LYB’s Caldwell awarded for leadership, prioritizes safety and innovation

LyondellBasell’s Amy Caldwell loves a good challenge.

As site manager at the Pasadena, Texas-based Bayport Choate site since 2023, she is responsible for the safe and reliable operations of the site, which has three propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol (PO/TBA) plants and their associated derivatives units.

"Site managers need to believe that nothing is more important than the safety of every person that walks into that site. This is a core value for me and is a compass for my decisions," Caldwell said. "You need to have a vision along with strong leadership and people skills.

"With all of the stakeholders a site manager has, the ability to listen and understand is as important a skill as the ability to execute and drive results. When facing significant challenges, the site manager has to be resilient and a ‘force of stability’ for the site."

Caldwell said that while a lot of her job can be tactical, a site manager also needs to think strategically about the needs of the site and of manufacturing in the future.

The Bayport Choate site is a PO/TBA plant that also produces tertiary butyl hydroperoxide, oxyfuels and other derivatives.

The products are used in paints and coatings, home furnishings, auto parts, fuel additives, personal care products and antifreeze. The first plant at the facility (Plant 1) was started up in 1969, closely followed by Plant 2 (1971) and Plant 3 (1974) to comprise the largest capacity PO/TBA facility in the world. A new addition to the plant skyline came when an ethers (RTBE) unit started up in 2022 to produce ethyl tertiary-butyl ether.

Originally, the site belonged to Oxirane, a JV between ARCO and Halcon, which ARCO acquired in 1980. Later, ownership transferred from ARCO to Lyondell in 1998, and then to LyondellBasell in 2007. During her first year as site manager at Bayport Choate, Caldwell said the site successfully executed a major turnaround, safely managed site operations through a freeze event and managed through higher-than-historic attrition.

She said the critical element to managing through challenges is taking time to understand them.

"I talk to people throughout the organization to get grounded on key issues and then ensure we develop a strong plan for addressing risks," she said. "Once that framework and a plan is in place, you execute and stay connected to course correct if needed. I tell my team, ‘Good things happen for a reason.’ It is because we thought things through and safely executed our plan."

The facility achieved a site record of 6 million safe work hours before sustaining a recordable injury last year. Bayport Choate ended 2023 with a TRIR of 0.11.

Caldwell said that though it was a "strong performance" — she’s not satisfied.

"We are striving for zero injuries, day in and day out," she said. "LYB has a strong focus on GoalZERO; it is embedded in our culture and into how we do our work. We believe all incidents are preventable. Having a strong focus on intervention and reporting culture is key to achieving GoalZERO."

Caldwell said following procedures, getting help if a situation is not understood and giving everyone the authority to stop work if they believe a situation is unsafe is also a key safety foundation at Bayport Choate.

"We care about each other and look out for each other. When you know a person, it is easier to intervene if you see a safety concern," she said. "In addition to occupational safety, we are also strongly focused on process safety at Bayport Choate. In this space, our key focus areas are continuing to advance our mechanical integrity programs as well as understanding and addressing human factors."

Caldwell said discussions about human factors have been integrated into the facility’s morning meetings, an example of which is talking through a high-risk task in the field before it takes place — reviewing the procedure and assigning a second set of eyes to follow the job in the field.

This focus on people and her strategic thinking is paying off for Caldwell, with the recent recognition by the educational nonprofit workforce organization Manufacturing Institute as a Women MAKE Honoree — a national honor that identifies women in manufacturing who exemplify leadership in their companies and communities. Award winners are encouraged to mentor the next generation of talent and to encourage females to pursue manufacturing careers.

"I am truly honored to have been selected for this award and it was such a privilege to be recognized during the April gala in Washington, D.C.," Caldwell said.

It’s not only Caldwell who enjoys giving back — the people who work at her site are also committed to helping their community, Caldwell said, believing community service is a way of "advancing good."

Employees are involved as Partners in Education volunteers to Bayshore Elementary School students in the La Porte Independent School District, and in 2023 the Bayport site donated almost 200 presents to families at the school during the holidays.

Employees also participated in the robotics competition at LaPorte Junior High and in the Wings Over Houston Airshow, Caldwell said. Additionally, they host a senior citizen celebration for more than 100 people from the local area which includes dinner, music, bingo, prizes and more. Other highlights include an annual food drive for the nonprofit Bay Area Turning Point, and volunteering at the Houston Food Bank to combat food insecurity in the community, Caldwell said.

"We also are fortunate to have the 2,500-acre Armand Bayou Nature Center in Pasadena, Texas. LYB provided a grant to restore and modernize the center for its 50th anniversary," she said.

Caldwell is originally from Houston and graduated from Clear Lake High School. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University and is currently pursuing an MBA from the University of Houston with a projected graduation date of May 2025.

She started her career with PPG Industries in 1996 before moving to Basell, now LyondellBasell, in 2001.

Her roles have included process engineer, operations engineer, start-up lead, process safety manager and operations manager.

"I have a strong passion for process safety and worked in corporate through various process safety positions, becoming the director of process safety and loss prevention globally," she said. "One of my greatest experiences early in my career was converting a mothballed polyethylene unit to an LYB proprietary Catalloy unit, which included the construction of a propylene/propane splitter. This was an amazing challenge and was my first time leading a start-up and leading an operations workforce."

Her first job was leading birthday parties at a local putt-putt golf facility at the age of 15, where she was paid a minimum wage of $3.15 per hour.

"I had to be highly organized and single-handedly kept up to 15 kids engaged in the same activity while having fun," she said.

Her career path was inspired by her father, who is a chemical engineer. She said she’s always gravitated toward science, especially chemistry and math.

"I love a challenge and chemical engineering fits that bill for me," she said. "I was inspired to become a site manager because manufacturing is a fantastic and challenging space. As a site manager, you can have a tremendous positive influence on people, the company and the community.

"My dad has been a strong role model for me. He taught me the importance of having integrity, working hard, treating people with respect and taking pride in my work."

Caldwell said she’s excited about the future of the Bayport Choate site, and sees the facility as having the opportunity to shape the future in the industry.

"With the strong focus on sustainability, this is a time of great innovation, collaboration and transformation with our focus on delivering circular and low carbon solutions within the company.

"If you do not try for an opportunity, you are guaranteed not to get it."

For more information, visit lyb.com.

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