Du-Co Ceramics Company’s Monroe, NC facility has launched a new product line. Adding to our high-quality technical ceramics and other products, we now offer metalized steatite bushings, hermetically sealed ceramic terminals & ceramic to metal assemblies.
Du-Co’s FAMILY VIP TENT EVENT at Sprankle’s OCTOBERFEST 9/8, 9/9, 9/10
Festival Hours:
Friday, September 8
4pm–9pm
Saturday, September 9
10am–10pm
Sunday, September 10
10am–6pm
Du-Co employees and their families are welcome and encouraged to stop by the Du-Co VIP tent any time during the festival hours (Guests 21+ years of age can obtain a wristband (to wear for the entire weekend if planning to visit the tent on multiple days) to be served by the tent bartender. Food will be served at the tent during the following times to Du-Co :
Friday: 6pm-8pm
Saturday: 12pm-2pm and 5pm -7pm
Sunday: 12pm-2pm
Visit Kinderland (an entertainment area for kids of all ages), live entertainment on the main stage that can be seen right from our tent, visit various vendors throughout the festival grounds, and so much more. For more info regarding all of the happenings at Octoberfest, you can visit: https://spranklesoctoberfest.com/ .
Kona Ice for Du-Co Ceramics Employees
On Wednesday 8/23/23 Du-Co celebrated our employees with a treat from Kona Ice. We appreciate all the hard work of all our employees. The plant personnel and office staff working together keeps the company running and are so valued. A big thanks to all Du-Co employees for your hard work and dedication.
Du-Co Ceramics Young Professional Award
This award was established by the late Reldon Cooper, co-founder of Du-Co Ceramics, and is awarded to a young professional member of ACerS who demonstrates exceptional leadership and service to ACerS. This year’s award winner is Dr. Lisa M. Rueschhoff.
Dr. Lisa M. Rueschhoff is a Materials Research Engineer in the Ceramics Branch of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. She received her B.S. in Materials Engineering from Iowa State University in 2013 and her Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from Purdue University in 2017. She joined AFRL as a National Research Councl (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in 2017, and became a government civilian member of AFRL in 2018.
Lisa’s current research focuses on advanced processing methods for high-temperature structural ceramics and composites, especially additive manufacturing. Her work addresses processing and performance improvements to enable next generation ceramics for aerospace applications. Since 2015, Lisa has authored or co authored 17 peer-reviewed publications, 2 patents, and one book chapter. And she has given over 30 presentations at research conferences, universities, and national laboratories. Personal recognition includes the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2014), ACerS Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Award (Sapphire 2016), and Purdue Materials Engineering Outstanding Graduating Graduate Student Award (2017). In 2019 she was an inaugural recipient of the ACerS International Jubilee Global Diversity Award for her contributions to the field of ceramics, demonstrated commitment to mentoring students/young professionals, and promotion of ACerS in the broader community. She was also an invited participant in the 2019 National Academies of Engineering US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium for her demonstrated accomplishments in research to advance the frontiers of engineering. Lisa has been an active member of ACerS throughout her career, starting in graduate school with leadership in the President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA). She served first as the Communications Committee Chair in 2014 when she led the Committee in efforts that included student-written articles in the ACerS Bulletin. The following year she was elected Chair of the PCSA and led the group of ~50 ACerS student leaders from around the world in efforts to engage and support students in the Society. Lisa was also a co-organizer of the inaugural ACerS Winter Workshop, paired with the International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites (ICACC) in 2015 and co-sponsored by PCSA and the Young Professionals Network (YPN). Along with the team of PCSA/YPN organizers, Lisa developed the outline, scope, and content of the Workshop in addition to chairing sessions. The successful launch in 2015, with forty students and young professionals from around the world, solidified the Winter Workshop as a yearly student event for ACerS. Lisa served again as co-organizer in 2017, when the Workshop returned to ICACC. As a testament to this leadership and service to ACerS, Lisa was honored by being named an ACerS Global Ambassador in 2017 and recognized in December 2021’s ACerS Volunteer Spotlight.
