Ascend’s Blanchard aims for “best site worldwide” status

As the senior director at Ascend Performance Materials’ Chocolate Bayou site in Alvin, Texas, Greg Blanchard has assumed many responsibilities that have taught him valuable lessons over the years.

Recently, BIC Magazine had an opportunity to discuss his role and experience as an industry leader.

In his position, Blanchard works to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the Ascend Chocolate Bayou site. “My top responsibility is to ensure the safety of our people, community and environment, which is something we take very seriously,” he said. He has been in his current role for almost four years.

While studying chemical engineering at Louisiana State University, he received an ROTC scholarship and, upon graduating in 2002, was commissioned as an Army officer. Shortly after this, he received deployment orders to serve in Baghdad, Iraq. Upon completion of his duties in Iraq, Blanchard returned home and was employed by Dow Inc.

“I had the opportunity to work as a manufacturing engineer, process engineer and improvement engineer at Dow,” he stated. “During that time, I received some of the best training I’ve had in my career.”

In 2007, Blanchard transitioned to Celanese, and between 2009 and 2011, he held the positions of technical leader, operations leader and site manager of the Bay City, Texas, site. In 2015, he moved to Ascend Performance Materials to take a technology director role at the Chocolate Bayou site. From there, he had an opportunity to lead operations in 2017 and was soon named site director in 2019.

Blanchard explained that the most important skill in his work is leadership, which he defined as providing purpose, taking care of people, maintaining a big-picture focus and instilling trust.

“There is no single aspect of running our site for which I am the expert,” he claimed. “I can always find someone who knows more than me about every aspect of our site. I am surrounded by a team of extremely competent leaders, each with tremendous ownership.”

Ascend Performance Materials is one of the world’s largest integrated PA66, or nylon 66, producers. Ascend’s product range has earned a reputation for quality and innovation. With 11 global locations and more than 3,000 people, Ascend has the inspiration, the expertise, the people and the attitude toward innovation to consistently deliver the right solution for customers, Blanchard said.

As for the products of the Chocolate Bayou site, the facility produces acrylonitrile, hydrogen cyanide, formalin, nitrilo triacetic acid and disodium imino diacetic acid. It also houses guest-owned units producing sodium cyanide, linear alkyl benzene, diphenyl oxide and methionine.

Regarding the output of this range of products, BIC asked about challenges Blanchard has faced as a plant manager.

“The freeze of February 2021 was one of the toughest events I’ve experienced at a chemical plant,” he explained. “Upon losing critical utilities, the site went dark, silent and cold. Our operations and maintenance teams took swift actions to protect the site. Despite the damage and loss of power, our people and processes remained safe throughout the entire event. We thoroughly inspected nearly every component of our site and replaced failed pipes, fittings and valves to ensure safe restart.”

According to Blanchard, being a site director goes far beyond running the facility. In this position, a director is the leader of many great people, the face representing the company in the community and the person who has ultimate accountability for the safety of employees and the surrounding neighbors.

In addition to the safety prioritization in challenging situations such as the 2021 winter storm, safety must be at the forefront of, and facility leadership’s focus, year-round. According to Blanchard, the total recordable incident rate at his site is currently 0.09, a reduction from 0.39 just five years ago. The number represents how many work-related injuries there are per 100 full-time employees over one full year.

He attributes this score reduction to three things:

  • Better hazard assessment tools and skills: Hazard Recognition Plus (HRP) was implemented in 2019. The team now has the right skills and knowledge to manage hazards.
  • Employee engagement: Ascend has given employees a much stronger voice in safety practices and leading improvements through safety change agents and HRP coaches. This has helped shift the company from dependent to an interdependent safety culture.
  • Culture change: Over the years, the site has placed more emphasis on community and care for others. Employees and resident contractors alike serve the community together and have become a close-knit group.

Even more granular than this community emphasis, is the Ascend team’s avid focus on the people of the area.

“We have a big focus on children’s wellbeing, education, housing, our incredible law enforcement and military personnel,” said Blanchard. “We are blessed to be able to operate in our community and have the means to give back. We believe that our involvement in the community makes a lasting impact to many lives for the good and it’s a privilege to do it.” The site is involved in many organizations such as Kidz Harbor, Communities in Schools, Alvin VFW, Warriors Refuge, Liverpool Food Pantry, Alvin ISD STEM Bus and more. “All our leaders plan events with their teams, at least annually, to do something good in the community. This is a tradition we’ll keep going into the future.”

Blanchard proudly said that many improvements are planned for the next five years and beyond that will help bring it to the next level.

“I’m excited about several sustainability projects which will make favorable improvements in our environmental footprint by accounting for greenhouse gases and water consumption,” he said. “We also have projects underway to improve efficiencies, which will help strengthen our business and serve our customers.”

As for industry’s outlook, Blanchard said, “Chemistry is all around us. The products we make improve quality of life through innovation and technology. As global market demand shifts, we need to adapt with new applications and solutions for our customers. We must become more and more efficient and sustainable to remain a strong and competitive U.S.-based company.”

Ascend is a member of the Texas Chemistry Council and the American Chemistry Council. In his words, “These organizations are excellent resources for both communication and advocacy.”

In the vein of keeping up with industry news, legislative information is also important for industry leaders. Blanchard stated he is in complete support of efforts that drive sustainability in industry.

“There is a general agreement on this topic that spans across our industry,” he said. “I am also a strong supporter of tax incentives for our industry to operate in local communities. Our industry generates many jobs and indirectly creates revenue for communities to grow and thrive. I have personally seen the positive impact our industry has made on towns and counties to generate growth and amenities that otherwise may not be possible.”

Blanchard concluded with a goal for the years to come, saying, “The vision for Ascend Chocolate Bayou is to be the most safe, reliable, cost effective and sustainable acrylonitrile plant in the world.”

For more information, visit ascendmaterials.com.

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