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September 2010
President’s Message: Industry must be Prepared for the Best and Worst of Times
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TCC President & CEO
Hector L. Rivero |
The chemical industry strives to operate its facilities safely and without incident. However, all companies must prepare to handle unexpected site emergencies that may threaten the health and safety of its employees, the surrounding community, and the environment. One of the most important roles that industry must prepare for is emergency response and managements.
TCC member companies have developed comprehensive industrial programs to handle major emergencies such as fires, chemical and oil spills, gas leaks, and explosions, as well as natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes.
Protecting the community and their employees is the top priority for TCC member companies. While companies work hard to prevent emissions events, natural disasters and other site emergencies, it is important for companies to plan for these risks. The actions that are taken during and after an event are the most important aspects of emergency response. TCC encourages members to share lessons learned and best practices that may help member companies reduce risk and be better prepared for a site emergency.
Industry must be prepared to provide timely communication to emergency responders and the public in the event of an emergency. Maintaining the trust of the communities where we operate is essential to sustaining our public consent to operate. How a site handles it public communication and response during a site emergency can greatly impact the community’s trust for that site and for other industrial sites in the region.
TCC provides its members with many avenues to share best practices in occupational safety, industrial health, and emergency management. In September, TCC’s Occupational Safety Committee will host a panel of representatives from East Harris County Manufacturers Association (EHCMA), Brazoria County Petrochemical Council (BCPC), Southeast Texas Plant Managers Forum, and the Port Industries of Corpus Christi (PICC). The panel will outline how each regional industry network is working to share best practices in emergency response and management.
TCC has also entered into an Alliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The purpose of this Alliance is to establish a collaborative relationship to cultivate healthy and safe workplaces. Through this Alliance, TCC is able to provide its members with information, guidance and access to training resources that will assist them to protect employee health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing hazards related to Process Safety Management.
Each year, TCC and ACIT host an Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Seminar in Galveston, Texas providing accredited educational opportunities for member company employees and industry contractors. The EHS Seminar is one of the premiere industry safety seminars in the U.S. and features leading safety instructors, speakers, and suppliers of safety equipment, technology, and services.
TCC is committed to nurturing our industries strong safety culture and will continue to seek out opportunities to help its members to prepare for the best and worst of times.
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TCC Hosts Science Teachers and Industry Program
Texas Chemical Council has resumed its Science Teachers and Industry (STI) program as a workshop in partnership with the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) aimed at raising awareness among science teachers about the importance of the chemical industry. This year’s STI workshop was held at the HCDE Conference Center on August 3rd through 5th, and included 35 teachers from 17 different school districts in Houston and surrounding areas, making it one of our most successful programs in the 20+-year history of the program.
Over the course of the three-day session, the teachers were able to interact with industry representatives from nine different companies, including field trips to Bayer MaterialScience and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.
During the workshop, teachers learned about the chemical industry’s emphasis on safety and environmental stewardship. Teachers enjoyed the opportunity to ask questions to industry representatives and obtained a better understanding for our industry’s emphasis on protecting employees, the community and the environment. Those attending also learned about the important role that industry plays in the state’s economy and in their local communities, as well as the challenges facing our industry.
TCC wishes to recognize the STI Sponsors who helped make this year’s workshop a success:
Albemarle Corporation
Celanese Chemicals – Clear Lake Plant
GB Biosciences Corporation
INEOS NOVA LLC
LyondellBasell Industries
Noltex, LLC
Solvay Chemicals, Inc.
Texas Brine Company Baytown, LLC
TPC Group
The Dow Chemical Company
The Lubrizol Corporation
INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA
BASF Corporation
Bayer MaterialScience, LLC
BP
The STI program could not be possible without the leadership and support of the TCC Outreach Committee. Chairman John Harvey (INEOS) and Vice Chair Michelle Holyfield (Eastman) led the charge to develop the program, secure member company sponsors, and coordinate the 3-day workshop with HCDE. John Koegel (Dow) and Lisa Felske (HCDE) facilitated the program. Thanks to the Committee’s leadership and the support of our sponsors, we are well on our way to another successful program in 2011. |
EPA Rejects Texas Approach to New Source Review
Federal environmental regulators took aim at Texas’ rules for air pollution for the third time in five months, saying some aspects violate the Clean Air Act.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rejected pieces of the state’s New Source Review (NSR) program, which dictates when industrial plants must implement additional pollution controls. Under federal guidelines, expanding industrial plants calculate their emissions to determine whether they need new pollution controls.
