Ruben Parga is a pivotal part of the Lark Heat Treating organization. As plant manager, he works closely with each department’s lead on all personnel matters and setting the goals for each individual department. Ruben brings a vast amount of knowledge to the job given his firsthand experience in material selection, application, and failure analysis. His 13 years of experience is not limited to steel and iron alloys but also nickel, titanium, and copper-based alloys in a number of different industries.

One of Ruben’s strongest traits as a person and as plant manager is his responsibility for 40 employees, some in technical position and some in administrative positions; Ruben truly cares for all the people working at LHT, and goes well above and beyond to help every individual succeed in their chosen position. Ruben does a great job interpreting complex and difficult technical topics into common terms to help others understand and deal with these issues.

Given Ruben’s culture and upbringing, he can communicate fluently in English and Spanish which furthers his worth to the industry. This helps him have a wonderful rapport with his team and his customers. His experience and knowledge help him communicate well with customers at all levels, and thus he is very respected in the heat treat community. In addition to serving Lark Heat Treat, Ruben is an active member in the Houston Chapter of ASM and also NACE at a national level.

Nominated by: Lark Heat Treating