To meet growing demand for high-performance, lightweight, durable plastics, ExxonMobil has commenced construction work on its polypropylene project to expand polypropylene manufacturing capacity by up to 450,000 tons a year at its Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Polyolefins Plant. And according to Plant Manager Steve Hamilton, the expansion is the largest ExxonMobil investment in Louisiana in the past 10 years, set to double the site's polypropylene capacity.
"The project received about $40 million in state financial incentives, making this economic win for Louisiana possible," he said. "This project alone will create 600 construction jobs, 45 permanent employee jobs and 20 permanent contractor jobs. Total expenditures for the project amount to $449 million in Louisiana during construction, with $21 million in property tax revenue for Louisiana through 2040. By 2021, we will have our new polypropylene project construction completed and successfully started up."
The polypropylene project is a part of the original slate of projects ExxonMobil announced as part of its 10-year, $20 billion Growing the Gulf initiative. It underscores the global competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector and the vast number of investment opportunities that result from increased U.S. natural gas production. The Growing the Gulf investments thus far have created significant investment in cities like Baton Rouge, as well as Baytown, Beaumont and Corpus Christi, Texas.
"We hope Louisiana can create and maintain a competitive environment to position all our Baton Rouge sites for potential future investment opportunities," said Hamilton. "The polypropylene expansion project at our site, once completed and operating at design capacity, is expected to have far-reaching and long-lasting benefits. When you consider that one in every eight jobs in Louisiana can be traced back to ExxonMobil, you can see a true ripple impact that our company can have on a community. With large-scale investment like the expansion project, the significant ripple impact affects all kinds of businesses, from restaurants and infrastructure suppliers to housing and construction firms.
"ExxonMobil met with hundreds of local stakeholders to share the multiple benefits of bringing the polypropylene growth project to Louisiana. We received support from elected officials and industry partners to bring this project here ⦠Louisiana must be positioned to compete for future Gulf Coast projects. Our hope is that the current business environment will help us bring investment and jobs to this region when we need it most."
Investing to protect
A native of New Jersey, Hamilton began his career with ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge at the Chemical Plant in 1985 as a process engineer, working his way up through several assignments. In 2001, he moved to Chemicals Headquarters in Katy, Texas, and in 2005, he was transferred to Edison, New Jersey, as plant manager of the Edison Synthetics Plant. He returned to Baton Rouge in August 2008 as the operations manager of the Baton Rouge Chemical Plant, where he served for 10 years before starting his current position as plant manager of the Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant in September 2018.
According to Hamilton, being a plant manager for ExxonMobil includes a very diverse set of responsibilities. "Each day offers many challenges and opportunities related to maintaining safe, reliable, efficient and quality operations," he said. "Success in this regard means we have kept everyone safe, protected the environment and positively affected our community. It further positions our site and company as an industry leader in the markets in which we participate and maintains our competitive advantage."
The Polyolefins Plant employs approximately 260 full-time employees and 85 contractors and produces around 3 billion pounds of high-density polyethylene and polypropylene annually. Its products have many sustainable benefits, including improved safety and fuel efficiency due to lighter-weight auto parts. They improve the performance and safety of a wide range of other consumer products, including appliances, auto and packaging.
Beyond the plant's impact on broader society, it has significant local impact as well. "Our site contributes over $70 million to the local economy through various taxes and direct purchases, reinforcing our important role as a key contributor to Baton Rouge and Louisiana," said Hamilton. "Due to the industry growth across the Gulf Coast, ExxonMobil is currently hiring at peak levels for professional and operations job opportunities at all of our Baton Rouge sites. We are committed to hiring local suppliers and workers from the Baton Rouge area. We continue to work closely with our partners at Baton Rouge Community College, Louisiana State University and Southern University to assist in developing a skilled, locally based workforce.
"Direct community service is also a core characteristic of our culture and team. Our employees volunteer their time and skillsets in serving students at our local schools, engage in a variety of different United Way volunteer opportunities ranging from food banks to home rebuilds, and participate in the Capital Area United Way's signature Season of Caring that convenes a variety of local leaders to collectively serve the needs of our Greater Baton Rouge community.
"It's important to be a part of these organizations to ensure effective coordination of communicating our local and state impact as the largest taxpayer in the state. Organizations such as United Way offer us an opportunity to have ears on the ground in spaces where ExxonMobil can be a pivotal player in supporting economic revitalization through investments in social programs."
Another way the Polyolefins Plant invests in protecting the local community is by keeping its workers and the surrounding environment safe. AFPM, Louisiana Chemical Association and Construction Users Roundtable have all recognized the site for safety leadership, awarding the plant a total of 23 excellence in safety awards in the past 14 years alone.
"Successful safety performance can only be achieved when every employee and contractor at the site understands and follows our safety standards, procedures and processes when doing each activity, every day," said Hamilton. "Our goal is that everyone goes home each day the same way they came to work."
The Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant is a lead site within ExxonMobil, Hamilton added, especially when it comes to "transforming manufacturing using digital technology" to enhance safety. "Several years ago, we installed Wi-Fi networks across the entire plant and purchased iPhones and Surface Pro tablets for first-line supervisors, process technicians and mechanics," he explained. "These devices have increased instant access to our safety standard, procedures and processes. Personnel in the field have greater ownership over their safety when they have this information at their fingertips."
For the polypropylene expansion project, the site is developing VR systems for proactive process and personnel safety training.
"By integrating VR tools with the 3-D model of the facility, personnel can perform a virtual walk-through of the unit before construction even begins," Hamilton said. "They can identify mechanical access restrictions, relocate valves for improved access, test adequacy of safe egress on elevated platforms and develop their operator rounds. This creates a safer, more reliable and efficient facility before a single pound of polymer is ever produced."
Looking ahead, Hamilton sees the future of his industry as bright. "Polymers constitute one of the key segments of the petrochemical industry, and polyolefins account for more than 50 percent of the total polymers demand worldwide," he said. "High stiffness, good tensile strength and inertness toward major chemicals have enabled them to be used in a variety of applications. They are also less expensive to produce than other polymers. These properties have enabled polyolefins to be the polymer of choice for a wide range of industrial and consumer products manufactured in high volumes."
In the end, Hamilton stressed, all this success depends on local advocacy. "When our community understands the important role we play locally, they can be our advocates to create a strong long-term business environment," he said. "My job is to translate our strategy into a vision that every employee and the community can understand and support."
