Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP (NASDAQ: CLMT) has one of the most diverse specialty hydrocarbon capabilities in the world with product lines that include both naphthenic and paraffinic oils, aliphatic solvents, synthetic lubricants, asphalt, fuels, white mineral oils, waxes, petrolatums and hydrocarbon gels.
“We’re producing products people use in their day-to-day lives,” Calumet GP LLC President and COO Jennifer G. Straumins said. “When I talk to investors, one thing they don’t realize is, when you look at a barrel of oil, how many consumer products these base products go into. I’d say that’s probably the thing this industry provides that people don’t really realize — we’re making the base products that are the building blocks of so many consumer products people use every day.”
Calumet currently employs more than 1,800 people and operates 65 facilities across North America, including mud plants and its drilling fluid inventory locations. With a capacity of more than 160,000 bpd, it’s one of the leading independent refiners in North America. Calumet is currently amidst a multiyear plan that calls for more than $500 million in growth capital investment between 2013 and 2016 spread across multiple projects.
“I’m spending a lot of my time focusing on the successful implementation and integration of these organic growth projects,” she explained. “I’d like to see us double the size we are today. I’ve got a list of organic growth opportunities, both capital related and new product related, as well as a long list of acquisition targets. We’re $6 billion in revenue today and I think we can easily be $10 billion to $12 billion in the next five to 10 years.”
Straumins has been president of Calumet GP LLC, the general partner of Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP, since Jan. 1, 2011, its COO since December 2009 and has been with the company since 2002. She’s especially proud of all the acquisitions they’ve been able to do during her tenure as president.
“I know we’ve been able to accomplish things our competitors never thought we would be able to do,” Straumins said. “The fact we’ve been able to grow the way we have without being the highest bidder in a lot of auction processes is a real testament to that. The fact people like our management team, and that we treat the acquired employees the way the selling side wants their employees to be treated, is something we’re very proud of.”
The Calumet president is also proud of two important days in Calumet’s history — the day the company went public in 2006 and the June day earlier this year when she found out it made the Fortune 500 listing for the first time.
“Both of those were long-term goals of mine and to achieve that level of success meant a tremendous amount to me,” she said.
Family business
Even as a leading independent producer of high-quality, specialty hydrocarbon products, Straumins said Calumet is unique in the industry because it is still run like a family business.
“Even though we’re publicly traded and have access to the equity and debt capital markets — we’ve grown 10 times over the past 10 years — we still are run like a family-owned business and make decisions,” Straumins explained. “We’re very nimble and can change course very quickly if we decide we’ve made a mistake or see a better opportunity. I’d say, amongst our peers, we’re very well respected for our ability to close transactions, move quickly and implement creative new ideas.”
One reason Calumet is run like a family business is because it’s been in the family for years — her father F. William Grube purchased the company in 1990 and moved its corporate headquarters to Indianapolis where Straumins grew up.
“My dad bought Calumet when I was 16, so both my brother and I were predisposed that we would go off and get engineering degrees, MBAs and shape our careers so we would be in position to take over the family business someday,” Straumins explained.
After she received her engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, Straumins earned her MBA from the University of Kansas and started her first job working at Exxon Chemical’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana, chemical plant. She credits her father for really helping her come into her own as an executive.
“I’ve learned so much from working closely with my dad,” she said. “As the person who founded Calumet from the ground up, he gave me a lot of authority very early on and gave me the ability to make my own decisions while still being that all-important mentor in the background. He also helped me be in a position to surround myself with other strong leaders.”
Tim Barnhart, Calumet’s senior vice president of operations, has been one of those strong leaders, working closely with Straumins and serving as a mentor to her.
“He really took me under his wing and showed me a lot of the ins and outs of how refineries operate because, even though I had an engineering background, I had never been hands-on in a refinery before,” she explained. “About four or five years ago he said, ‘I can see this is the direction the company is going and I want to help you be successful.’ He really went out of his way to teach me the ins and outs of refining and how to deal with operations.”
The importance of communication
As president of the company, Straumins has a number of responsibilities and interacts with a variety of people on a daily basis. To be successful in her position, she said good communication skills and the ability to prioritize a very long list of to-do items are skills that are imperative.
“What really plays a role in what we do is the ability to work with the customer and recognize what their needs are and how we can help them fix their problems and achieve their goals,” Straumins said. “One of the things I really pride myself on is an open door policy and the fact any employee from the top to the bottom can come and talk to me about problems. I really try to be as warm and as easy to talk to as possible.
“One of the things I love most about my job is every day is different. I can go back and forth between being in New York and dealing with investors, being in our refineries working with our operations’ team, being out with my sales vice presidents calling on new customers and taking care of customers, or doing diligence on new acquisitions.”
During her travels and interactions with people, Straumins said she’s learned everything in the industry comes back to relationships.
“It matters how you treat people because you never know in what capacity or when you’re going to encounter that same company or person again,” she said. “One thing my dad taught me was to give more than you get in a business deal and always walk away from a transaction with the other party wanting to deal with you a second or third time. To me, that’s the most important thing with what I do every day — treat employees, competitors, vendors and customers how I would want to be treated.”
The company is actively involved in all the communities in which it owns and operates assets, including sponsoring schools, youth groups and working with the United Way, Habitat for Humanity and the Humane Society.
“We also have company-wide volunteer programs,” Straumins said. “That is something I implemented a couple of years ago, not only to boost our exposure within the community but also to build a team atmosphere inside different departments.”
Straumins is also a member of a number of professional organizations and serves on the board of directors of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.
SEE ALSO: Calumet Specialty Products to invest in Lake Charles, La., GTL plant
Looking ahead
During the past decade, Straumins said she’s seen a lot of changes in the industry and expects there will be more to come.
“We’ve seen a lot of the major oil companies walk away from these (specialty products) spaces because the effort to make some of these products is too great or the volume of the space is too small,” she said. “We’ve seen a real consolidation in the sector and continue to see the consolidation of a lot of the family-owned businesses we sell to, as the founders of the companies move toward retirement.
“I think you’re going to see further consolidation as EPA regulations become more stringent. It’s going to be harder and harder to compete and if you’re not a low-cost producer and a vertically integrated diversified company, it’s going to be pretty hard to survive over the next 10-20 years.”
She encourages up-and-coming business executives to never assume there’s something they can’t do.
“Everything’s achievable — take any help that’s offered to you, whether you think you need it or not,” Straumins said. “I’d like my legacy to be that we do achieve that double-digit growth, doubling in size, while still maintaining the entrepreneurial spirit my dad had when he started this business. At Calumet, family comes first and we want to create an environment where employees are given the decision-making authority and the opportunity to really grow and enjoy what they do on a day-to-day basis.”
For more information, visit www.calumetspecialty.com or call (800) 437-3188.
