Managing the day-to-day operations of an industrial facility can, at times, be stressful and challenging for anyone. Throw into the mix a major facility expansion, and the challenges and stress can nearly double. As Shintech Inc.’s Freeport, Texas, facility prepares for yet another expansion that will help further the growth of the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) market, Jim Hodges, site manager at the facility, is ready to meet those challenges head on.

The path to Shintech site manager

Originally from San Antonio, Hodges received his Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and then went on to receive his MBA from Wheeling College in Wheeling, W.Va.

After obtaining his degrees, Hodges spent 10 years as a maintenance supervisor at Columbian Chemicals Co. in West Virginia. Following that job, Hodges returned to his home state and began working at Shintech’s Freeport facility. Before being promoted to site manager this past March, Hodges held the position of Shintech’s assistant site manager for six years. Prior to that, he served as Shintech’s mechanical maintenance manager for 10 years.

As site manager of the facility, Hodges’ days are filled with a number of duties and responsibilities. In a given day, Hodges directly supervises all department heads; administers the processes of the facility; oversees the production, quality, safety and environmental aspects of projects at the facility; reviews the production schedule to ensure the plant’s ability to supply a product with the quantity and quality requested; facilitates daily staff meetings; and attends meetings at all levels of management/personnel. Hodges also reports company-related information to all employees through biannual department meetings.

With so many responsibilities, Hodges quickly had to learn and master the skills needed to be successful on the job. For Hodges, the most important skill he has learned, however, has been to respect employees.

“Interacting with the employees as if they were part of your own family is the most important skill,” Hodges said. “It is very important to develop trust in all facets of the business, as well as trust in people.”

Shintech’s Freeport facility

Built in Freeport in 1974, Shintech is organized around and directed toward one goal — providing the best possible product and service to the customer. As a subsidiary of Shin-etsu Chemical — a large global company based in Tokyo with more than $11 billion in sales and over 19,000 employees — Shintech uses state-of-the-art technology provided by its parent company.

The company produces and sells a full line of PVC resins specifically designed to meet individual customer needs. These range from low to high molecular weight resins and cover a broad spectrum of applications including PVC bottles, rigid sheet, wrapping film, rigid pipe, fittings home siding, flexible film and electrical insulation.

A period of growth

In the past 34 years, Shintech has experienced tremendous growth by completing a series of capacity expansions that have combined aggressive domestic and export business plans with careful analysis of market conditions and customer needs. According to Hodges, this has allowed Shintech Freeport to become the largest PVC production facility in the world.

The company’s growth is continuing with the building of Shintech’s Plaquemine, La., manufacturing facility and the announcement that Shintech recently submitted applications with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for the construction and operation, of a major integrated facility in Texas’ Chocolate Bayou area, which is located in Brazoria County.

The new facility will be used to produce vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and chlor-alkali. VCM is used in the production of PVC and the chlor-alkali, or caustic soda, might be used for water treatment but is a new application for Shintech, Hodges said.

“The filing of these applications is another step in Shintech’s long-range plan to secure VCM sourcing in the United States for the production of PVC,” Hodges said.

Although the specifics are not yet available, the new facility is slated for construction on a 500-acre site near current industrial plants in the Chocolate Bayou area. When operational, it will produce 825,000 tons of VCM and 550,000 tons of caustic soda per year. In addition, the construction of the plant will create an undetermined number of jobs for the community, with construction, upon permitting, beginning within the next year.

“There will be quite a few jobs for Brazoria County,” Hodges said. “This is very positive news for the area and the market in general.”

According to Hodges, the PVC market is continuing to grow, and Shintech is committed to meeting the supply demands of the anticipated growth in the United States.

“It will probably be one of the more exciting things to come to Brazoria County in the past several years,” Hodges said.

As the Shintech facility and its personnel continue to experience growth and expansion, Hodges doesn’t want to lose sight of one of the things that has brought success to the facility.

“We have developed a unique working culture at Shintech, and it must continue to be enforced,” Hodges said. “Sometimes growth and expansion can dilute our success, so a major challenge has been to maintain continuity even as we grow and expand. This requires constant interaction with all levels of the business and its employees.”

A commitment to safety

Even with its continued growth, Shintech has maintained a proven record of being a good neighbor by operating its facilities safely and responsibly. According to Hodges, Shintech’s Freeport facility has gone almost six years without a lost-time accident, a safety record he is very proud of and hopes to maintain.

“We attribute this achievement to our employees and the culture of the company,” he said.

To further demonstrate the facility’s commitment to safety, Shintech implemented the AIMS (Accumulating Ideas and Making Suggestions) program in June.

“The thought behind the AIMS safety program was to get every employee focused on looking for any and all safety hazards on this site, and in doing so we could eliminate any future accident or incident,” Hodges said.

With the AIMS program, employees are also encouraged to submit suggestions on how to improve safety practices at the facility.

“If that employee’s suggestion gets implemented after being reviewed by the safety/environmental committee, then he will receive recognition for his participation,” Hodges said.

A commitment to community

Another one of Hodges’ primary duties in his role as site manager is to maintain a positive business environment for the company through participation in community and civic organizations and by representing Shintech in industry associations at the local, state and federal levels.

“Shintech supports the local community’s businesses and organizations and believes that we are all part of the whole community,” Hodges said. “We try to actively involve ourselves with the local college, school district, hospital and any other group that directly affects the needs of the community.”

Because Hodges is aware of the work force shortage that industry is currently facing and the importance of encouraging young adults to move into the crafts and industrial fields, Shintech has established scholarships for the local colleges and donated a science video to the local high schools.

To further demonstrate their commitment to the community, Shintech employees are also involved with the Chamber of Commerce, the Alliance of Economic Development, the Community Awareness Emergency Response and the Community Advisory Panel.

“We feel that you must have your company’s pulse in tune with the local community,” Hodges said.

Looking to the future

Looking to the future of Shintech and its industry, Hodges sees steady growth in the market and at his facility over the next several years, and sees himself as part of that future.

“I hope to continue to help Shintech grow while maintaining our excellent safety and environmental standards,” Hodges said.