As Olin’s Louisiana operations site leader, Steve Ledoux is instrumental in ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the company’s three facilities in Plaquemine, St. Gabriel and Grand Bayou. And as a Louisiana native, Ledoux has great pride and a unique sense of his responsibility to the state’s people and places.
“I am a Louisiana boy,” Ledoux said proudly. Born in Opelousas and raised in Baton Rouge, Ledoux is also proud of his company’s longstanding history and support for his home state’s local communities. “We’re a strong supporter of our community,” he said. “Ev
ery year, our Olin employees support our local communities through the Capital Area United Way and the March of Dimes’ Walk for Babies. Most recently, Jaclyn Tubre (one of our production leaders), her husband and their quadruplets were selected to be the ambassador family for the March of Dimes. Olin is one of seven companies in St. Gabriel that supports East Iberville Inc. This organization’s mission is to improve the lives and opportunities of people in East Iberville Parish.
“We also contribute to the Addis YMCA and support the local high schools and elementary schools in St. Gabriel and Plaquemine.”
Through the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA), whose board of directors Ledoux recently joined, Olin is also active in environmental health and safety standards across industrial business in the area, as well as workforce development programs between communities and industries.
“We are also active on both the East and West Iberville Parish Community Action Panels, members of the West Baton Rouge and the East Iberville Chambers of Commerce, and involved in the Louisiana Chemical Association, which has one of the largest political action committees representing industry in Louisiana,” Ledoux said.
Olin’s Plaquemine and Grand Bayou facilities had groundbreaking ceremonies in 1956 and have since been combined into an integrated site, with chlorine, caustic, EDC and PerTet making up the largest share of products. The St. Gabriel site was started in 1970, with primary products including chlorine and caustic. Altogether, Olin’s Louisiana operations are capable of producing over 6 billion pounds of products and intermediates per year.
Ledoux expressed Olin’s “incredible leadership” both on-site and off is one of the most “inspiring” things about serving in the company. “Olin leadership does a great job keeping us current and explaining what’s happening in the marketplace and the impact or potential impact on our business,” he said. “Understanding that big picture is very important in helping our team recognize how their commitment and success is essential to the company’s success.
“With Olin proving to be a company dedicated to safety, sustainability, growth and investment, I’m proud to work with such a talented and amazing team of people.”
Mitigating risk
While Ledoux started his current position as Louisiana site leader in May 2016, he has more than 26 years’ experience in the chemical industry and knows his most important skill on the job is identifying and mitigating risk.
“That, first and foremost, protects people — including our team and the communities in which we work — as well as the environment,” Ledoux explained. “And we must do this while maintaining Olin’s sustainability and profitability. As a site leader, I use my knowledge and experience in understanding technology, process safety and life-critical standards, and the ability to tap into the talents and capabilities of our great team.”
And Ledoux’s ability to effectively mitigate risk for site personnel has already paid off. “In 2016, we had one OSHA recordable injury at both Plaquemine and St. Gabriel,” Ledoux stated. “We have a very strong safety culture that starts at the top of our company and is fostered throughout by our leaders, individuals and within teams. Our efforts to develop positive habits and behavior within Olin employees and contractors stem from developing the right culture, beginning on the first day of work with our onboarding process.
“With a strong safety culture among all our employees, we will achieve our goal of zero incidents. It’s more than not getting hurt. It’s about working safely every time, as well as a culture that encourages and expects peerto- peer engagement and an environment that encourages asking questions. Driving our safety culture is a never-ending opportunity with ever-improving processes and protection systems.”
Ledoux noted his “vision” is to see Olin’s Louisiana operations become “the safest” as well as the most profitable Olin production site. “Our access to low-cost power, the logistics advantage from the Mississippi River and an incredibly talented workforce position us as a low-cost producer and preferred production site,” he explained. “With this vision comes the challenge of improved reliability, capital project implementation and continuous incremental improvements.”
Making lives better
Over the next three years, Olin is planning to invest over $50 million in Louisiana in incremental growth, with other growth projects being considered. The planned investment will ensure the company’s presence in the community for many years, as well as improve its facilities’ integration and more efficient and reliable operations.
“It’s critical to Olin’s success that we continue to innovate and improve our processes so we can compete globally,” said Ledoux. “Our industry has a bright future, but we are at risk to lose market share if we don’t stay competitive.”
Ledoux emphasized a key component of staying globally competitive is fostering and expanding the practical uses of Olin’s primary product in Louisiana: chlorine.
“A world without chlorine and chlorinated products would be very different than the one we know and enjoy today,” explained Ledoux. “Our products go into a variety of products that include disinfectants, cleaners, building materials, coatings and refrigerants, just to name a few.
“These products make our lives better by fighting diseases; protecting and strengthening our homes, cars and industrial equipment; and making our homes, buildings and vehicles stronger and more comfortable.”
Another way Ledoux plans to keep Olin competitive is by implementing the new “Olin Way” initiative across all Louisiana operations. “The ‘Olin Way’ maintenance methodology is aimed at improving our maintenance process,” stated Ledoux. “This follows the selection by Olin of a single-source supplier of maintenance and specialty craft services across our company. Implementing this new master service provider initiative is expected to improve resourcing and give us leverage between sites to ensure competitive service. We’re also in full swing planning a couple of turnarounds that will be implemented during the first quarter.”
Although economic changes have in recent years posed a challenge for industrial operators, Ledoux remains optimistic about his and his team’s ability to overcome whatever obstacles are thrown their way. “We’ve seen in the news that Louisiana is facing a huge financial deficit due to low oil prices, which has significantly reduced the state’s tax revenue,” Ledoux explained. “Whenever that happens in any state, new taxes or the elimination of exemptions are often proposed. We are carefully watching this situation to ensure that we can defend against any potential measures that would impact our competitiveness.
“Our teams are facing a lot of change, but with this change comes opportunities to do things better and smarter. As we are now integrating the operations of our Plaquemine, St. Gabriel and Grand Bayou facilities into one Louisiana operations site, we’re combining the best of all three facilities. This strategy ensures Olin retains the necessary assets and infrastructure to deliver safe and reliable operations.
“We’re taking the best practices each facility has to offer and integrating them into a single management system with improved work processes we all share and leverage. This includes combining best practices in our safety and management systems, including life-critical standards, mechanical integrity, management of change and maintenance work processes, to name a few. This will ensure consistency among our facilities in Louisiana and is instrumental for our success as we partner with our customers.”