There’s No Finish Line for Safety — and That’s Why Arbill Keeps Innovating

At Arbill, safety isn’t a checkbox.
It’s the reason we exist.

In a recent episode of The Journey to CEO Success podcast with Patrick Thean, Julie Copeland, President of Arbill, shared why her focus on protecting workers is a mission with no finish line — and how that purpose fuels everything the company does.

For Julie, this mission is deeply personal. It’s not about selling products — it’s about helping people go home safe, every day. And when a company’s purpose is this clear, it shapes how you hire, innovate, and show up for customers.

“As long as people go to work,” Julie says, “we have an opportunity to help protect them.”

Leading with Purpose
When Julie stepped into leadership at Arbill — a company founded by her family — she initially led it as it had always been run, out of respect for the legacy and the team that built it. But over time, she realized something important:

What got the company to this moment wouldn’t be enough to take it forward.

That realization didn’t come from a playbook. It came from listening — to customers, to data, and to the internal pull toward something bigger than product lines.

“I want success and joy at the same time,” she says. “I want my friends and colleagues to have both.”

Safety, Innovation, and Real Impact
Under Julie’s leadership, Arbill continues to expand how it thinks about safety. It’s not just training and PPE anymore — it’s leveraging data and technology, uncovering risks sooner, and helping customers solve problems before they become injuries.

That forward momentum is rooted in curiosity. In the podcast, Julie described how that curiosity — especially about how new tools and innovations can make workplaces safer — keeps the team energized and purposeful.

“When we attract people who want to be part of this mission, they help us imagine what’s next,” she said.