Roderick Herrick, senior vice president and site manager of Covestro’s Baytown Industrial Park, is celebrating a momentous occasion and says he has a ton of pride in his heart. That’s because Covestro is investing more than $1.7 billion in Baytown, which is the single largest investment in the history of the company.
“This expansion project will increase our capacity of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), which is the material used to make rigid polyurethane foam,” Herrick said. “It’s considered the best available industrial insulating material and is commonly used in buildings and refrigerators to reduce heating or cooling and thus energy consumption. Once completed in 2024, the new units will add 500 kilotons of MDI per year, which is why we are calling the project MDI-500.”
Covestro’s total MDI capacities will reach approximately 740 kilotons per year by 2024, making it the industry’s capacity leader in the North American region as well as a global industry-capacity leader.
According to Covestro’s headquarters in Germany, the decision to build the new world-scale plant in Baytown was taken after a thorough analysis of different options. Besides the attractiveness of the market, the main advantages of Baytown were leading cash costs and significant benefits in terms of available infrastructure and logistics. Low energy and shipping costs due to high demand in North America, coupled together with a trained workforce, are benefits for Baytown as well.
“While it is too early to provide any final figures on jobs that we might create in the Baytown area, we are confident the new world-scale MDI plant will provide at least 25 permanent positions,” Herrick said. “In addition, more than 1,000 temporary construction jobs will be created.”
Leading in material solutions
Covestro is a global leader in hightech material solutions and manufactures polycarbonates; polyurethanes; and coatings, adhesives and specialties. With approximately $3 billion in sales annually, Covestro’s Baytown Industrial Park is one of the company’s three strategic sites globally. This facility is the company’s largest manufacturing site in North America, currently home to about 1,000 employees and 600 contractors. The site boasts 1,700 acres, with a greenbelt of more than 1,100 acres strategically located along Cedar Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel.
“The Baytown Industrial Park was built in 1971, and we’ve had a number of expansion projects since,” Herrick said. “This included doubling our manufacturing capacity with a $1.4 billion investment, which involved the construction of new production units, infrastructure and other raw materials facilities.
“We expect the North American market to absorb our new capacities. Our global presence and the proximity to our customers make us the partner of choice for a wide variety of industries, where our products and application solutions are often irreplaceable. I am proud of the trust our leadership has placed in our facility, but even more so in our most important asset: our people. We are continuing to build a legacy at the Baytown Industrial Park.”
A goal-oriented leader
Herrick is responsible for all activities associated with the continued success of the Baytown Industrial Park site, including Covestro operations, guest facilities, site services, employee leadership and community outreach. A goal-oriented leader with a strong desire to develop and mentor future leaders, Herrick has been in his current position for approximately eight years.
“Safe and reliable operations begin and end with our people,” Herrick said. “Thus, we must have programs in place to attract the right talent, develop our people to their full potential, and challenge them with new opportunities so we can continue to benefit from their talents together. When we have the right people in the right positions who enjoy what they are doing, they will naturally develop themselves and our processes to the fullest. Many call this ‘job satisfaction.’ I call it ‘safe, reliable and efficient operations through our people,’ which is also known as our ‘license to operate.’ At Covestro, we don’t offer an employee just a job; we offer that person a career, one that he or she will be proud of after 30 years of service. Therefore, our people and processes are my main focus and top responsibility.”
Herrick started his career as a plant engineer at PPG Industries after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University. In 1985, Herrick joined Covestro’s New Martinsville, West Virginia, site near his hometown. Since then, he’s held a number of positions, both regional and overseas, with increasing responsibility, which has provided him with extensive manufacturing experience as a plant and process engineer, reliability lead, site manager at the polycarbonates compounding facility in Newark, Ohio, and polyurethanes production lead in Baytown. Most recently, Herrick led a sitewide initiative to improve safety, reliability and efficiency at the Baytown site.
‘Safety first’ mindset
According to Herrick, the Baytown Industrial Park is committed to safety in all areas.
“Our safety record is a direct reflection of the people who work at our site,” Herrick said. “It is their dedication, attention to detail and genuine care of one another that drives our safety performance.”
It is Herrick’s expectation for each employee to adopt a “safety first” mindset in all they do, both at work and at home. One of the site’s safety trainings is focused on hazard recognition to eliminate incidents in occupational and process safety areas.
“We request our employees put this training to the test each and every month by conducting a proactive safety evaluation and utilizing their ‘Stop Work Authority’ anytime they see unsafe conditions,” Herrick stated. “It is our belief this type of ‘modeling the way’ creates a safe work culture that allows each of our employees and contractors to go home safely to their families each and every day. We are more than a jobsite; we are a family. Our people are the heart and soul of Covestro, and we insist on taking care of them and our community.”
Inspiring innovation, driving growth
Covestro and the Baytown Industrial Park are busy inspiring innovation and driving growth through profitable technologies and products that benefit society and reduce environmental impacts. The Baytown site’s commitment to sustainability continues both inside and outside the fenceline through its leadership, sponsorships, support and volunteerism.
“Our roots run deep in this community, and we have a strong belief in strengthening the areas in which we live and work,” Herrick said. “We mentor and engage young men and women in STEM programs, volunteer in board positions at nonprofits throughout the city, teach fifth graders twice a week at the Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center, raise money for United Way and much more. We are involved in the community because we are a part of the community.”
Herrick has also served on a number of boards and organizations over his career.
“I feel it’s my personal responsibility to give back,” Herrick explained. “I chair our Site Leadership Team, and I serve on the boards of the Texas Chemical Council, the Baytown Chamber of Commerce, Houston Regional Monitoring and the Baytown/West Chamber County Economic Development Foundation. By working together, we can make a difference in the areas where we work and live.”