As a leader, Fred Gaytan feels it should be his goal to support his employees, remove barriers to their success and ensure they have the tools to thrive. Positioning people for success is integral to his work. "People want to do a good job," he said.
Gaytan has been site director of OXEA's Bay City and Bishop, Texas, sites since 2015. Before accepting this position, he had been in manufacturing for more than 28 years. During that time, Gaytan was involved with every aspect of the industry, including operations, maintenance, quality and logistics. He was a part of several major U.S. and international projects, and through the course of his career, he progressively advanced through the levels of leadership.
During his time as site director, Gaytan has encountered a number of challenges and large-scale events, one of which was the monsoon known as Hurricane Harvey in 2017. He has also seen great things happen on-site, including the startup of a new propanol plant in 2018.
Gaytan takes seriously his responsibilities as site director and delivering OXEA's goals and objectives. Most important is keeping everyone safe. He personally feels paying close attention to employees is vital to his role and critical to the overall success of the Bay City and Bishop sites.
"You can't run a site by yourself," Gaytan is known to say.
One of the primary ways he works to ensure operational success is by maintaining open communication with his employees, OXEA customers and the community.
Health and safety are always at the top of the list for Gaytan in what he hopes to achieve for his facility. "Our plants have excellent safety records, and we want to maintain that trend," Gaytan said. Of course, continued growth is high on that list as well. He also hopes his plants will be known for having the best people and as leaders in best practices, which will in turn make them a magnet for more great employees.
Gaytan sees himself as a change agent within his sites and the industry as a whole, recognizing that, as a leader, he must be agile in his ability to effect change within the company.
OXEA: A world leader
Formed in 2007 through a merger of the oxo business units of Celanese and European Oxo, OXEA's name refers to the oxo process, which was discovered over 80 years ago at the Ruhrchemie site in Germany and still plays a decisive role in OXEA's daily business. In 2013, OXEA was acquired by Oman Oil Co. S.A.O.C. (OOC), an investment company wholly owned by the Government of Oman. Today, OXEA is a leading producer of oxo chemicals, with a global production capacity of over 1.3 million tons per annum and sales of about â¬1.2 billion worldwide. OXEA sells over 70 products to a wide range of endmarkets and for various applications.
Ensuring its global presence, OXEA maintains six production sites -- three in Europe (Oberhausen, Marl and Amsterdam), two in the U.S. (Bay City and Bishop), and one in China (Nanjing) -- as well as several decentralized sales offices and subsidiaries. OXEA employs more than 1,400 people worldwide.
The Bay City, Texas, plant was dedicated in 1962, producing acetaldehyde by oxidation of ethylene. From 1978 to 1980, the Bay City site added a partial oxidation unit to supply synthesis gas and constructed three oxo units. The units are for the production of iso and normal butyraldehyde, propionaldehyde/ n-propanol and aldehydes required for a synthetic fatty acids unit.
"Our biggest news at Bay City is the safe and successful startup of the new propanol unit last year," Gaytan said. "We added staff and doubled our capacity."
The original propanol unit was built in 1979 and has been expanded three times. Last year, OXEA commissioned the startup of a second n-propanol unit. Prior to the construction of the new unit, OXEA was already the largest producer of n-propanol in the world. Propanol 2 reinforces OXEA's commitment to support the n-propanol business.
"Leveraging OXEA's knowledge as the world leader in propanol production, the new unit is a commitment to the Bay City production site and a foundation for ongoing optimization and growth," Gaytan added.
OXEA: Keeping safety first
In 2018, Bay City and Bishop both received notable recognition for outstanding HS&E performance. Bay City was honored with the Texas Chemical Council's (TCC's) highest award, the "Best in Texas" safety award. In addition, TCC recognized OXEA Corp. for its commitment to and continuous improvement in safety, environmental performance and community relations.
"Safety is our most essential value," Gaytan said.
He attributes the sites' excellent award-winning safety record to the fact the on-site safety program includes multiple forms of employee engagement, including total commitment and support by management. The plants also focus on continual improvement of processes and procedures.
Bishop launched a safety initiative several years ago called "Always Ready." Since then, the program has grown to represent a larger operational philosophy.
In December 2014, OXEA launched a global initiative called "SAFETY=I", which asked each individual employee to answer the question "What can I do to improve safety?" The initiative is based on dialogue within the company, which is vitally important for enacting effective safety measures.
"Our top priority facing the sites right now is ensuring the excellent results they have achieved can be sustained," Gaytan explained.
Both sites are highly decorated for their safety achievements just in the past year. Bay City received the Excellence in Caring for Texas Award (2017 and 2018), Distinguished Safety Service Award, Dr. Sam Mannan Award for Zero Process Safety Incidents, Zero Contractor Incident Award and Zero Incident Rate Award. The Bishop site received the Mary Kay O'Connor Distinguished Process Safety Award and Dr. Sam Mannan Award for Zero Process Safety Incidents.
OXEA: A community supporter
OXEA is a well-known community supporter, providing monetary and supply donations and allocating time for employees to volunteer locally through activities and organizations. The company provides bags for teachers and school supplies, assembles teams to participate in the annual United Way Day of Caring and helps the local junior college.
"OXEA is a well-known name in the community," Gaytan explained. "We take responsibility for the people who work for OXEA and those who live in the surrounding areas of our sites. Our aim is to be a decisive community partner and a responsible corporate citizen by positively impacting social development."
The company is a major sponsor for organizations including Matagorda Regional Medical Center, the Economic Development Council and the Local Emergency Planning Committee. In addition, Bay City and Bishop employees serve on a number of local boards, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Crisis Center and United Way.
