Arkema’s Moody: Staying nimble and prepared, catalysts to success

As plant manager at one of Arkema's more than 25 U.S. facilities, Chad Moody strives to stay focused on the big picture, an aim that has provided him direction throughout his career as well as his long-term tenure with Arkema.

“It can be easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of site operations, but plant managers need to drive the strategic plan for the site, which is ultimately tied to the vision for the company,” Moody said.

That vision, in this case, is to help create a more sustainable world with its specialty materials. At Arkema’s Houston plant, Moody manages the production of linear mercaptans, tertiary mercaptans and carbon disulfide which are key ingredients in the manufacture of thermoplastics, synthetic rubber and latex. The plant’s products are also used in antioxidants, lubricants, mining and agricultural applications.

A leader in producing these specialty materials, Arkema is structured into three coherent and complementary segments dedicated to specialty materials: adhesive solutions, advanced materials and coating solutions. The company builds on its unique set of expertise in materials science, designing materials to address the growing demand for industry’s new and sustainable materials — protecting even NASA’s iconic red logo on the recent Artemis 1 mission to space.

Understanding the chemistry behind developing these specialty materials is a necessity for the plant manager role with Arkema for which Moody was well prepared. He began his 23 years of experience in the chemical industry after earning his chemical engineering degree from Texas A&M University. Upon graduation, he accepted his first position as a process engineer for Celanese and later moved over to Dow. Moody landed a position with Arkema in 2010 and has been with the company ever since.

Before moving to the Houston plant in November 2020, Moody worked at Arkema’s Clear Lake, Texas, site, serving in various roles, including operations manager, project development manager and production superintendent.

Having been in the Houston area a long time, Moody has had many opportunities to stay engaged locally in industry organizations, serving as a North Channel Area Chamber of Commerce Board member and most recently, as a newly elected member to the East Harris County Manufacturers Association Board.

“These organizations allow me to network and learn best practices from other leaders in industry,” Moody said. “It’s crucial to stay connected to what’s happening in industry in the Houston area. Arkema is an important member of the community, and I am proud to be an ambassador for the company.”

Moody said he also “keeps a pulse on news coming out of the American Chemistry Council, Texas Chemical Council and industry publications like BIC Magazine regularly, as well as relying on a network of industry peers to stay informed.”

Staying up to date has helped Moody be prepared for challenges the industry has faced in the past few years. “Just as we started to rebound from COVID-19-related issues, our region was severely impacted by Winter Storm Uri in early 2021,” Moody said.

“Many of us on our team were still acclimating to the Houston site at that time which made dealing with the aftermath of the winter storm even more of a challenge. Our team really pulled together to get the plant operational again as quickly as possible,” he added.

Due to the impact of the storm, Moody explained that plans for a turnaround had to be pushed to later in 2021, which turned out to be a challenging execution. “But once again, our team worked together to address the discoveries and made it through successfully. I credit our excellent teamwork, which aligns with one of Arkema’s core values of solidarity.”

Another challenge Moody said the Houston plant has been facing, along with many other U.S. manufacturing companies, is the loss of operational knowledge and experience due to the retirement of some longtime employees in recent years.

“In response to these obstacles and others, we’ve developed a reliability improvement plan focused on training systems, operating discipline and investment in critical equipment to drive improvement across the plant,” Moody said. “Results in 2022 have confirmed good progress against the plan, with plenty to keep us busy in the coming years.”

Whatever challenges Moody has had to face as a plant manager, he said following Arkema’s core priorities of safety, health and acting as a responsible manufacturer are what guides his everyday decisions. He said the company’s goal is to rank among the leading chemicals and materials producers in terms of safety performance, adding that Arkema has an incredibly strong safety culture.

Moody said the plant relies on various safety tools and training programs such as Arkema’s own “Safety always in mind” and Health and Safety Council’s “Safety Essentials,” as well as mini audits, self-observation methods and behavioral analysis allowing for continuous improvement in accident prevention.

“Some of our focus on safety training has been to assess ‘higher risk situations’ such as working at heights and on everyday activities such as housekeeping,” Moody said. “Our teams are driving action from these assessments to mitigate hazards in the field and improve overall safety performance.”

Arkema’s Houston site has gone three years without a recordable incident and over a decade without a lost time injury. “We think about safety in everything we do, every day,” Moody said, adding that this feeling of concern extends into the plant’s surrounding community as well.

Locally, the Houston site supports nearby elementary school, Cloverleaf Elementary, by conducting school supply and winter coat drives. The facility also participates in the annual Arkema Science Teacher Program, which helps local science teachers expand and enhance their science teaching skills.

In addition to its community support, Moody said Arkema is always driving continuous improvement and investing in environmental control and technology as part of its ongoing commitment to corporate social responsibility. “To be successful, sustainability must be an evolution, and it is going to take the entire industry, across the entire value chain, to move in the same direction and work together,” Moody said.

Another important point for the future, Moody said, is to ensure that Arkema is connecting with its consumers. “The materials we produce at our sites go into so many products we use every day, so it’s important to make that connection. A first step for us at the Houston plant in this endeavor has been educating employees about our products and their end-consumer uses.”

Moody concluded that he wants to continue moving the needle in a positive direction by strengthening and investing in the Houston site’s systems and processes. “Our Houston site is particularly important to Arkema’s Thiochemicals business, the advanced materials group and ultimately, the company’s future growth.”

For more information, visit arkema.com/usa/en/.

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