For many individuals, the average workday involves a set routine. Whether it’s a morning conference call, lunch with clients or a late-day meeting with the boss, there are certain daily activities people living in the work-a-day world can set their watch to.

But that’s certainly not the case for Paul Barletta.

As the director of U.S. epoxy manufacturing for Hexion Specialty Chemicals, his duties make for days that are as unpredictable as they are enjoyable.

“There is no typical day for me, which is one of the best things about my job,” he said.

Barletta’s job is so atypical because it requires that he oversee four Hexion sites in the United States, including facilities in Norco, La.; Deer Park, Texas; Argo, Ill.; and Lakeland, Fla. Being responsible for these locations means that Barletta has racked up a lot of frequent-flyer miles, especially when visiting the company’s division office in Europe.

“I travel to each of these sites regularly, as well as to the Netherlands, where the headquarters of Hexion’s Epoxy and Coatings Division is located,” he said.

Barletta always travels to these facilities with a firm grasp of his unique role within Hexion.

“My perspective is very different from that of a plant manager’s,” he said. “My job is to support the excellent site managers we have and work on initiatives that make our manufacturing network more efficient and able to grow and meet business needs.”

Indeed, growing and meeting customers’ needs is what Hexion is all about. As the world’s largest producer of binder, adhesive coating and ink resins, the company provides its customers with a complete portfolio of solutions to meet their specific industrial application requirements. This effort is backed by the company’s extensive R&D capabilities as well as its global technical support team. Always cooperating with partners to co-develop better products and systems, Hexion employees like Barletta are dedicated to providing products that improve everyone’s quality of life.

From Motown to down South

Originally from Michigan, Barletta attended Detroit’s Wayne State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1980.

He began his career that same year with Shell Chemical. There, he worked at sites producing elastomers, polybutylene, polypropylene and polyester resins. Barletta’s expertise earned him the position of Epoxy Resins site manager at Shell’s Norco facility in 1999. Not long after, Apollo Management LP acquired Shell’s Epoxy Resins business, which, after further acquisitions, eventually created Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. Barletta now serves on the board of the Louisiana Chemical Association, the Public Policy Committee of the River Region Chamber of Commerce, and he was recently on Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Government and Fiscal Reform Advisory Council.

While the move to the Bayou State and the subsequent buyout has forced Barletta to adapt, the adjustment process has been a smooth one. Having a wife from nearby New Orleans helped, as did a genuine passion for the job.

“I love manufacturing because of the variety of people you get to work with,” he said. “Any success I’ve had comes from making sure everyone feels involved in the general manufacturing mission to safely produce quality products for our customers.”

Barletta’s approach to this process is one that he very much believes in.

“For someone to be a manufacturing leader, he must first possess a deep and personal commitment to safety and environmental protection. That is the first step of many that makes sure we do what it takes to allow us to operate. From there, we can go about satisfying our customers to keep in business. Listening to our associates and keeping them involved and satisfied are the keys to making products that our customers are happy with,” he said.

For Barletta, the first step in achieving customer satisfaction is taken at each of the four Hexion facilities he oversees. And with each step, safety is the primary concern, as is evidenced by the awards the company receives annually from organizations like the Tampa Bay Area Safety Council, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association and the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association.

“Every day we keep people safe,” he said. “The Norco, Argo and Lakeland facilities have not had a lost-time injury in more than eight years. Norco’s OSHA recordable rate for employees and contractors combined was less than 0.6 last year and is zero this year. The Lakeland site is currently on a streak of three years without an OSHA recordable.”

A global world

Barletta is confident that Hexion’s dedication to safety will be further enhanced when it completes its acquisition of Huntsman Corp. The transaction is subject to regulatory reviews and is anticipated to be completed later this year.

He is also cognizant of the fact that he and other leaders will play a key role in the merger process once the transaction closes.

“I plan to be active and available in communicating changes and emphasizing opportunities the merger will bring,” he said. “At the same time, I will be reminding people that our safety and product quality relies on us staying focused on the daily tasks.”

To be sure, those tasks will be many. The merger will potentially create one of the largest specialty chemical companies in the world, boasting more than 21,000 associates, 170 sites and an annual revenue of $14 billion.

Barletta is optimistic about the future, which, he believes, will require companies like his to adapt to the increasingly global business market.

“The future will certainly present challenges due to rapid change and fierce competition around the world,” he said.

Fortunately, Hexion has an established strategy that will allow it to make the most of the dynamic business climate that exists in both the United States and overseas.

“Our three division presidents are each responsible for a region of the world,” he said. “We have a global marketing approach and have been globalizing our functions — in areas like environmental, health and safety, and purchasing — over the past few years. We are also expanding and growing rapidly in the Asia Pacific region. Furthermore, my organization — both manufacturing sites and project management — has recently planned for a more global approach with consistent management, processes and reporting across the world.”

The ever-changing business environment will certainly present its own set of challenges in the future, Barletta conceded. Even so, he is confident that Hexion will enjoy continued success in the years ahead.

“Hexion has the strong backing of our private-equity owners and is a market leader,” he said. “We are a nimble organization that can, and does, respond quickly to customer needs and industry trends, and we will continue to do well in the future.”

New era, same vision

According to Barletta, each new day brings with it new challenges. When asked to describe which of Hexion’s accomplishments he is most proud of, Barletta offered answers that reflect his personal and professional values.

He cited, in particular, his company’s growth; its environmental, health and safety record; and the three consecutive years it has received an award from the United Way of St. Charles Parish, La.

Having an active role in local communities is something Barletta sees as being one of the many responsibilities Hexion assumes as a leader in the world of business and industry.

“In addition to its work with the United Way, Hexion is also a member of the Partners in Education initiative,” Barletta said. “As a premier school-business partnership program, Partners in Education is designed to mold students into the leaders of tomorrow. By visiting schools, teaching and judging science fairs, Hexion volunteers are working to lay the foundation for future economic success.”

Barletta and Hexion give back not simply because they can; they volunteer time and money because they believe it’s the right thing to do — for both the bottom line and for the lives they touch every day.

“I want to see us become a more known corporate citizen with an excellent reputation that our performance should earn us,” he said. “Our world-class safety and environmental record coupled with existing products and company growth should make us an employer of choice.”