Effective April 1, Rick Volk retired from URC , leaving a legacy in the area of monolithic product development.
Rick started in December 2002, with a proven history in the area of foundry products. This was a perfect fit for URC, as the foundry application made up a majority of the customers. As Rick quickly grew close to our foundry customers and developed an impressive URC foundry arsenal, including a line of dry rams and cupola products, the growth goals of the company quickly took him in a new direction.
About 10 years ago, Rick started to develop a platform of URC products for aluminum… an effort that drastically grew sales and customer relationships. Similarly, URC focused on the contractor segment, which required user-friendly shotcrete, pumpables and gun mixes. Rick’s new product formulations help grow this segment as well, as did his efforts to develop value added products for the cement industry.
Aside from meeting the needs of the customer, Rick developed a number of very unique products that still stand alone in the refractory industry. Examples include our line of cement free CF shotcretes and the UNI – BRADE line of abrasion resistant products.
Behind the scenes, Rick constantly worked with the production group to juggle the enormous challenge with refractory raw materials, availability, and pricing. His work in this area was key to our success over the last four years of supply chain issues.
Lastly, Rick was… and is… a great teammate. There wasn’t a customer that couldn’t relate to Rick , and the sales team constantly leaned on him for technical and practical advice. He is the original refractory pro!
Congratulations to Rick Volk…luckily, Rick will be available for special projects and transitions on a limited basis, as he needs a rest from an unrivaled career in refractory product and customer development.
Jim Caprio
Senior V.P. Sales & Marketing