The Texas rules, however, allow new plants to use estimates to set emissions limits. If the caps are set too high, that will make it easier for plants to expand later, said Al Armendariz, regional administrator for the EPA. “We have confidence in real data, instead of the way the state of Texas does it, which is not based on actual emissions,” he said.
Armendariz said the Texas program also falls short of federal standards for monitoring emissions. The ruling, however, will not require companies to seek new permits or shut down, though they might see additional restrictions on emissions, he said.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which issues permits on the EPA’s behalf, defended its program, saying it meets the federal requirements. The commission also said in a statement that the state's air quality improved under the rejected program.
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Texas Sues EPA over Flexible Permits Program
The State of Texas filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the second time in six weeks over rules for air pollution.
State Attorney General Greg Abbott said the suit he filed with the U.S. 5th Court of Appeals in New Orleans seeks to block the EPA from disapproving Texas’ flexible permits as they pertain to refiners and other large industries.
The 16-year-old permitting program covers 122 refiners, plastics makers and chemical plants.
Gov. Rick Perry and state regulators, in expressing approval of the lawsuit, said the flexible permitting program cuts red tape and air pollution without violating federal law.
Perry said jobs and air quality gains would be lost if the EPA’s decision is permitted to stand. “The EPA’s overreach is as potentially devastating as it is unnecessary,” said Perry.
“Our empirical evidence has shown that you can have environmental protection and economic growth,” said Al Armendariz, the EPA’s regional administrator in Dallas.
The EPA has offered to work with businesses to bring their permits into compliance, and so far, six firms have accepted, according to Armendariz.
In a suit filed in June, Texas asked the federal appeals court to prevent the EPA from taking action against another part of the state's permitting system – the Qualified Facilities Program –complaining about regulatory authority and potential loss of jobs.
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EPA’s Armendariz Speaks to TCC Air Conservation Committee
Dr. Al Armendariz, Region 6 Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, addressed the TCC Air Conservation Committee on August 26th. 
In the presentation, Armendariz gave an overview of EPA goals, EPA’s views on climate change, and a review of the current issues that Texas and EPA are involved in, specifically regarding the flexible permitting program.
Armendariz said his main objective was to get all flexible permit holders a regular PSD permit with unit specific emission limits and verified monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting. He cited several options for meeting that objective, including: 1) working through a federal audit program; 2) conducting streamlined discussions directly with EPA; 3) working through a possible TCEQ process; or 4) a last-resort effort by EPA to force compliance through CAA violations and enforcement.
For a copy of his presentation, click here EPA Presentation |
EPA Actions on Emission Regulations Sparks Texas’ Response
U.S. EPA is planning to take over permitting programs for states that can’t or won’t comply with the Obama administration’s greenhouse gas rules by next year, and that isn’t sitting well with state lawmakers and regulators in Texas.
Officials in Texas are staunchly opposing EPA’s plans to force states into compliance with controversial climate regulations, while other states fear the agency is rushing forward without giving states enough guidance as they prepare to begin regulating greenhouse gases for the first time.
“I don't see that there’s any value in pursuing what is sort of a farce that is going to have only cost and no environmental benefits,” said Bryan Shaw, chairman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. “They’re not following the law and the procedures as we read it.”
EPA recently issued a draft rule to allow the agency to issue greenhouse gas permits for industrial facilities in states that are not prepared to begin regulating those emissions in January, when federal climate rules officially kick in. The agency said 13 states will need to revise their permitting programs to cover greenhouse gases or they could face a federal takeover. The states are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon and Texas.
“EPA has taken steps to ensure that the transition will be smooth and the largest emitting facilities will be able to get permits, regardless of their location,” spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said. “We will continue to work with states, the largest emitters and other groups to ensure they have the information they need.”
Some states are hustling to revise their laws and regulations in time, but others are pressing EPA to reconsider its plans to implement the “tailoring rule” for greenhouse gases, which would require emission permits for large emitters of greenhouse gases while exempting smaller facilities.
