oriented, decision-ready leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Differentiator: Platinum Certificate Program<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Continuous improvement learnings achieved through wave after wave of Green Belt program graduations\u2014the most recent held in Nashville in June 2025\u2014are directly applied and integrated onto HCA\u2019s factory floors through the company\u2019s Platinum Certificate Program, a recognition tool that Sukumar says ensures practical implementation and tangible results through accountability.<\/p>\n

 <\/strong>\u201cWe keep pushing ourselves on this continuous improvement journey because the thinking and problem-solving are just the early steps,\u201d says Sukumar. \u201cWe actively customize commonly available Lean and Six Sigma tools to address the unique demands and complexities of custom rubber mixing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That self-applied pressure to continually improve with Lean tools fit for purpose ensures maximum relevance and effectiveness, which contrasts with the generic application of Lean principles and tools that smaller competitors might be attempting.<\/p>\n

Differentiator: Materials and Product Integrity<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Roberts and his team across HCA\u2019s factory footprint in the US and Mexico have stamped out a problem that has plagued the industry: the gap between what a customer orders and what they receive. \u201cWhen working with HCA,\u201d he notes \u201ccustomers can be confident that they are going to get the exact product they ordered and that the test data provided accurately represents the product.\u201d<\/p>\n

Differentiator: HEXPOL Production System<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Roberts believes HCA\u2019s people are foundational to the company\u2019s materials and product integrity. \u201cWe have the best quality and technical people in the industry and because of our integrated management system\u2014the HEXPOL Production System\u2014customers can expect to benefit from the same behaviors, processes, and customer focus at every HCA plant,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Green Belt Program Overview<\/strong><\/h6>\n
    \n
  • Taught by Sukumar and Roberts over seven days\u2014three remote and four in-person<\/li>\n
  • Topics: leadership, teamwork, change management, Lean and Six Sigma<\/li>\n
  • Roberts\u2019 expertise: quality and statistics<\/li>\n
  • Sukumar\u2019s expertise: leadership, Lean and Six Sigma<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Green Belt Project Impacts<\/strong><\/h6>\n
      \n
    • Improved product quality, increased efficiency, reduced costs, and lessened environmental impacts by lowering the scrap rate to below 0.3% (from 0.5%)<\/li>\n
    • Reduced risk of late-stage failures, increased supply chain reliability, and lowered total cost to customers through a 10% hold-rate reduction<\/li>\n
    • Enabled more consistent product performance, lowered customer defects, increased customer yields, and tightened compliance with specifications and standards through a 5-20% product-variation reduction (depending on product requirements)<\/li>\n
    • Sustained production and delivery reliability with 98% on-time delivery since 2021<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      Green Belt Programming in 2025<\/strong><\/h6>\n
        \n
      • 10 associates from seven US facilities graduated in June 2025 (started in December 2024)<\/li>\n
      • Six associates from three Mexico facilities initiated their projects in May 2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n
        • 12 associates from nine US facilities will initiate their projects in December 2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          2025-2026 Priorities<\/strong><\/h6>\n

          HCA\u2019s constant pursuit of world-class performance for customers continues at full speed this summer. Roberts explains: \u201cWe\u2019re working to further reduce variation in our compounds with state-of-the-art rubber processability analysis and the adoption of basic statistical process control.\u201d<\/p>\n

          Cohesiveness at Scale<\/strong><\/h6>\n

          Roberts and Sukumar are proud of their contributions to HCA\u2019s growth over the last five-plus years and its shift from a loose affiliation of acquired plants into a cohesive organization running the world-class HEXPOL Production System and delivering dramatically improved quality and operational performance.<\/p>\n

          \u201cThe proof rests within the metrics,\u201d Sukumar notes. \u201cThe credit rests with our associates,\u201d adds Roberts. \u201cThey see the competitive advantages we create when we strive for perfection.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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          2025 US Green Belt Graduates<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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          2025 Mexico Green Belt Class<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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          \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Strategic collaboration between leaders of HEXPOL Compounding Americas\u2019 (HCA) continuous improvement and quality teams in recent years has cultivated a culture of data-driven excellence inside the company that consistently and directly benefits customers. Through nomination and subsequent participation in a rigorous five- to eight-month-long Green Belt program and a preliminary two-day Yellow Belt training, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":12515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_markets":0,"wds_primary_product-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,55],"tags":[],"markets":[464,399,400,402,404],"product-brands":[],"product-areas":[387,424,42],"industries":[],"class_list":["post-12505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-news","markets-automotive","markets-automotive-and-transportation","markets-building-and-construction","markets-energy-oil-and-gas","markets-wire-and-cable","product-areas-corporate","product-areas-high-performance-compounding","product-areas-rubber-compounding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12505"},{"taxonomy":"markets","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/markets?post=12505"},{"taxonomy":"product-brands","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product-brands?post=12505"},{"taxonomy":"product-areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product-areas?post=12505"},{"taxonomy":"industries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hexpol.com\/rubber\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industries?post=12505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}