Carbinite driven to deliver its message
You don't need a college degree or “any letters behind your name to have a fantastic and rewarding career in STEM fields,” according to Sue Freyvogel, CEO of Carbinite Metal Coatings of Penn Township. “You can be successful with technical ability, entrepreneurial spirit, ambition and drive.”
Drive.
It's Carbinite's hallmark.
Rob Freyvogel, chief technology officer and Sue's husband, not only mans the company wheel, but he also drives “Carbiliner,” the Carbinite Land Speed Race (LSR) car.
One of the fastest wheel vehicles in the history of the world, the near fantasy vehicle travels in the 400-plus miles an hour zone.
The Freyvogels, who use Carbiliner to spread the manufacturing message at educational events when it's not racing down salt flats to break speed records, say they have nothing against college educations.
Two of their three children have chosen that path with their endorsement. The Freyvogels agree that college is the best path for many students.
It's just not the only choice.
“I'm frustrated that high schools consider their jobs a success when they put kids in college whether it's the right fit or not,” Rob Freyvogel said. “We don't do a very good job of educating kids on careers that will be out there when they get out of college. College can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor, and it's a resource lost if people train for careers they do not pursue.”
Rob Freyvogel recalls his own experience as a young man about to graduate high school.“I really did not like being in that position of having to make a choice and not knowing what was out there … I hated school. I didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything. I was ready to get working as soon as I graduated.”Rob Freyvogel, who initially followed his father's career choice of construction, took his first manufacturing job as a machinist within a half-dozen years.That job was followed by some career twists and turns, including an entrepreneurial attempt and a return to manufacturing as an applications engineer. Finally, in 1997 Rob and Sue opened Carbinite Metal in their garage.Freyvogel said he was ready for new challenges and advancement. “But I was almost forced to do something on my own because at that point (some of the larger companies) required an engineer to have a degree.”
The Freyvogels said they reached out to the person who had invented the process Carbinite utilizes, which coats a variety of equipment with textured tungsten carbide.The coatings can improve grip for a variety of tooling and equipment. Rob Freyvogel described the end product as “like a permanently bonded sandpaper to steel.”Rob Freyvogel said he coaxed the inventor out of retirement and purchased product rights and a first machine from him.“It had been under marketed, we always knew it could be bigger,” Rob Freyvogel said, noting that during his ownership Carbinite has expanded marketing efforts as well as product uses to include everything from oil and gas applications to lawn mower blade uses.In most cases, companies ship parts to Carbinite to be coated. In others, company employees go on site to do the work.Today, Carbinite is 11 employees strong and includes a branch in Kansas City and a franchised location in Dayton, Ohio.The headquarters is long moved from the garage to a production facility on Brownsdale Road.“We have about a half dozen robotic stations now to keep the cost down to a point where it makes it feasible where it hadn't been before,” Freyvogel said. “We are still on a growth trend.”
Meantime, Rob Freyvogel who has a passion for “anything that moves,” according to his wife, got involved with land speed racing in 2008 while managing another person's vehicle.“He caught the bug,” Sue Freyvogel said, and the company car was born.Although Carbinite sponsors the car, ia dozen dedicated volunteers crew the vehicle.Powered by a twin-turbo large 540 cubic-inch big block Chevrolet, Carbiliner and its active aerodynamics have a measured (average) speed of 414 mph and a top speed of 420 mph.It's already within the top 20 of the world's fastest wheel-driven cars, “and we are going to go so much faster this year,” Rob Freyvogel said. “We made a lot of improvements.”
With a desire to give back to the community, the Carbinite team has been taking the vehicle to regional STEM events.Rob Freyvogel said the point is to show students a concrete example of the theories they are learning.“It's real life applied physics,” Rob Freyvogel said. “We take it out of the realm of fantasy … to 'here it is.'”Andy Hixon has been with the Carbinite company and race team almost since inception. “We hope to inspire kids to do what they love. In talking to many of our customers, the biggest issue we are seeing is very few kids interested in the jobs they have,” Hixon said.He added, “Shops have all the work they can handle, but need the new people. We want kids to know that if you are gifted to work with your hands, you will be happy with what you are doing.”
Sue Freyvogel stressed that today, companies like Carbinite welcome the opportunity to give a chance to all mechanically inclined and interested employees.“We do not require a degree for any job here. We believe a person who has technical abilities can learn theory through hands-on projects,” she said. “If you have technical ability, you can be taught.”And, Rob Freyvogel said, if nothing else, the Carbinite team hopes a visit from the LSR team will send young people the message, 'Dream big.'”
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