According to Christopher Cain, site manager for LyondellBasell's La Porte Complex, past achievements and investments have strategically positioned the site for longterm success. And with the LyondellBasell La Porte Complex having recently broken ground on the world's first commercial Hyperzone polyethylene (PE) plant, Cain only hopes to build on the site's existing foundation of excellence in HS&E performance, reliable and cost-effective operations, and being the "employer of choice" in the area.
Cain has been the site manager of the La Porte Complex and Equistar Pipelines since February. His primary responsibilities include ensuring the safe and reliable operation and maintenance of the facilities at the La Porte site and within the pipeline system, as well as long-range planning for future performance improvement.
Long before his tenure at LyondellBasell, Cain's first job was bagging and carrying groceries when he was 16 years old.
"My first job taught me how to work with and around people, and what good work ethic is all about, and it prepared me to work hard both in college and beyond," Cain said. "I went to The Ohio State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. Later, I attended Marquette University, where I earned a Master of Business Administration degree."
Today Cain has 25 years of experience in petrochemical manufacturing, with more than 22 years of that time spent working for LyondellBasell and predecessor companies. His experience includes working in both engineering and leadership roles with LyondellBasell, and he has spent the past 20 years in leadership positions in polymers operations, turnaround management, olefins operations and overall site leadership positions.
"I've worked at various site locations for LyondellBasell, including sites in Ohio, Iowa, Illinois and Texas," Cain stated. "I have only very recently moved back to Houston. But I strive to be active in the communities where I have lived, serving in leadership roles for economic development and other local community support functions. I recently accepted a board position with the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region and look forward to serving this area through that organization."
When it comes to challenges, Cain stated he experienced challenges at every site, but most were positive during his career.
"Continuous improvement in safety performance, maintaining high reliability of our operations while doing so in a cost-effective manner, and executing strategic projects that promote the future success of the site and company are a few challenges," Cain said. "They are certainly applicable at the La Porte site. Typically, most challenges are overcome by the people who you have around you. Identifying the best people, empowering them and removing barriers to their success are the most important things for a site manager to focus on."
The La Porte Complex, new Hyperzone PE plant
The La Porte Complex is one of LyondellBasell's larger manufacturing facilities, spanning approximately 550 acres. The complex has two docks on the Houston Ship Channel and truck and rail transportation capabilities. The La Porte Complex has been in operation since 1959. Today it produces ethylene, propylene, low-density polyethylene, linear low-density polyethylene, vinyl acetate monomer, acetic acid and methanol.
The new Hyperzone PE plant will be capable of producing 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) annually and will employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE process technology that provides enhanced material performance. Start-up of the plant is planned for 2019.
"Once the Hyperzone PE plant is complete, the La Porte Complex will more than double its annual PE capacity to 2 billion pounds," Cain said. "LyondellBasell currently produces a total of 7 billion pounds of HDPE annually, including its share of capacity through joint venture facilities. The company is a leading worldwide producer of all forms of PE, with an annual capacity of 12 billion pounds."
According to Cain, the Hyperzone PE technology enables customers to produce cost-effective, lightweight plastics that are strong, durable and widely recyclable. The new Hyperzone PE technology also enables the production of a broad spectrum of HDPE products in one single plant, whereas previous technologies require multiple plants.
"The company chose to build the new plant at its existing La Porte Complex because of its proximity to price-advantaged U.S. feedstocks and the transportation infrastructure needed to ship product to markets across the globe," Cain said. "The project will create up to 1,000 jobs at the peak of construction and 75 permanent positions. As modeled by the Greater Houston Partnership, the approximately $700 million project is expected to generate more than $67 million in tax benefits for the state, county, school district, community college and other local taxing districts over a 10-year period following construction."
The Hyperzone PE plant is part of LyondellBasell's plan for $3 billion-$5 billion of investments along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Incident-free operation
Cain explained safety is a core value at LyondellBasell, and incident-free operation is the company's goal. LyondellBasell has an overarching safety program called GoalZero that encourages a workplace free from injuries, incidents, and defects.
"LyondellBasell's GoalZero approach provides a unifying HS&E theme to link all regions and operational areas of the business," Cain said. "Because of our rigorous approach to safety, our company is consistently ranked among the top in the industry in safety performance."
To illustrate this, the La Porte Complex recently received the Elite Gold Safety Award from the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which recognizes facilities with safety performance in the top 1 percent of the industry.
"This performance is achieved because of the culture of ownership and commitment that is present in our people at the site and is more than any one program or system," Cain stated. "We do have systems and processes that focus on areas like employee engagement, behavior-based safety, reduction in human error, learning from prior experience, mechanical integrity and process safety management excellence, among many others."
Responsible, good neighbor
LyondellBasell is committed to being a responsible, good neighbor in the communities where it operates. For this reason, the company encourages and empowers its employees to make meaningful contributions of their time and money in these communities. According to Cain, the La Porte Complex is no different.
"In 2016, employees from the plant contributed more than 3,000 volunteer hours in the La Porte community, supporting such organizations as the Boy and Girls Harbor, Holiday Angels, Junior Achievement, United Way of Southeast Texas, Armand Bayou Nature Center, Clear Creek Environmental Foundation, the San Jacinto Monument, the La Porte Chamber of Commerce and many others," Cain said. "In addition, the site participated in LyondellBasell's companywide Global Care Day, a day of giving back to the communities where we operate through service based projects. In June, LyondellBasell also announced a partnership with the Houston Astros Foundation to enhance La Porte-area youth ball fields."
Demands of the future
According to Cain, the world's ever-growing population is driving an increased need for convenience products, packaging and other materials associated with modern living. In turn, demand for these consumer goods leads to demand for chemicals and plastics.
"Our industry continues to be impacted by globalization," Cain said. "As a result, the industry is constantly evolving and improving to meet higher global demands from emerging markets through better technologies, price-advantaged feedstocks, world-scale plants and several other factors. LyondellBasell is strategically positioned to meet these demands. Our products are sold in approximately 100 countries. Since 2012, we've increased our ethylene capacity by 20 percent, and we continue to invest in growth-oriented projects like Hyperzone PE, where we see long-term feedstock advantage."