The Hytrol Story

of golf with a friend and he was sure the ringing telephone was his friend calling him. Ralph grabbed the receiver and said, “What th’ hell do you want!?” Henry Thomas Loberg was never known to utter a swear word. It was a miracle he didn’t immediately hang up the telephone! With his characteristic calm, however, he introduced himself and proceeded to offer Ralph a job with Hytrol. Ralph was familiar with the material handling field, of course, and the Hytrol name was well- known in the industry, even in those days. Tom began explaining the situation, talking about the construction of a new plant for Hytrol and how the production area was in need of a supervisor. They chatted for a few minutes, and Tom then asked Ralph if he would consider moving to Jonesboro, Arkansas and taking charge of the production area. “Just a minute,” Ralph said, and turned to his wife. “How would you like to move to Jonesboro, Arkansas?” Jean replied, “Sure! Where is it?” A few days later, Ralph flew up to West Allis to meet and be interviewed by Tom and Chuck. They took Ralph for a tour through the Hytrol plant. He met the employees and observed how Hytrol’s conveyors were manufactured and assembled. He noticed how everything was orderly and neat. Ralph immediately felt right at home there in the Hytrol factory. But something was bothering Ralph. On the plane on his way back to Florida, he kept asking himself what could he do for Hytrol. He kept seeing the picture of the production department; so neat and organized. Suddenly, it came to him. He realized that during his tour, there was absolutely nothing on the floor in the process of being built. The assembly area had been cleaned up and all the tools necessary for assembling the units had been put away. He had to learn more about the day-to-day operation of the assembly and shipping areas. And so, in July 1962, Ralph came to work at the West Allis plant. He quickly discovered there were four employees who worked the assembly and shipping area, and these four had basically implemented their own working schedule. They would work Monday through Wednesday, assembling the conveyors, then spend Thursday and Friday shipping the product out. . .and on Friday, they would always have what became known as “Frantic Friday.” Unfortunately, with this method, there was always a backlog of orders. Ralph, now Hytrol’s shop superintendent, declared that production would be increased and shipments would be a daily occurrence. Now some people might be a bit miffed if a new person came in and immediately began to change their working habits. But Ralph had a knack for handling people, just as Sam had said, and in no time, he was accepted and appreciated by the