Lisa currently supports PCSA by serving as Mentor to the Programming Committee (2019-present). She also personally mentors students through the ACerS PCSA Mentor Program (2018-present), which pairs students and professionals one-on-one for career development.
Lisa is an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology (2019 – present) and is a reviewer for the Journal of the American Ceramic Society (2016 – present). She serves as Chair of the Member Services Committee (2020-2024; member 2018-2020) and is a member of the Strategic Planning for Emerging Opportunities Committee (2020-2024 Member Services representative; 2016-2019 general member). Quite notably she is Program Co-Chair of the 10th International Congress on Ceramics (ICCC’10) to be held in Montreal in July 2024 and has actively supported ACerS conferences for many years.
Please join with us as a company and celebrate as Thomas Arbanas the President of Du-Co celebrates 30 years with the company!
Some of you may not be aware of how he rose through the ranks from the Mixing and Press Room Supervisor, QA Manager, Sales Engineer, V.P. of Engineering, V.P. of Sales and Engineering to his current position of President of Du-Co. He makes it a point to bring this to the attention of new hires to demonstrate just how ripe for opportunity Du-Co really is. Tom has an open door policy and welcomes feedback and questions. He fosters respect from all with his ability to get into the trenches. He can often be found on the plant floor tracking down information, working with the supervisors or pitching in when they are out. Tom is instrumental in the running of Du-Co but will be the first one to ask for input from colleagues in order to collaborate and bring about a decision that is in the best interest of Du-Co. Please take a moment when you see Tom in the next few weeks to congratulate him on his 30 years with Du-Co. Thank you Tom for all your hard work, the behind the scenes tasks, the weekends, evenings and other innumerable ways that you have and continue to strive to improve and build on the wonderful legacy of Du-Co Ceramics.
Congratulations to Tim Allshouse on his Retirement!
After 45 years Tim has decided to retire and spend more time with his family, especially those grandbabies! We have been very blessed to have enjoyed the last 45 years with Tim. He has been an asset to Du-Co, but he is also just a wonderful person. He has been a loyal employee, generous and loving person in general and an all-around humble and hardworking guy. We are so happy for him to take this next step in his journey, but also are sad to see him go. We are so thankful for you Tim, enjoy your retirement!
Please join us in congratulating Adam Pawlowicz on his promotion to Quality Control Technician on 9/26!
Adam began his career at Du-Co Ceramics at the end of August 2021 like so many others do, working diligently at the kiln exit end and making it into the Union after meeting his probationary period. Shortly thereafter, an upcoming retirement opened up a spot in the lab and the opportunity soon seemed to point to Adam. A promotion offer was made, training commenced, and the next thing you know Adam was officially joining the management team as a Lab Technician by the end of September 2022. Opportunities are everywhere at Du-Co as Adam can attest to finding one that fits him well.
As if a promotion wasn’t exciting enough, Adam and his long-time girlfriend just purchased their first home. Now Adam’s commute to Du-Co is even shorter, further exhibiting his continued commitment to a long and successful career with us. Adam will tell you that he loves political science, studying the subject during his time away from work and even manages to squeeze in his love of cooking, hiking, and working out in his free time.
Penn State Visits Du-Co Ceramics
We had the pleasure of hosting a large group of aspiring Materials Scientists as well as their Professors from Penn State University. We enjoyed a wonderful day with the students as we took them on a guided tour through our facility. They were a wonderful group that were engaged in the information and provided insightful questions. We are hopeful this real world peek into manufacturing will help them as they choose their future paths.
We had a wonderful weekend in September celebrating our employees and their hard work at Sprankle’s Octoberfest!
A shout out to Sprankle’s for taking the best care of us from start to finish for this event and to the Walktail mobile Bar for their awesome service!!
Congratulations to the one and only Tim Allshouse – celebrating 45 years with Du-Co!
Congratulations to the one and only Tim Allshouse – celebrating 45 years with Du-Co!! Join with us as we congratulate Tim for all his years of service with Du-Co. As a Lab Technician he is an integral part of our team. Thank you Tim for all your hard work and your loyalty to Du-Co all these years.
Tim Allshouse with Managing Director Brel Saiber