Growing up near Liverpool, England, Nick Gill was intrigued by the chemical plants he saw lit up at night when his family drove past, thinking they looked "cool."
It was the start of a passion and career in chemical engineering, which landed him a position as plant manager at TPC Group’s Houston facility. TPC is a global leader in producing value-added products derived from petrochemical raw materials such as C4 hydrocarbons, and a provider of critical infrastructure and logistics services along the Gulf Coast.
He’s had a rewarding career, but he’s not motivated by financial compensation.
"For someone thinking of going into the chemical industry — and more generally into engineering — I would say do it if you enjoy it, not because of how much money you think you will get paid," Gill said. "If you have an interest and passion in your work, then this will sustain you in a long career, and there are so many different processes and locations in the chemical industry that there is the potential for a hugely varied career."
Gill has been in his role for nearly two years, managing the safety, environmental, reliability and cost performance of the plant, which produces chemicals used to make everyday products from tires and carpet to additives that make gasoline burn cleaner.
TPC Group’s Nick Gill leads Houston expansion, production boost
Nick Gill, Plant Manager, TPC Group Houston Plant
He earned a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Manchester and joined bp after graduation as a unit process engineer in a phthalates plant at Saltend, near Hull in northeast England.
He held roles as a shift manager and operations superintendent before moving to the U.S. with bp and working at the Whiting Refinery in Indiana and the Cooper River petrochemical plant in South Carolina. Gill was operations manager at Cooper River when INEOS bought the plant.
In December, TPC Group announced completion of the current expansion phase of its Crude C4 processing capacity at Gill’s Houston facility. The expansion included a multi-year capital initiative focused on risk mitigation and improving infrastructure, further enhancing reliability and strengthening current capabilities to serve the ethylene and butadiene industries.
"Completing this phase of the company’s debottleneck projects has successfully demonstrated a maximum sustained daily rate (MSDR) increase of 20% for butadiene production, taking nameplate capacity to 1.1 billion lbs/yr at the Houston site," said Gill.
The combined results of the site’s new butadiene production MSDR, the increase in hydrotreating processing capacity and the company’s demonstrated third-party crude C4 long-term tolling arrangement, puts TPC Group’s overall crude C4 processing capacity at 25% higher than any prior year’s peak production.
From its recent expansion news to its innovative beginnings, TPC Group has played a significant role in history. The company’s Houston plant was originally built by the U.S. government during World War II as part of the Synthetic Rubber Program when the natural rubber supply from Southeast Asia was cut off to the U.S. The government sought alternatives and joined forces with rubber companies, the young petrochemicals industry and university research laboratories.
The resulting Synthetic Rubber Program was a remarkable scientific and engineering achievement with online production beginning at the TPC Houston site in 1944. The partnership of the government, industry and academia expanded the U.S. synthetic rubber industry from an annual output of 231 tons of general purpose rubber in 1941 to an output of 70k t/month in 1945.
In 1955 the site transitioned from government to privately owned.
A commitment to safety is a hallmark at the facility, where the number of recordable injuries has been reduced by half in the last year, Gill said. A lot of that improvement has come from implementing behavioral-based safety programs including safety observations where all members of the plant have safety conversations in the field.
"In my experience, this is one of the best ways to change people’s behaviors and attitudes and improve the plant culture," he said. "This is how we are driving a goal-zero culture and will continue to improve EHS&S performance."
Since 2016, the company has invested more than $400 million in mechanical integrity, infrastructure and asset improvements to advance process safety performance, Gill said.
"Our focus and challenge are to consistently act safely and reliably driving a goal-zero culture," he said. "We are improving in this area all the time and our year-over-year performance has demonstrated the results we want to see."
Participating in the legislative process through grassroots advocacy initiatives is also emphasized at the Houston facility, Gill said, and employees work year-round to foster relationships with elected officials and local leaders.
"We believe this is foundational to ensuring legislation enhances the region’s quality of life for our neighbors, economic competitiveness and attractiveness for industrial growth. It also ensures that legislative policy impacting our industry, business and the community is developed from an informed position based on sound science and good data," Gill said.
The company also believes that being a good neighbor goes beyond operating safely and in an environmentally friendly manner — it means being a part of what makes the community thrive.
TPC Group’s Nick Gill leads Houston expansion, production boost
TPC Group Houston Plant
The Houston site and its employees actively participate in numerous charitable and social programs benefiting the local community, including the company’s Mark of Excellence Scholarship Program, an annual charity golf tournament and a back-to-school supply drive.
Through the Mark of Excellence Scholarship Program, initiated in 2006, the company has awarded more than $1 million in academic scholarships to graduating high school seniors, and more than $600,000 of that has been awarded specifically to more than 65 graduating seniors from Cesar E. Chavez High School in the Houston Independent School District. The golf tournament raises money for non-profit organizations across southeast Texas.
Since 2006, nearly $2 million has been awarded to organizations including Barrio Dogs, East End Chamber Education Foundation, Armand Bayou Nature Center, Community Family Centers, Mental Health America of Greater Houston, PTSD Foundation’s Camp Hope and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. Through TPC Group’s annual United Way Campaigns, since 2015 more than $1.2 million has gone back into the communities where it operates. Gill said that employees collectively volunteer more than 1,200 hours annually in the communities where TPC operates.
"We have been an active member of Houston’s east end for 80 years," Gill said. "We’re local; our employees live and work here. We are committed to being a good neighbor as we work daily to operate our plant safely, reliably and in an environmentally responsible manner."
One piece of advice Gill offers to aspiring engineers is to consider what they hope to achieve in the future when making decisions.
"Whenever you have a decision to make, think about what you want in five years, not next week," he said. "As a result, you will make a decision that is sustainable over the long term. The biggest thing I have learned over my career is that long-term planning is much better than short-term firefighting.
"This can be frustrating at times because it takes much longer to have the satisfaction of seeing positive results, but those results will most likely outlive your presence in your role if you get them right."
Empathy and humility are key skills to drive successful results for Gill, as well as coaching and decision making.
"You need to know how other people think and you also need to listen to feedback and recognize that other people have good ideas and that you are not always right," he said.
Gill said working with people is one of his favorite things about his role at TPC Group. He tries to spend as much time as he can in the field with employees, talking not only about work but about their hobbies, vacations and families.
"Anything, as long as it establishes a connection," Gill said.
For more information, visit tpcgrp.com.
