Staying organized and remaining accountable are critical skill sets for Beth Holland, VP and project execution owner of the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI 3) expansion project at BASF’s Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana.
She is overseeing the $780 million expansion of MDI 3 as the final phase of the project that started decades ago. MDI 3 launched in January of this year.
BASF’s Holland heads up final phase of decades-long project
BASF Geismar Site
“This role involves the construction of the plant itself, the logistics, staffing, commissioning, sales plan and operational maintenance,” Holland said. “But there is also another crucial aspect to the role: the project owner is someone who takes accountability for how it all fits together. I think it’s one of the best jobs in the world, no doubt, but you must be ready to take ownership of everything.”
Holland is the business unit owner accountable for the delivery of the project objectives for environmental protection, health and safety (EHS) in scope, cost and schedule. The MDI units began with MDI 1, expanded to MDI 2 in 2000 and are now expanding further to MDI 3.
Holland, who considers herself a Louisiana native since graduating from Louisiana State University, has spent her entire career at BASF, starting out as an operations engineer of specialty amines in Geismar. She has worked as a project operations manager, technology manager, site director and VP of polyamides and precursors before moving into her current role in October 2021.
The MDI 3 expansion project is in the final phase and is expected to be completed mid-decade. Considering the first and second phases of expansion, the total investment is close to $1 billion.
“The MDI expansion is the biggest venture in the past 20 years, not only because this material is in high demand and a key component in many daily products such as foams for insulation and refrigeration in homes, but also is used to build lighter, more fuel-efficient cars,” Holland said. “What’s important to us is that we have strong production capability in North America.”
BASF’s Holland heads up final phase of decades-long project
Beth Holland, VP and Project Execution Owner MDI 3, BASF
BASF’s Geismar site is the largest in North America with 32 production facilities and is one of six BASF Verbund sites globally. Verbund means an interconnected system of relationships, generating greater value than the sum of its parts. BASF is the largest private employer in Ascension Parish and the second-largest employer overall in the parish.
The site was purchased in 1956 by Wyandotte Chemicals with operations beginning in 1958. BASF acquired the site in 1969 and it supports six segments of the BASF business, including chemicals, materials, industrial solutions, surface technologies, nutrition and agricultural solutions.
Overall, BASF sites in Louisiana contribute more than $1 million annually in charitable donations and other resources to more than 50 nonprofit and community organizations.
Holland said being a good steward of the community where BASF employees live and work is an important pillar to the company.
“In conjunction with the groundbreaking for the MDI expansion project in January, we announced two scholarships — one with LSU, and another with River Parishes Community College to bring in a new generation of leaders to hopefully work on the BASF MDI team in the future,” she said. “The LSU and River Parishes Community College Scholarships, on behalf of the BASF MDI 3 Project, underline BASF’s commitment to the region and its workforce development.”
The Geismar site’s three Chemical Monomers (CM) business units include MDI, toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and aniline. Dinitrotoluene (DNT) is also within this business scope, but it is located at a site in North Geismar. The MDI and TDI units are responsible for manufacturing the products, while aniline and DNT are used to produce MDI and TDI.
The CM business within BASF’s footprint is unique — in 2008 it created a standalone shipping department called ISO Shipping in Geismar with the primary objective being to load and ship products produced by the MDI and TDI units.
Considering the business of manufacturing chemicals has traditionally been a male-dominated industry, Holland believes it’s important to be active in organizations such as the Women in Manufacturing Association and other such networking spaces.
“As part of a historically male-dominated industry, I’m aware of the issues I’ve had to face while forging my own path, and what many women in manufacturing still face today. You’re often underestimated. I think there’s just a general underestimation of what women are willing to do to advance their careers,” Holland said.
BASF’s Holland heads up final phase of decades-long project
Jerold Lebold, senior VP, Geismar Site; Beth Holland, VP and project execution owner, MDI 3 Expansion; Michael Heinz, chairman and CEO, BASF North America
“At the same time, I recognize that many of the roadblocks are not exclusive to women. Gaining manufacturing experience and knowledge is a major factor for advancement and oftentimes people that are new to the industry need to go after the knowledge themselves. You have to be a driver; you have to be a self-starter; you have to ask for the information. Some people will give it freely, while others will not. We don’t have a lot of structure in how we transfer knowledge from more experienced colleagues to others. And that goes from the top to the bottom which I see that as one of the barriers to inclusion, frankly.”
Much of the project work involved in the MDI 3 expansion involves BASF’s partners in China, and Holland has taken on the role of Geismar chair of the Asian Inclusion Network, which is part of BASF’s Employee Resource Business Groups. She sees the Asian Inclusion Network as “a fantastic experience.”
“As an ally, it has been a really rewarding experience to help lead this great group of employees to help create a more inclusive environment throughout the site,” she said.
Continuing to build on and improve diversity, equity and inclusion within the manufacturing landscape to better support employees is an important investment to Holland, and one she is committed to seeing expanded.
“For me, there are still many things that can be done to improve inclusion and improve the experience of working in manufacturing, such as infrastructure and environment. Considering how a person works and how that affects their lifestyle is something our industry needs to do more of,” Holland said. “Although our policies have improved in terms of caring for working parents, the facilities for childcare throughout industry have not kept up, especially in the U.S. Having our infrastructure be better, but also supporting community infrastructure that makes it easier for working parents, I think is important.”
Holland said a key challenge the chemical manufacturing industry will face moving forward is introducing digitization into the production process.
“There is a real need to implement digitalization into the chemical industry. I think that’s what I still see is very much a culture change, even a culture clash, that’s happening,” she said. “You have essentially a generation where we know how to build and run the plants, and then you have some people who know digital tools. We need digital translators — people who can somehow articulate those two spaces and merge the two together and make this transition to a more digital workforce.”
For more information, visit basf.com.
