Art Work Projects

 Every now and then we have a special job come through the plant that is out of the ordinary. The team is excited about running the job because it is different. They know it is a one of a kind. These special jobs are sculptures from artists working with steel. The artists know that the galvanizing process along with powder coating creates an extremely durable and aesthetically pleasing product that will last for years to come. Artwork is always challenging to work with due to the design, shape and intricacy of the sculpture. Special handling and attention to detail is required. Sometimes exceptionally smooth finishes are needed for the powder coating. Imperfections will be highlighted so great caution is used. Other times there are moving parts, for example The Wishing Tree which is a mobile sculpture, required the ability of the steel to move after being hot dip galvanized and powder coated. Another challenge is the packaging process for transportation and delivery. For the main entrance to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, Hubbells galvanized and powder coated the handrail. No chipping, damage, or repairs were acceptable. The rail was wrapped and padded at all times.

Ricky Hallam, Superintendent of the Galvanizing Plant said of these projects, “The employees get excited about running these jobs when they come through. One time there was a set of gates for the NY Mets. That was really cool. Some of the pieces are very challenging like the Muskie. We want to run it just right. We make sure we are communicating with the fabricator. We need to know where on the sculpture is it hallow so we can make sure where to drill the holes for venting. It needs to be perfect. We just had a sculpture of a bald eagle come through. The head was not hallow but it had nostrils in the birds beak so we drilled the holes there. It had metal strips as feathers so it was very intricate.” 

At Hubbells we look forward to these challenges when we get the opportunity to work on them. It is a chance for us to work with our galvanizing and powder coating process while still keeping the integrity of the artist work intact.

Here are some examples of the many works of art that have been galvanized and or powder coated at Hubbell Galvanizing and Fortress Fusion Coatings:

 

Crows, Artist: Will Salisbury

Main entrance to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Location: Cooperstown, NY

Weathervane, Artist: Will Salisbury, Location: Comfort Island, Alexandria Bay, NY

The sculpture was galvanized and powder coated.

The Eagle, Artist: Mark McDermott, hot-dipped galvanized.

Muskie, The Last One, Artist: William Salisbury, Location: Clayton, NY

The entire sculpture was galvanized as an undercoat to prevent rust. A polyester powder coating was then applied to give the base color for the Muskie. Finally, the artist touched painted the highlights. and placed the eye giving the sculpture life.

Located in a private home

Dragon Fly, Located in a Private Home

Crown 2008, Artist: Rainer Maria Wehner, Located in Griffiths Business Park

The sculpture was galvanized and powder coated

The Wishing Tree, Artist: Tash Taskale, Located in Griffiths Business Park

Sisson Family Bench, Artist unknown, Located at a private residence in Old Forge, NY

Fairview Cemetery Sign, Designer Sean Woodard, Galvanized and Powder Coated

Hubbell Galvanizing: http://whyrust.com

Fortress Fusion Powder Coating: http://whypowder.com

Jack Mulvihill Wins "Millennials in Manufacturing" Award

Each year FuzeHub and the Advanced Institute for Manufacturing showcases a Millennials in Manufacturing Award and Hubbell Galvanizing’s Assistant Production Manager, Jack Mulvihill was one of the winners in 2019!

The Millennials in Manufacturing highlights young professionals who are doing their part to strengthen New York State’s manufacturing industry. By recognizing their achievements, the hope is to encourage more people to pursue careers in manufacturing. The requirements to enter are to work for a NYS manufacturer and be an employee 39 or younger playing a vital role in the manufacturing of the company's products. The millennial demonstrates initiative in innovating new products or processes that are keep the team competitive. Entrants had to submit a 60 second video highlighting what excites the employee about manufacturing, innovation and working in New York State. Here is a link to Jack’s video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j11gicHdtw

In Jack’s role at Hubbells, he is involved in sales, customer service, product development, production process improvement, facilities management, purchasing and employee engagement. He works with the sales department and production to ensure that the customers’ material is delivered on schedule. He is also involved in production development, working on new product offerings that include more aesthetically pleasing coating options. He coordinates with the facilities development and maintenance management teams to prioritize capital improvement projects and purchasing company assets like new machinery or forklifts. He works with the quality control team. He is on the Safety team making sure best practices are being implemented.

What makes Jack a future leader in manufacturing is that he looks at the areas others don't. Our company is a multi-generational workforce made up of Baby boomers to Generation Z. Jack questions processes- why does the company do what they do every day? He is leading the production process improvement project that is transitioning the company's production flow management process. This will improve how production flows through the plant and involves product tracking, billing and customer relationship management. Jack runs our associates meetings with the production staff. In these meetings he communicates customer feedback and helps with employee motivation and engagement like incentive programs.  He pioneered a pilot program that involved recycling unused material and to then upcycling it by manufacturing inhouse barrels used in our production process vs. purchasing the barrels outright. This program measured cost effectiveness and environmental impact.

Jack has the ability to work with others effectively to make things happen. His job is important because he is the liaison and communicator between customers and production staff as well as management and production. It is a unique role that moves the company forward. He has a vision that sees what the company was when it began in 1925, where it is currently and where it needs to be in the future. By questioning how processes have always been done, he forces the company out of stagnation. He is a change agent for not only company processes but for the company culture as well.

Pictured: Jack Mulvihill

Hubbell Galvanizing: www.whyrust.com
Fortress Fusion Powder Coating: www.whypowder.com

Health Insurance and Wellness Classes for Employees

The majority of the awesome employees at Hubbell Galvanizing and Fortress Fusion Coatings have active jobs. They are constantly moving during their shift every day. The total wellbeing of an individual does not stop just at the physical. To ensure a healthy workforce within our organization, Hubbells is committed to providing resources to promote not only the physical, but also the mental and emotional wellness of our entire staff and their families.

We care about the wellbeing of our team, so for the past five years we have offered a Wellness Program with optional participation to our employees. The goal is obviously, healthy employees. However, the company benefits by an environment with more productive employees, lower health insurance premiums, decreased absenteeism and a greater sense of employee satisfaction. Employees are incentivized to participate in the program by discounts on their monthly insurance premiums, gift cards to local establishments promoting a healthy lifestyle, and wellness days off.

As part of the program, we offer onsite wellness classes covering topics like stress management, how to become a better healthcare consumer, financial wellness, ergonomics, CPR, Stroke awareness, portion control and nutrition. These classes are well attended by our team but the most popular class each year is on the topic of Cooking Light. The class is typically held outside in the summer time. This year, the wellness team enlisted the help of some of our employees who double as chefs in their personal lives: Jovan Myers, Alexandra Semeraro, Emmite White along with the organizational support of Pam Martin and Emma Hubbell. The team put on a cooking demonstration of their menu of Chicken Cauliflower Stir Fry, Venison Stew and Healthy Peanut Butter Protein-ball Bites. The delicious, healthy lunch was enjoyed by everyone.

Hubbells seeks to provide the utmost quality services to our customers. We recognize that providing superior galvanized and powder coated products places us above our competitors and makes our organization special. However, we cannot provide the best services to our customers without healthy, satisfied employees!

For more information about Hubbell Galvanizing and Fortress Fusion Powdercoating, please go to:

Hubbell Galvanizing: www.whyrust.com
Fortress Fusion: www.whypowder.com