Although Sergio Portillo Matute's primary responsibility as site manager of Eastman Chemical Co.'s Texas City Operations is ensuring safe, reliable and efficient operations, his role also encompasses much, much more. From managing relationships with community, local government and key stakeholders to developing people and organizations to help them achieve their maximum potential, Portillo Matute never has a dull day.
Originally from Mexico, Portillo Matute lived in Mexico City for most of his life. While he was in high school, he taught mathematics and physics, first at an elementary level and later at a collegiate level. According to Portillo Matute, this experience taught him the importance of effective communication and engaging with people from an early age. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the largest university in Latin America.
Portillo Matute's professional career began in 2005 when he accepted a position with DuPont as an R&D engineer for polymers, paints and coatings. He ultimately worked in a number of different roles at DuPont, developing a strong foundation of safety and discipline while learning the ins and outs of working in a chemical plant.
Portillo Matute then transitioned into the automotive industry, working for a newly formed, privately owned company, where he was able to start a $50 million plastics injection operation. There, he stepped into his first managerial role, developing an entrepreneurial mindset and learning how to build and develop teams and processes. He eventually took advantage of an opportunity at a similar but much larger corporation, Faurecia Automotive. In these roles, Portillo Matute nurtured a deep understanding of customer satisfaction and the value of a productivity- driven culture.
In pursuit of a brighter future, Portillo Matute joined Eastman in 2013 as site manager for one of the company's chemical operations in Mexico, with the goal of eventually being transferred to the U.S. or Europe -- a transfer that took place in 2015, when he was offered the opportunity to lead Eastman's Texas City Operations.
"Since then, I've had the opportunity to see different aspects of the business and use my skills and experience to add to Eastman's culture of safety, responsibility and commitment," Portillo Matute said.
According to Portillo Matute, there are four primary skills needed to be successful in his position: leadership, teamwork, adaptability and time management.
The most important of these skills, he explained, is leadership. He believes this is the main driver for how much employees care about the performance and culture of their workplace. "The best leaders I have met are not always the smartest, most experienced or most knowledgeable, but the ones who have earned the trust and commitment of their team," he said.
When it comes to teamwork, Portillo Matute is acutely aware most of the results he achieves are made possible through the work of others, and a large aspect of his role involves partnering with other corporate functions, like procurement, HS&E, legal, HR and business stakeholders.
For a site manager, adaptability is also crucial. Portillo Matute views only a small part of his job as routine; most situations he deals with are unique. He also invests a great deal of time on long-term goals, which not only tend to change along the way, but are often completed by different people from those who originally set them.
Lastly, he believes the value of good time management skills cannot be understated. "It is easy to get absorbed by details or activities that are not adding value," Portillo Matute said. "Part of my mission is to set the tone for a culture of commitment with a healthy worklife balance, and those expectations need to be set by example."
Armed with this skillset, Portillo Matute feels more than capable of ensuring Eastman maintains its status as a leading global specialty materials provider, producing a broad range of advanced materials, additives, functional products, specialty chemicals and fibers found in products people use every day.
A commitment to safety
Eastman's Texas City site hasn't had any significant process safety events in over 20 years, a safety record Portillo Matute attributes to its shift from traditional risk management based on severity, which typically leads to accepting low-severity consequences, to a "zero-incident mindset," which regards even low-severity consequences as unacceptable.
In 2019, the site achieved Zero Tier 1 or Tier 2 Process Safety, which are leading indicators of systems that prevent incidents from occurring.
"In general, I believe safety performance reflects the level of professionalism and commitment of all the people participating in a business, from the front-line operators and mechanics to the furthest level of administration and commercial," Portillo Matute said. "At our sites, we have built an operational disciplines strategy around the people who execute the work, supported by all the functions in the business."
Community involvement
Portillo Matute's site has been a part of the Texas City, Texas, community for 80 years, and is very active in giving back to the community through financial contributions and volunteerism. Notably, site employees organize a months-long campaign to raise funds for United Way each year.
"I think this is important not only to share our blessings, but also because in the process of campaigning we get to know each other better and work toward a common personal goal," Portillo Matute said. "I'm proud of my co-workers because 73 percent of all our employees pledged part of their 2020 salaries in addition to their time and other contributions."
Eastman's Texas City site also organizes other campaigns for food, toys and clothes with the Galveston County Food Bank and the Salvation Army, and participates with local schools in support of faculty and funding educational programs.
Looking forward
Portillo Matute sees some substantial changes on the horizon for both his site and his industry as a whole. First and foremost, he believes a much stronger focus will be placed on efficiency in regard to energy utilization and water consumption, not only because of financial implications but also because resources are becoming increasingly limited.
"I foresee a heightened awareness on the lifecycle of our products and how much they can be reprocessed or recycled," Portillo Matute explained. "We already see some of that in 'circular economy' initiatives around the world. In fact, our company took a leadership role in accelerating the circular economy in 2019 by announcing two chemical recycling technologies that will recycle complex waste plastics an infinite number of times. Our recycling innovations are something that give me and other team members at Eastman a great sense of pride -- they get right to the heart of our company purpose to enhance the quality of life in a material way."
Furthermore, Portillo Matute predicts a shift in the demographic of people who will soon make up the majority of Eastman's customers and workforce, with new generations moving in and disrupting past trends. "As the things that are important to people change, companies and organizations will have to adapt," he said. "People in roles like mine will be doing things very differently as well."
A personal goal for Portillo Matute going forward is to certify Eastman's Texas City site as an OSHA VPP Star site -- a program he believes would be a great mark of pride for the site as a whole.
