Bill Kampf

Account Manager

Audia Elastomers

When I transitioned from the Army, I was unsure of what my next chapter would be. The greatest part of working for Audia is I truly felt like I was still in the Army.   

I learned about Audia from a recruiter, assisting senior military officers and noncommissioned officers transitioning to the workforce.  As a candidate, I attended a hiring conference and Washington Penn was there. They set me up with a preliminary interview during the event.

I have held five (5) different positions during my tenure with Audia.  I have served in operations roles as well as commercial and sales roles.  I started as a Shift Supervisor at our PPD Facility, then became an Associate Product Manager and Product Manager for Washington Penn.  I moved to Audia working on the Capital Expenditure Team as a Project Engineer and am currently an Account Manager with Audia Elastomers.

To be a successful product and account manager, a person in this role needs to be an independent thinker. Sales is ever-changing so the ability to adapt, sometimes coming up with your own plan to accomplish ambiguous tasks, is necessary. What works for one person or area might not work for another and you’ll have to create your own path to success.  In both operations and commercial roles, the most important aspect is to treat everyone, both internal and external employees, as customers, understand what they want, treat them with respect, gain their trust, and ultimately work together to close the business.  

It truly is an exciting company to work for. The opportunities to change positions and roles have enabled me to continue my personal development. It’s interesting to apply knowledge from each company to each new role. I have been fortunate to spend time in Mexico, traveling to see customers and work in the plant. I’ve always loved working with our MX team.  They are a great team and make us feel a part of their local team while we are visiting. The people here, at Audia, take the time to get to know their fellow employees, and it is a pleasure to come to work in an environment where everyone wants each other to succeed.     

To me, a great organization understands the strengths and weaknesses of its people, provides guidance when needed, and lets them execute while empowering them to make decisions and ultimately succeed. The leadership at Audia does just this by allowing their employees to work through and solve problems in their own way while not micromanaging.   

For as large as Audia is, a global company with employees and facilities located all over the world, there is still that feeling of a small, family-owned and operated business. We have over 1,000 employees and yet at times, it can feel like less than 100. They have never let the size of Audia impact the humility and care that made this company what it is and why it is as successful as it is.  The culture of Audia is what I felt in the Army, and I never would have imagined leaving one organization and starting with another, and both having the same overall culture.