This tailoring rule would exempt certain buildings, including schools and hospitals, from the new emission levels. The EPA says it gets these powers from the Clean Air Act, and argues that since the agency has decided to go forth with vehicle tailpipe emission limits, then it has the lawful authority to do the same for other sources of pollutants.
Texas officials emerged as the most vocal state critics of EPA’s plans to enforce their climate rules after Shaw and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott blasted the agency earlier this month for unlawfully attempting to force states to “pledge allegiance to its rules.”
Texas is suing the EPA over this rule, calling it “arbitrary and capricious,” and arguing the agency has no authority to impose these limits.
In an Aug. 2 letter sent to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and EPA’s Dallas-based Region 6 Administrator Al Armendariz, Shaw and Abbott said that Texas “has neither the authority nor the intention of interpreting, ignoring, or amending its laws in order to compel the permitting of greenhouse gas emissions.”
Armendariz refuted Texas’ claims, saying in a statement that the agency’s “measured steps are in response to a Supreme Court decision issued more than three years ago” and that the agency is “not at liberty to ignore the law.”
EPA claims it would prefer to leave permitting to the states and says federal intervention will serve only as a stopgap.
“States are best-suited to issue permits to sources of GHG emissions and have long-standing experience working together with industrial facilities,” the agency said. “EPA will work closely and promptly with states to help them develop, submit, and approve necessary revisions to enable the affected states to issue air permits to GHG-emitting sources. Additionally, EPA will continue to provide guidance and act as a resource for the states as they make the various required permitting decisions for GHG emissions.”
Starting in January, EPA will require regulated sources to install the “best available control technology” to curb their emissions, but states are still waiting to see guidance from the agency about what that will be for various sectors. |
EPA Rejects Scientific Evidence Challenging their Climate Change Policy
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rejected several challenges to its findings that climate change fueled by greenhouse gas emissions threatens the environment and public health.
The EPA said in a statement it rejected challenges made to existing climate-change science and the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The issue revolves around the EPA’s so-called endangerment finding made last year, a prerequisite for regulating heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change as pollutants.
“These petitions – based as they are on selectively edited, out-of-context data and a manufactured controversy – provide no evidence to undermine our determination. Excess greenhouse gases are a threat to our health and welfare,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in statement.
Challenges made to the EPA findings ranged from alleged flaws in the science and data to problems with the EPA’s process and assessment of potential impacts from the decision. Those who challenged the agency’s decision included the State of Texas and interest groups such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Coal Association.
Texas Governor Rick Perry said, “I’m disappointed, but hardly surprised, given this administration’s ongoing disregard for Texas air quality successes and Texas jobs. The State of Texas will continue to fight this federal overreach by unelected bureaucrats through appropriate legal action, which I hope will allow us to continue our effective environmental programs while protecting countless Texas jobs.” In February the state filed a Petition for Review of the endangerment decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that is still pending. In February the state filed a Petition for Review of the endangerment decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that is still pending.
The state’s legal action asserts that EPA’s Endangerment Finding is legally unsupported because the agency outsourced its scientific assessment to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has been discredited by evidence of key scientists’ lack of objectivity, coordinated efforts to hide flaws in their research, attempts to keep contravening evidence out of IPCC reports and violation of freedom of information laws. |
TOTAL’s Deep Conversion Project Approved
The stalled Title V permit for a project at TOTAL’s Port Arthur Refinery has been issued by the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) with the approval of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
TCEQ spokesman Terry Clawson confirmed the permit was issued by the agency on August 13th, but declined to speculate if the action meant the simmering dispute between TCEQ and EPA was in fact ending.
The issuance of TOTAL’s Title V permit could signal a rapprochement of sorts between the two agencies. The TOTAL permit was issued by TCEQ with the approval of EPA.
Insight into the process that resulted in the TOTAL permit being issued came from former TCEQ Commissioner R.B “Ralph” Marquez, who is a consultant for TOTAL. “TOTAL did a really great job making concessions, working with both agencies to resolve this permit issue,” said Marquez.
Marquez cautioned that the issuance of the TOTAL permit does not mean the impasse between the agencies has been resolved, especially for flexible permits.
