Flourishing off the Beaten Path

Founded 30 years ago, the site has grown and, even in difficult economic times, remains a “LANXESS stronghold in America,” said CEO Matthias Zachert during his visit to the Advanced Industrial Intermediates business unit’s maleic anhydride plant in Baytown, Texas back in October.

Jürgen Müller is a true veteran of the business, having worked a variety of jobs and for a number of different companies in the chemical industry over the past 43 years. He has now been working for LANXESS in Baytown since 2018. Hubert Fink gave him a call. They knew each other. “He asked if I could imagine going back to Texas – and I said I could.” Since then, he has managed the AII BU’s maleic anhydride production. Müller doesn’t lose his cool so easily. “But this visit by the Board Members did make us a bit nervous,” he admits. When Matthias Zachert arrived at the industrial park for the first time, he was impressed by the site, which was small in terms of manpower – just 40 employees – but big in terms of output, with a maximum production quantity of 70,000 metric tons of maleic anhydride per year. He even called it an “incredible experience.” Obviously Müller and his team had done everything right.

A glance at the site’s accident statistics alone is enough to explain why Zachert was in such a good mood. The company was founded 30 years ago in the middle of the industrial park – and the last and only accident with days lost occurred 16 years ago. “The accident was unfortunate, but of course we’re proud of this statistic,” says Müller, casually mentioning that the site recently won the CEO Safety Award in 2020. Their excellent safety culture has also earned them an award from the US federal agency OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). “We have been an ‘OSHA VPP Star Site’ since 2008, which confirms that we voluntarily go the extra mile to prevent risks to occupational safety and health while continuously improving in this area at all levels,” explains Müller. This award is difficult to obtain and required a lot of preparatory work. But it wasn’t just the many awards – which are now piled so high there’s barely room left for them on the shelves of the site’s office building – that impressed the CEO during his visit.

The product maleic anhydride is used in many different applications. It is found, for example, in the paper used to wrap burgers at McDonald’s, as well as in paper coating and even in malic acid used in the food industry. The largest area of application, however, is the construction industry with its various polyester resins, and it is also an important component in lubricating oil additives. The LANXESS site in Baytown is the second largest producer of maleic anhydride in the United States and can maintain a capacity utilization rate of 85 to almost 90 percent, even in difficult times. “We even continued producing at almost full capacity during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, with an output of 68,000 metric tons,” says Müller. That was quite a challenge. The production of maleic anhydride doesn’t sound easy: “It is generated from the aerial oxidation of n-butane in an explosive atmosphere.” At this point, the word “explosive” is all that remains in the layperson’s mind, and he once again understands why everyone there is so proud of their safety record. But what also stands out is the extremely high level of energy needed. Each ton of product manufactured generates around 18,000 tons of steam. But this actually brings in some additional revenue: “We sell it to our neighbor Covestro,” says Müller.

Müller has a lot of experience and is always looking for ways to improve. One area he constantly has his eye on is production: “I strive for as few unplanned shutdowns as possible. They reduce our performance and the amount of revenue we generate.” But he and his team have managed to get a grip on the shutdowns that had him worried when he took over the job in 2018. By replacing a few key components and planning more systematic, preventive maintenance, they were able to significantly reduce the rate. But what probably impressed the CEO the most was that Baytown not only runs at almost full capacity, even in difficult economic times, but also achieves good margins.

When looking at his books, Müller is also satisfied – they are already well filled for the next six months. On his departure, Matthias Zachert promised to come back. Good news is something he apparently also enjoys getting ...

A Big Impact
With just 40 employees, the site is the second largest producer of maleic anhydride in the United States. 75 to 90 percent of the plant’s output is sold in the United States.

Brief Interview with Harold Solomon, Sr. Manufacturing Project Support, BU AII:

What do you appreciate about the Baytown site and what are your hopes for its future?
Visitors have often told us that we work like a family. We’ve spent countless hours working together to perfect the plant, and in doing so, have learned that any obstacle can be overcome. In stressful times, our team pulls together and helps each other, even beyond the scope of our actual tasks. I hope that this philosophy will remain in place.

What will your job look like from January on?

I’m going to try to pass on my 30 years of experience to new employees. Today, our plant runs almost flawlessly. Reducing downtime and malfunctions is always the goal, but unfortunately this often also reduces the ability to fix errors. That’s why it’s my job to keep asking “what if“ questions. These may be absurd questions like, “what would happen if an airplane flew into our absorber column?“ We initially laugh, but to be able to answer it, you have to be familiar with the entire plant and know how everything is connected.