Equipped with 38 years of experience in the industry, Kim Freeman is hardworking, knowledgeable, and has a heart for her family. Please join us in congratulating Kim on her well-deserved retirement!

Kim, who worked in the Quality Department since 2004, first worked at another local rubber company for 18 years as an Engineering Secretary before joining the Grand River team. Originally hired as a Quality Specialist to cover customer complaints, she took the position of Product Specialist a few years ago. Before retirement, she was in charge of creating new part specifications to meet customer expectations, as well as sampling cure lengths and finished parts. 

Kim thrives in a fast-paced work environment and is always up for a challenge. She excelled at finding new ways to improve processes and products for customers. Most of all, she’s proud that Grand River Rubber and Plastics is an employee-owned company. This allows employees to work together and bounce ideas off each other to solve problems. The result? Everyone involved is driven to do their very best work.

Her typical work week wasn’t so typical, as each day brought on something new. You’ll never find Kim stuck in a “rut” as new challenges keep her mind sharp. Loving all things new, she has learned a lot about the industry over the years.

“I see changes just about every day, from raw materials to the criteria that our customers hold us to in the manufacturing of their parts.”

She is particularly proud of the fact that Grand River Rubber produces such a large variety of rubber products.

During her retirement, Kim is looking forward to spending time with her husband, three children, and seven grandchildren. She has many hobbies including crafting, reading, gardening, and enjoying the outdoors. Born and raised in Ashtabula, Ohio, Freeman often visits Columbus as her son and grandchildren live there.

 “I enjoy going out with friends to watch the band my husband drums for. I also enjoy watching my grandkids playing basketball, baseball, or whatever they are into at any given time.”

It changed many times, but growing up Kim wanted to be a horticulturist, a nurse, a teacher, a secretary, and even an archeologist. While she might not have gone down any of those paths, her roles as a wife, mother, grandmother, and valued member of the Grand River Rubber family keep her both busy and fulfilled.

As a true lover of all Cleveland teams, her favorite one to root for is THE Ohio State football team. Her greatest downfall is dessert, expressing that the sweeter it is, the better it tastes! She is also a big fan of Tom Hanks and jokes, “If I could vote him in as President, I would! Haha.”

We greatly appreciate Kim for all she’s done for Grand River Rubber, and for sharing some of her experiences with us here. We wish her a happy & fulfilling retirement!