John Koegel, Plant Manager, Arkema Clear Lake
When John Koegel came on board as plant manager of Arkema's Clear Lake facility at the beginning of 2018, his first order of business was getting an "accurate pulse check" on the organization, from the leadership to the employees on the shop floor.
"Our primary focus is always the safety and reliability of our operations, and one of my first areas of focus was our safety culture," Koegel recalled. "I worked with my leadership team to develop a safety action plan to create an environment where every single member of the team was personally committed to our safety mission."
Koegel works hard to make the Clear Lake plant run efficiently and safely for its people, neighbors and environmental surroundings. To do so, Koegel said it is his responsibility as plant manager to communicate effectively with his employees and key stakeholders, which includes exercising good listening skills.
"Above all, I need to be able to create an environment in which safety is top of mind at all times for every employee," he said.
Arkema Clear Lake recently made significant capital investments totaling $100 million, including a new state-of-the-art acrylic acid reactor and a new upgraded control room.
Keeping an emphasis on safety
Koegel was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, before attending Purdue University and graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. He started his career as a process engineer with Rohm and Haas Co. in Deer Park, Texas. Over the next 16 years, Koegel held various production positions of increasing responsibility at three different Rohm and Haas plants.
In early 2009, The Dow Chemical Company acquired Rohm and Haas, and Koegel stayed on as a Dow employee. He had several different roles with Dow, including acrylic acid production leader, monomers business integration leader and monomers global reliability leader. He joined Arkema in early 2018 at the Clear Lake facility in Bayport, Texas.
Attending the grand opening of Arkema's new Operation Control Center from left to right is Marie-Pierre Chevallier, global group president, Acrylic Monomers, Arkema; John Koegel, plant manager, Arkema-Clear Lake; Laurie Tangedahl, BIC Magazine; Rich Rennard, regional president, Acrylic Monomers, Arkema.
Clear Lake produces acrylic monomers, which are used in the preparation of decorative paints, superabsorbants (a key component in baby diapers and hygiene products), products used in water treatment and environmental protection, and for the manufacture of engineering polymers.
Safety is the plant's primary focus, and Koegel intends to keep placing a strong emphasis on that goal.
"Clear Lake operated for over five years without a recordable injury from 2011 to early 2016," Koegel said. "Since then, we have had a few injuries and have embarked on a program to focus on behavior-based initiatives to drive our safety culture in the right direction."
To reduce the likelihood of future injuries, Koegel and Clear Lake are focusing on leading indicators and safe behaviors. The plant has also expanded the use and visibility of its hazard recognition program, improved the timely reporting and communication of all safety and environmental incidents, implemented a pre-job safety review process for all non-nested contractors, and improved the quality of and participation in its behavior-based safety observation program. Koegel said the site has also reviewed lessons learned from other Arkema plants to apply recommended best practices where appropriate.
"I am confident that by focusing on the right behaviors and strengthening our supporting management systems, we will achieve the desired improvement in our plant's safety record," Koegel said.
After safety, Koegel said the next most important challenge he has as a plant manager is to maintain overall plant reliability and drive continuous improvement. He said Clear Lake has recently made significant capital investments totaling $100 million in a new state-ofthe- art acrylic acid reactor, which is replacing older assets, and a control room with upgraded control systems and improved communications.
"Because Clear Lake is a key part of Arkema's Acrylic Monomers business, we expect to continue to improve, enhance and potentially expand the plant," Koegel added.
Common Ground® initiative
Arkema's Clear Lake facility takes an active role in the community. Personnel are members of Bayport's Community Advisory Panel, a forum for partnership and communication between industry and the local community. Many personnel are also members of the Southeast Region Local Emergency Response Committee, a community-based organization that assists in preparing for emergencies, particularly those concerning hazardous materials. Clear Lake belongs to the East Harris County Manufacturers Association (EHCMA), an industry group dedicated to promoting the health, safety, security, environmental and economic well-being of the petrochemical, refining and manufacturing industry in East Harris County, Texas.
Every year, Clear Lake hosts a science teacher event for two local elementary schools. The plant also gives financial assistance to the La Porte Education Foundation and participates annually in the foundation's Dollar Patrol event. Clear Lake sponsors the Texas Chemical Council's (TCC's) Science Teachers and Industry (STI) program and Chemicals Technology Day at the Texas State Capitol, and Koegel said he personally participates in both events. The plant even provides judges for science fairs at local elementary schools.
Clear Lake provides the United Way of Greater Houston with broad-based support and employee participation, where the plant generates more than $35,000 annually in employee- based donations. The site also contributes financial support and volunteers for the largest single-day waterway cleanup in the state of Texas: the River, Lakes, Bays 'N Bayous Trash Bash® event.
"These activities are important to our plant employees because we all want to give back to the communities in which we live and to share information on our operations with the people who live nearby," Koegel explained. "These activities are part of the Common Ground® initiative, addressing the neighboring communities of the plant that serve to develop lasting relationships based on trust and openness. Open dialogue with stakeholders is a cornerstone of Arkema's social responsibility policy."
Koegel himself stays abreast of industry news by participating in industry associations like the TCC, the Houston Ship Channel Security District, the Southeast Region Local Emergency Planning Committee, the Association of Bayport Companies and EHCMA. When he can, he even takes the time to attend trade shows and seminars periodically to keep up with current trends.
"I am on the TCC Outreach Committee and the board of the Association of Bayport Companies. Both of these groups provide me with the opportunity to connect with the communities which I work and live in," Koegel said.
As part of the TCC Outreach Committee, Koegel leads the Houston STI workshop, which educates around 50 middle and high school science teachers in the Greater Houston Area about the industry, its history, and important topics and trends like the growing need for a skilled workforce.
Planning for the future
With recent additions like the acrylic acid reactor, Koegel said he plans to keep improving Clear Lake in the coming years. He personally plans to make a significant and sustainable impact on the site's safety and environmental culture by continuously looking for opportunities to get better. Koegel intends to keep enhancing the plant design, automating manual tasks and performing preventive maintenance on plant assets to ensure maximum usage.
These internal goals are what he sees for the future of the industry, too.
"I see the industry being more driven by automation and social responsibility in the years to come," Koegel predicted. "Many of the plants in the industry were built over 30 years ago, when many tasks were done manually and without good ergonomic input. Much progress has been made in recent years, but there is still a long way to go. In addition, we continue to place a strong emphasis on safety, security and environmental excellence. New technology and design improvements have allowed manufacturing facilities to make significant reductions in annual emissions, but we always seek to continue to improve."
Arkema Clear Lake
9502B Bayport Blvd. Pasadena, TX 77507 (713) 751-7285 www.arkema-americas.com Employees: 120
Products: Acrylic monomers are used in the preparation of decorative paints, superabsorbants (a key component for baby diapers and hygiene products), products used in water treatment and environmental protection, and for the manufacture of engineering polymers.
Size: Arkema is one of the site partners at the Celanese Manufacturing Complex in Pasadena, Texas. The entire plant site has around 1,000 acres, with around 400 acres that have been developed.
