BASF's Vidalia Site Manager Steven Pierre is honored to be at the helm of this Louisiana plant, which continues to be one of the most efficient producers of process catalysts. According to Pierre, the Vidalia site is continuing to find ways to reduce its fixed manufacturing costs to strengthen profitability and also maintain industry-leading environmental, health and safety (EHS) performance.
"We strive to be the best-in-class process catalysts site in the world, focused on meeting customer needs and maintaining a leading edge in all aspects of the business," Pierre said. "We are always looking for ways to increase production while being smart with our divisional capital budget. The economic outlook for our industry is strong, and BASF is well positioned to continue to be a key player."
Feb.15 marked Pierre's one-year anniversary as site manager. His job duties and responsibilities center around safely producing products to meet customers' demands in an environmentally responsible manner.
"I am also accountable for fostering an open, inclusive work environment where everyone's opinions and ideas are heard, and helping develop all employees so they can reach their full potential," he said. "I have the responsibility of leading the site so it can continuously improve in cost and waste reduction and profitability."
A native of Plaquemine, Louisiana, Pierre attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Before joining BASF, Pierre worked for ExxonMobil for 20 years, holding numerous leadership positions in Baton Rouge and Port Allen, Louisiana, and Houston. In 2011, Pierre took a job in BASF's corporate engineering division as director of turnaround management and construction. Married with five children, Pierre enjoys reading and playing golf. He also has an identical twin brother who works as a mechanical engineer at Dow.
Vidalia is located in Concordia Parish 95 miles north of Baton Rouge near the Mississippi River. The Vidalia plant was built by Alcoa World Chemicals as a stateof- the-art alumina production facility to serve the natural gas, gas drying, petrochemical and hydrocarbon processing markets worldwide. Following groundbreaking in 1982, the Vidalia plant was commissioned in July 1983. Over the years, the plant went through several acquisitions until it was purchased by BASF in 2006 and was expanded in 2013.
Today, Pierre manages more than 70 employees at the plant, which requires a certain skillset.
"In addition to the eight core competencies BASF has identified as critical to all managers and employees, you must be able to delegate to allow yourself to work at a strategic level, listen effectively and think on your feet when it comes to critical decision making," he said.
The No. 1 goal: Maintaining health and safety
When it comes down to it, Pierre's No. 1 goal for BASF's Vidalia site is to maintain the utmost health and safety standards for its employees while also protecting the environment. Pierre is proud the Vidalia site has had zero lost-time injuries since 2009. BASF has implemented the Exposure Reduction Process (ERP), a behavior-based safety program that involves employee engagement and hazard identification mitigation or elimination.
"ERP has driven a step-change with site performance in these critical areas," Pierre said. "Our ERP Steering Team, also known as the RIVER Team, which stands for 'Recognizing, Implementing and Voicing Exposure Reduction,' has been instrumental in driving improved performance in these areas.
"Another major focus for the site is to overcome the loss of experience in the workforce during the next few years. The way to combat this challenge is to attract, hire and retain talent in the technical, operations and maintenance organizations to meet our needs going forward.
"We recently hired several new employees to allow our shift supervisors to transition from working supervisors to full-time supervisors. This will allow these supervisors the time to leverage their experience to help drive continuous improvement changes."
Being a 'welcomed' member of the community
BASF employees at the Vidalia site support a number of nonprofit community service organizations through fundraising campaigns and volunteerism. Each year, the BASF sites in Louisiana contribute more than $600,000 in charitable donations to a variety of nonprofit organizations, and their employees volunteer thousands of hours in the community.
"BASF is committed to being a welcomed member of the communities in which we operate," Pierre said. "We have a long history of partnering with local organizations that seek to change lives and strengthen the fabric of our society. Our employees live and work in the local communities, too. They raise their families here, and their children go to school here. Therefore, we continuously support the generous volunteerism of our employees and encourage them to take active roles in our community to make it an even better place to live and work."
Specifically, BASF is involved in supporting many community activities for a variety of organizations, including STEM education and activities that help inspire students to pursue a career path in industry. Community giving and volunteer efforts support the Special Olympics, Adopt-A-School programs, the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, United Way, the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society and Vidalia's local law enforcement.
"Locally, in Concordia Parish, BASF supports the Concordia Office of Economic Development," Pierre explained. "I represent BASF on issues that the organization addresses, such as workforce development. BASF also participates in the Louisiana Chemical Association, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, various local chambers of commerce and more."
BASF Corp.'s Vidalia Site 109 Highway 131 Vidalia, LA 71373 (318) 336-9601 www.basf.us/la
Employees: 73
Products: Activated alumina spheres (fixed-bed gas dehydration, catalyst-bed supports, sulfur recovery); promoted alumina adsorbents (chloride and fluoride guard beds, petrochemical purification); and powders, granules and catalysts (hydrogen peroxide process treatments, catalyst precursors, water purification).
Size: 44 acres