“There is still not a clear solution, in my opinion, for those with flexible permits,” said Marquez. "But there are a number of other companies (with pending permits) that, like TOTAL, do not have either one of those (flexible permits or qualified facilities). Those that are in that situation, I think there is a good possibility that the permits can be obtained.”
While definitely a positive development in the sense that any thawing of the regulatory freeze is beneficial to industry, there appears to be a long way to go before both sides pull in their swords and call it a day.
On July 29th, a bipartisan group of 46 Texas legislators signed a letter asking TCEQ to quickly resolve the permit dispute with EPA. Although there is no clear indication the letter played any role in this latest decision, it didn’t hurt.
The roots of the dispute run deep, especially where the flexible permits are concerned. These broadly-drawn rules set a general limit on how much pollution an entire facility can release, though the federal Clean Air Act requires state-issued permits to set limits on each of the dozens of individual production units inside a plant.
EPA claims it is impossible to regulate emissions under the program, which has been in place since 1994. TCEQ insists the permits are enforceable and follow the intent of the law, noting the overall decline in emissions in Texas since the flexible permits were first issued.
The lawmakers’ letter to TCEQ states, “Regardless of who is correct in this dispute, the disapproval of this program has created a cloud of uncertainty for those businesses that are operating under a flex permit.”
The letter further asked TCEQ to come to the aid of companies seeking to emerge from operating under the flexible permits the EPA finds objectionable. “We strongly encourage the TCEQ commissioners and staff to dedicate all the agency resources necessary to address these permit alterations in the most expeditious manner necessary,” the letter read.
A spokesperson for TOTAL declined to comment on the Title V permit, but the company has an event scheduled for late August where Sylvain de Lescazes, senior vice president for refining - Americas, will participate in a Port Arthur celebration marking the start-up of the Distillate Hydrotreater, the first step toward the completion of the Deep Conversion Project. |
U.S. Chemicals Sector Lost Jobs in July, but Plastics Saw Gains
Approximately 1,200 U.S. chemical sector workers lost their jobs in July, the Department of Labor (DOL) recently said, but the plastics industry took on as many as 2,700 additional workers while overall U.S. unemployment held steady at 9.5%.
In its monthly report, the department said that from June to July, the chemicals sector workforce declined to 777,900 from 779,100, with both figures seasonally adjusted. The plastics industry saw July employment rise to 637,400 compared with the June figure of 634,700, according to the department.
The July employment figures for both chemicals and plastics nearly duplicate the respective losses and gains reported for June. Last month, according to the department, the chemicals sector lost 1,700 jobs while the plastics industry added 2,700 workers.
Overall, the department said that the nation’s unemployment rate held steady at 9.5% with 14.6m Americans unable to find work.
Total non-farm payrolls fell by 131,000 in July, chiefly because of the loss of 143,000 federal census jobs, which were only partially offset by an increase of 71,000 jobs in the private sector.
However, the gain of 71,000 jobs in the private sector was below the 90,000 additional jobs that many economists had expected for the July results.
That relatively low advance in private sector job growth is seen as another indication that the U.S. economic recovery is wobbly.
The U.S. should see private sector job growth of about 100,000 per month just to accommodate new employees entering the workforce.
Until the economy can begin to generate job growth well in excess of 100,000 per month, the national unemployment picture is not expected to improve.
The department said that so far this year, the economy had added some 630,000 private sector jobs, or about 90,000 on average for each of the first seven months of 2010.
But most of those private sector jobs – about two-thirds – were added in March and April when the recovery was showing more strength, and the pace of hiring has cooled since then.
The size of the US workforce last month was 130.24m, the department said, which was slightly less than the 130.29m Americans who had jobs in July 2009. |
Austin Weighs Plastic Bag Ban and Recycling Program
Austin, Texas is now considering a ban on plastic shopping bags, making it the latest Texas city to consider such a ban.
Although cheap for retailers and convenient for the public, environmentalists say plastic bags are a costly burden to taxpayers. But plastic bag makers argue that attempted bans are a misguided effort to control consumer behavior, undercutting an important industry.
