2019 PBN Business Excellence Awards
EXCELLENCE IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: igus Inc.
Igus Inc. molds its staff as skillfully as it molds the engineered plastics it has sold worldwide for more than 30 years.
The manufacturer of engineered plastics focuses on four main product lines for a variety of industries the company says refine the idea of “motion plastics,” with innovations that include iglide self-lubricating bearings and drylin linear bearings and guides.
Its sales levels have climbed from $106 million in 2016 to $133.7 million in 2018, igus Inc. spokesperson Kayla Abbate said, because of its workforce philosophy. “It’s the investment in our training programs and our employees overall that makes the difference,” she said.
The headquarters and distribution center in the Rumford village of East Providence regularly puts its new employees through two-week to eight-week training programs.
As part of this effort, a brand-new program over the past two years has sent students just out of college to the East Providence headquarters for eight weeks of training, which includes taking them out on actual sales calls. As much of the East Providence office’s focus is sales, Abbate said, this gives new employees the chance to meet igus customers and find out what they want and need from igus products.
“It’s preparing the sales force, as they will be the company’s representative, the face of the company,” she said. “Growing the sales force helps grow the company.”
At igus, she explained, “We only hire internally for higher positions. We always give an employee a chance to advance their career. This helps the company by ensuring staff know the company and its products. Knowledge that can’t be obtained from someone on the outside,” she said. “Our products are so technical; an employee has to be knowledgeable of and invested in the company.”
Longtime igus employee Nicole Lang’s own story echoes this.
“I started at igus in 1998 while attending Roger Williams University. I was eyeing a career in law and had goals to go to law school. I worked at igus part time. During the summer or on school vacations, I was able to put in as many hours as I wanted. Igus has always made me feel that school was the most important aspect of my life and work could come second.”
‘It’s the investment in our training programs and our employees overall that makes the difference.’
KAYLA ABBATE, igus spokesperson
She said igus let her set her own schedule. She was able to do a full internship in the summer of 2001 at what was then Edwards and Angell in Providence prior to attending law school.
“After my first year, I decided that I needed to work full time and continue my legal education in a part-time capacity. At that point, igus named me the customer service manager. This role taught me a lot about management and helped me with my time-management skills. I had the opportunity to attend multiple seminars, during this time, on management. … During this time, I was continuously offered product training, increasing and developing my technical skills and product knowledge.”
In 2001, Lang graduated with an undergraduate degree and decided to still pursue her law career and attend law school. After discussions with igus, it was decided she was welcome to stay and even leave for internships when the opportunity presented itself.
She said during law school she was moved to inside sales work, even though igus did not know if the investment in her would pay off if she left for a law career.
“I was always welcomed into all trainings and had the opportunities to attend multiple seminars, as I had in my customer service roles,” she said. “After graduation, I decided that I really enjoyed igus and wasn’t so sure that I wanted to pursue a career in law but would still like the opportunity to use those skills. With some discussion, a new role was created for iglide product manager. With this role, I have had the opportunity to travel overseas. When in Germany, product managers worldwide are trained on new products and sharing experiences [and] ideas. It is an excellent environment to grow in.”
