Forty Under 40: Robert James Rudolph

Rockline Industries led Robert James Rudolph to Northwest Arkansas.

“I joined the family business,” he said.

In September 2011, he started at the manufacturing company his grandfather Ralph Rudolph founded in 1976. His father, Randy, is president and CEO of the Wisconsin-based company, which makes wet wipes, coffee filters and cupcake and muffin baking cups.

At the company’s Springdale plant, Rudolph works to improve existing manufacturing processes. He started with the company working in contract manufacturing and business development. The highlight of his career came in 2014 when the company landed nationwide customers in the healthcare industry and provided them with wet wipe products.

He also worked as corporate strategic planning manager, and the company has an affiliation with Milestone Leadership in Siloam Springs to help improve its strategic planning. Rudolph started in his current position in November 2016.

“Rockline has a cross-functional development plan,” he said. It allows him to rotate through different parts of the company to learn the breadth of the business and prepare him for a leadership role. Over the next few years, he hopes to continue to develop in manufacturing and better understand processes, equipment and capabilities.

Before joining Rockline, he was business manager for Daymon Worldwide for six years and worked to source suppliers and develop products in the retail industry. Retailers would come to him if they wanted to develop their own product, and he would find suppliers for the retailers to select.

While he’s spent the majority of his life in Wisconsin, he considers Fayetteville his hometown. He coaches children’s soccer and basketball teams for the city’s parks and recreation department and supports the United Way and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.