In June, Austin’s Solid Waste Services Department embarked on a 90-day study that will determine the overall cost of plastic bags from the point of manufacturing to the moment they hit the landfill. When the study is complete in September, Austin City Council will determine if the tax dollars devoted to plastic bags outweigh their added convenience.
Austin’s mayor, Lee Leffingwell, introduced the idea of this city ordinance against plastic bags in Austin.
“Say you throw your bag into recycling. Once it gets into the recycling machine, it gets stuck in the gears, so it ends up we have to take extra time to pull the bags out,” said Amy Everhart, policy director for the mayor of Austin. “That's what the study’s geared towards: figuring out how much it costs to deal with them.”
As an alternative to banning bags, Austin retailers successfully implemented a plastic bag recycling program two years ago that has not cost taxpayers a penny, but has enabled Austinites to be part of the solution to promote Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. As part of the Austin recycling program, major retailers including HEB grocery stores, Target, and Lowes have recycling containers at their stores where anyone can bring their plastic bags and plastic film for recycling. Retailers contract with a recycler who regularly collects the recycled material at these retail locations and turns the recycled plastic into plastic lumber, furniture and other durable products.
TCC and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) have been working with the Texas Retailers Association, Texas Restaurant Association, and other interested parties to inform and urge the public to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic bags. In coordination with Keep Texas Beautiful, the group has begun a campaign to educate the public that Texas has the infrastructure in place to convert recycled plastic into useful consumer products. The campaign will also highlight attributes of plastic bag recycling and reuse, including how plastic bags are recycled into a myriad of durable consumer products.
A similar program has been successful in Florida entitled “A Bag’s Life” (www.abagslife.com), which is a public educational campaign that unites the Florida Recycling Partnership with non-profits, business, community and government organizations around the common goal of promoting the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastic bags.
Until the Austin study findings are released, retailers will continue to disperse the bags by the handful, and the resolution will remain in limbo.
San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Brownsville, Texas, have already made changes to their plastic bag policies, and Dallas, Portland, Ore., and the entire state of California are currently considering changes.
Grocers in Washington D.C. now charge shoppers a five cent fee for each plastic bag they take home. In the first month alone, the measure decreased the use of plastic bags in D.C. by 84 percent.
With city councils across the country advocating for reusable bags instead of plastic, the plastic bag industry is mounting a strong response.
Pete Grande, president of California-based plastic bag manufacturer Command Packaging, says the isolated negative attention on plastic bags is the result of environmentalists’ need for a rallying point rather than the environmental ramifications resulting from the proliferation of plastic bags.
“If you're trying to collect money from people to fix something, you need an enemy. You need a symbol,” he said. “The plastic bag has become the symbol. [Environmental activists] have gone to extreme measures to distort facts and create their symbol. It’s a great fundraising tool for them.”
Grande believes this method presents the plastic bag ban as a one-sided issue and inhibits valid criticisms of the ban that need to be addressed. He added that plastic bag bans would gut the industry and instead help out Chinese businesses already making reusable bags. “Aren't we trying to go the other way, trying to encourage manufacturing in this country?” he said.
But if the intent of these bans and taxes is to encourage the use of trendy reusable bags, the results might not be as effective as people think. In 2008, Whole Foods – which is headquartered in Austin – imposed an outright ban of plastic bags in their stores nationwide. Without the plastic option, 85 percent of their consumers now use paper bags as opposed to reusable bags.
“The brand new generation born in the 80s has never considered using their own bags,” Guidry said. “It’s got to be a change of culture, change of habit, change of mentality.”
The reusable bags seem like the perfect solution to this ecological conundrum, but a recent study from the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University demonstrate they can be breeding grounds for E. Coli and other dangerous bacteria. The researchers found roughly 50 percent of inspected reusable bags contained potentially lethal forms of bacteria.
“People put their chicken and their hamburgers in [the reusable bags] and that blood gets on the side of the bag,” Grande said. “Then the next time they go to the store they’ll use that same bag for their apples. Bacteria on reusable bags can create a health hazard.”
This danger is something Austin definitely plans to address, said officials, but they aren’t sure how. “If the city ends up doing this we’d have to engage in some sort of pretty intense education program,” Everhart said. “We’d tell people, ‘If you use reusable bags, make sure to wash them every once in a while.’”
