Long after celebrating Thanksgiving Day, OxyChem plant manager Rick Ritter was still giving thanks for the concerted effort put forth by Association of Texas Chemical Industry (ACIT) member companies and others in the Coastal Bend region following the late-summer destruction of Hurricane Harvey. On average, manufacturers and facilities in the Rockport, Corpus Christi and surrounding areas returned to operation with 21 days on average, after the Category 4 hurricane’s impact.
OxyChem produces chlorine, caustic, ethylene, vinyl and “plastics that are used in a lot of different ways,” said Ritter, representing the chemical sector at the ACIT South Texas Economic Outlook Luncheon held recently in Corpus Christi, Texas. “At OxyChem, virtually all of our products are exported by ship, so they go out the Ship Channel in the Port of Corpus Christi. The port
getting re-opened, as fast as they did, was critical.” The State of Texas, regional counties and cities, also did “a fantastic job of coordinating and getting infrastructure back up so we could get back to normal and get back to work,” Ritter added.