As plant manager of Kuraray America Inc.’s SEPTON™ facility, Daniel Velasquez can easily sum up his top priority: “to keep my team safe and keep our facility operating safely; everything else is negotiable.” His previous work experience contributes to his ability to maintain the site’s operational success.
Velasquez graduated from Texas A&M University in Kingsville, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering and a Master of Science in environmental engineering. The story of how he ended up at a Kingsville university “clear across Texas” from his home in El Paso is an interesting one.
“Honestly, I found out about A&M Kingsville by mistake,” he explained. “When taking my SATs, I moved my finger one school code down and signed up to have my scores sent to A&M Kingsville instead of College Station. I didn’t even know where Kingsville was.
“When I took the SATs again, I realized what I had done and selected the College Station campus. When I saw the brochures from Kingsville, there were kids on the beach. The brochures from College Station were agriculture-focused with a cow on the front page.
“My 18-year-old self-thought Kingsville sounded much cooler, and then once I looked at the finances, I realized I could get the same degree and take the same coursework for half the price, which made up my mind!
“It’s one of the best ‘mistakes’ I’ve ever made. I met my wife while I was in school there, and she has been such a blessing in my life.”
Following graduation, Velasquez joined KBR and worked there four years as a process engineer. After that, he worked 13-plus years at Dow in a variety of roles in operations, including production engineer, HSE and project management. His first plant manager role was at Pilot Chemical, where he learned a lot over three years. He is now in his second year with Kuraray America as the SEPTON plant manager.
As the largest elastomer plant in the Kuraray portfolio, the SEPTON facility offers seven different product grades and produces approximately 25,000 metric tons annually. Located in Pasadena, Texas, it is one of four Kuraray sites in the Houston area.
In 1990, Kuraray Co. Ltd. began producing SEPTON at 1,000 metric tons per year in Kashima, Japan. As capacity increased, Kuraray made its second-largest overseas investment in 2001 by building the SEPTON Plant in Pasadena. The site celebrated 15 years of production in 2017, as its start-up was in 2002.
SEPTON is a thermoplastic elastomer that consists of a series of hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers. These copolymers exhibit rubber-like properties over a wide range of temperatures and hardnesses. SEPTON is used to make consumer goods like toothbrush grips, diapers and athletic shoes, as well as adhesives and sealants.
Good communication is key
When you are at the helm of an industrial facility, a variety of technical and interpersonal skills are needed, as Velasquez is responsible for overseeing and organizing the day-to-day operations of the unit from safety, operations, maintenance and supply chain to purchasing, all while meeting customer and business needs.
“Each employee is different, so you must be able to understand, manage and work with a diverse set of individuals,” he explained. “I’ve learned that good communication is key at every level I’ve worked at, but it comes in especially handy in my role as plant manager.”
Communication among team members is strong as well, as the site has a stellar safety record of zero injuries with its Kuraray employees (currently at four years with no recordables/no lost time) as well as nested contractors (currently at 10 years with no recordables/no lost time).
“This is due to our employees taking ownership of safety and a commitment from the top management down,” Velasquez said. “We have many processes, programs and procedures that help to keep our employees safe. These include the E-Tracker system, providing confined-space training, performing job safety analysis, and following all safety procedures as well as holding each other accountable, among other things.
“We never sacrifice safety for production, and we empower our operators to shut down the unit if there’s a concern.”
Those associated with the site are held to the same high standards.
“Vendors and suppliers have to meet product specifications that we’ve set for our raw materials,” Velasquez said. “They have to deliver on time with consistent quality while observing safety protocols. Of course, costs are a factor, but we will not sacrifice for quality on behalf of our customers or safety on behalf of our employees and the community.”
SEPTON team members make ongoing efforts to be involved in their community.
“We are involved in Channel Industries Mutual Aid and do regular drills, one of which we hosted in 2014,” Velasquez said. “Our volunteer emergency program trains our employees through monthly drills and annual training at TEEX in College Station, Texas. We have a rescue truck at each of our four plants and provide support during any emergencies in our area. Additionally, we attend monthly meetings with our Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and participate in the Association of Bayport Companies and the La Porte Community Advisory Council (CAC).”
As a company, Kuraray also gives time and financial contributions to many local causes. Its main giving pillars are education with a focus on STEM, Japanese cultural initiatives and HSE programs.
Velasquez participates in local and national conferences and also stays involved and up to date with the LEPC, the CAC, the Texas Chemical Council, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers, Society of Plastics Engineers and the Association of Chemical Industry of Texas.
Expected growth
With safety as its No. 1 priority as it continues to strive for zero incidents, Kuraray is looking at future investments to develop not only its facilities but also its employees.
“Our market continues to grow, and we continue to look at new applications and end-uses for our products,” Velasquez said. “We work closely with our customer base to gain a better understanding of what they’re looking for and how our product portfolio can bring their vision to reality.
“The Houston plant will continue to supply our American customers as well as create special and unique grades that only our site can produce. We have land available for future expansion. We hope to continue to grow and be worthy of investment from our headquarters in Tokyo. To do this, we need to continue to operate safely and supply a high-quality product.
“We run our business globally, and we’re currently looking at building a facility in Thailand, which is necessary to satisfy expected growth. That plant would start-up in 2021 and would increase global capacity to 60 kilotons. We are continually analyzing and looking to upgrade our processes to improve quality and increase capacity.”
