Employee Interview: 8

In 1981 I was hired as a Process Technician at Plant 2 on Shintech's Freeport site in Texas. Then, in the 1990s, when Shintech became the largest PVC manufacturer in the U.S., the production process began a rapid transition from analog to digital control, and I was promoted to the production site supervisor position during this transition. Later I accepted a promotion into the Plant 2 Assistant Superintendent role, in which I was responsible for leading operations, including replacing equipment, introducing new processes, and creating and updating work instructions. In 2017, I along with the other two Assistant Superintendents from Plants 1 and 3 were assigned to the Operations Improvement Program (OIP) project at the Freeport site. Currently, as the Plant 2 Superintendent, my responsibilities include providing leadership and technical expertise to ensure safe, efficient and reliable operations; developing talented operations people; and ensuring environmental and safety compliance.

Shintech Freeport has grown tremendously during my time here, making incredible improvements in operating efficiency and reduction of batch cycle times. Plant 2 also plays a critical role receiving vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), the raw material, by pipeline and handling distribution of VCM to the other PVC production plants here at the Freeport site by tanker railcar, and it must continue to evolve and lead the way in the future. Meanwhile, as processes become increasingly complex, talented operators with the knowledge and skills to solve problems are becoming even more important. We will take on the challenge of developing as many talented operations people as possible who will continue to work with Shintech into the future.