And while environmentalists emphasize ecological benefits of reusable bags, the drawbacks are exactly what the plastic industry wants the public to remember.
“There are definitely drawbacks to every option,” said Everhart. “That’s why we have to weigh all of the cost options.”
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Survey Shows Brownsville Residents Unhappy with Plastic Bag Ban
A survey published by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) shows residents in a Texas community are opposed to a recently enacted ban on plastic bags in retail stores. The city commission of Brownsville, Texas, passed a ban on single use plastic bags in January.
The ACC said 300 Brownsville adults were surveyed, and said 51% of those questioned wanted to see the bag ban repealed or postponed, and 28% supported it. The remainder was undecided. The survey also showed that while most of the residents were aware of the upcoming ban, which goes into effect in 2011, nearly all of them reported reusing the plastic bags at home for other uses.
“This survey demonstrates that the City Commission is out of step with Brownsville voters,” said Rudy Underwood of ACC. “The citizens of Brownsville clearly oppose banning this valued product that most people rely on and then reuse in their homes.”
In related news, now that the City of Brownsville may extend its ban to paper bags, the Duro Bag Manufacturing Company is threatening to close its plant and leave town.
Earlier this year, Brownsville became the 12th U.S. city to ban single-use plastic grocery bags. The community is home to a Duro Bag plant that employs 120 and makes about 9 million paper bags a day. The company touts itself as the world’s No. 1 paper bag maker.
When the plastic ban was adopted, a Duro official told The Brownsville Herald that the ban was “for the good of the community, for the good of the people and the environment.”
But now the tables have been turned. An amendment to the plastic bag ban, proposed by city’s Environmental Advisory Committee, would remove language in the original ordinance that specifically exempts “recyclable paper bags” from the ban.
City Commissioner Edward C. Camarillo told the newspaper that the change is not aimed at banning paper bags. “Nobody is trying to ban paper bags,” he said. “We are not banning paper bags.”
But that’s not how Duro is reading the latest developments. Chris Klein, Duro’s environmental director, thinks the revision is clearly aimed at banning most paper bags. “Company officials said the company would have no choice but to move if paper bags were banned,” Klein said.
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Eastman Announces Another Longview Plant Expansion
Eastman Chemical has announced plans to expand production capacity at plants in Longview and in the Netherlands.
In Texas, the company is planning a capacity increase of greater than 10 percent for its trademarked Eastotac hydrogenated aliphatic hydrocarbon resins. Those resins are used as raw materials essential in hot-melt and pressure sensitive adhesives, and as binders in nonwoven products such as disposable diapers, feminine products and pre-saturated wipes, according to Eastman.
They are also used in a wide range of applications including plastics and rubber modification.
The Longview expansion is planned for completion in early 2011, officials said. Company spokeswoman Tracy Broadwater said the latest announced expansion is in addition to reactivation of cracking plants at the Longview site announced in June. She said company officials were not disclosing the size of the anticipated capital investment tied to the latest expansion.
Longview Partnership President Kelly Hall said she was not familiar with the details of Eastman’s plans. But, she said, the fact the company is in an expansion mode bodes well for the East Texas economy.
“It's a reflection of Eastman’s commitment to continue to grow the company,” Hall said. “And Longview continues to play an important role in that.”
Eastman’s Brad Lich, vice president and general manager of Eastman's coatings, adhesives, specialty polymers and inks business, said the action also reflects growing demand for its products.
“Around the world, demand continues to grow for Eastman’s hydrogenated hydrocarbon resins,” Lich said in a prepared statement. “These investments are a demonstration of our commitment to growing with our customers and to meeting demand in developing regions in advance of further capacity investments.”
Mark Bogle, vice president and general manager for the Texas Operations site, in June announced the Longview plant has been approved for major investment to bring processes previously slated for closure to be put back into viable operation. He announced a reversal of previous plans to shut three of four cracking plants on the 6,000-acre Longview site. Eastman has had four of those plants in operation for years in Longview. Two of the four plants already had been shut down with plans to shut a third, he said. |
Air Products Asks Airgas to Reconsider its Offer
The chairman of Air Products has asked directors at rival Airgas to reconsider their rejection of Air Products’ offer to buy the company for $63.50 per share.
Airgas directors have opposed the deal. Air Products has extended its offer, which was set to expire August 13th, to October 29th. The company is also asking Airgas shareholders to elect its three board nominees at a shareholders’ meeting September 15th.
Air Products and Chemicals Inc. said on August 16th that it reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission on a consent decree for its $5.5 billion takeover of Airgas Inc.
In a letter, Air Products Chairman John McGlade laid out objections of Airgas directors, and said why he thinks the worries proved unfounded.
He wrote that Airgas shareholders will be influenced “by their judgment of whether the incumbent Airgas Board has been honest with them and is acting in their interests by refusing to negotiate with Air Products.”
Airgas said its directors think the Air Products offer “grossly undervalues” Airgas, and it said 80 percent of its shareholders had not tendered their shares under the Air Products offer.
Air Products, of Allentown, Pa., sells gases for industrial, medical and other uses. It has been pursuing its takeover of Radnor, Pa.-based Airgas for several months. Airgas sells industrial and medical gases and provides gas equipment, welding products, tools, and safety gear.
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TPC Group Awards $64,000 in Academic Scholarships
TPC Group recently awarded $64,000 collectively to 12 graduating high school seniors for their demonstrated excellence in academics and commitment to pursue higher education.
The company’s scholarship program builds on a solid foundation of community involvement and support for those who seek to improve and promote educational advancement, environmental responsibility and the overall well-being of the community at large. Since 2006, TPC Group has awarded more than $300,000 in academic scholarships to graduating high school seniors.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, TPC Group Inc. sells products into a wide range of performance, specialty and intermediate markets, including synthetic rubber, fuel additives, plastics and detergents. The Company has manufacturing facilities in the industrial corridor adjacent to the Houston Ship Channel, Port Neches and Baytown, Texas and operates a product terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
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SMRP Hosts Successful Symposium in Galveston
The Houston Chapter of the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (HCSMRP) presented its 4th Annual Maintenance and Reliability Symposium (MaRS 2010) at Moody Gardens Hotel on Galveston Island on August 18th and 19th. The symposium is entirely led, managed and produced by volunteers, most who work for ACIT member companies.
Attendees were able to customize their learning experience by selecting from 25 presentations by recognized M&R experts. There were 5 different talks under each of the 5 Body of Knowledge tracks: 1) Process Reliability, 2) Work Management, 3) Organization & Leadership, 4) Equipment Reliability, and 5) Business & Management. Chapter Vice Chair Xavier Grenas of GE and Chapter Secretary Steven Eubanks of TPC were among the volunteers moderating the day’s sessions.
The MaRS 2010 program wrapped up with three Panel discussions attended by more than fifty plant, service providers and contractor personnel. Panel Moderator, Jerry Kahn of SIEMENS led a spirited Q&A session. Panel Topics were: 1) Using 6 Sigma and LEAN Reliability to Increase Asset Performance; 2) Implementing a Cost Effective Reliability Program; and 3) Spending Strategies for 2011 for Capital Projects, Maintenance and Reliability.
The chapter held its 2nd Annual Golf Tournament, which raised money for the HCSMRP Scholarship Fund. Chapter Treasurer Greg Dunn of Turner Industries Chapter Treasurer delivered six scholarship checks totaling $11,500 to Chapter Chairman Clay Naiser of Shell to be awarded at the symposium.
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Upcoming TCC & ACIT Events
September 16th – The East Harris County Manufacturer’s Association would like to invite the ACIT membership to their Quarterly Breakfast Meeting where TCC’s Vice President Christina Wisdom will be the guest speaker. For more information, please click here.
September 29th – ACIT South Texas and the Port Industry of Corpus Christi
will host a Political Forum and Lunch at Flint Hills Resources. For more information, please click here.
October 19th-21st – ChemInnovations 2010 Conference & Expo. TCC President & CEO Hector Rivero will be among the speakers at this event at Reliant Center in Houston. TCC members are entitled to a $100 discount on the full conference registration using the promo code SUP2010. For more information, click here.
Mark Your Calendars: TCC/ACIT Chemicals Day 2011 at the Texas Capitol will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.
All 2010 TCC and ACIT events are now listed on the TCC website.
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