After
25 years of nearly unbroken growth,
Alloy Polymers has reached a size
where founder Subhash Pahuja can't
run it all himself. A new COO should
help keep the chemical compounder on
the growth path.
by
Peter Galuszka
Subhash
C. Pahuja was a young, energetic student back in 1968 when he left his home in
bustling New Delhi for the University of New Hampshire on the rocky coast of
New England. Majoring in mechanical engineering, he graduated to work
in plastics plants in a series of gritty American
industrial towns. Those were hard years, he says, because “it wasn’t the best business climate at the
time.”
Today,
as founder, chairman and CEO of Richmond- based Alloy Polymers, Inc., Pahuja stands atop his chosen field:
compounding. That's the process of putting
additives into plastics and chemicals to give them special colors,
textures, strength and other qualities.
Subhash
Pahuja, CEO of Alloy Polymers, and his wife Kamini, vice president of
procurement.
Recent
days have been busy for Pahuja, now a U.S. citizen. Celebrating the company's
25th anniversary, he and his
staff returned recently from whirlwind visits to production plants in
Ohio and Texas and then joined the festivities at the Richmond production facility and
corporate headquarters.
“We’ve
made a profit every year but one,” Pahuja says proudly. The one bad year was
1995, when company executives took their eye off the ball. Since then,
Alloy
Polymers
has gone from strength to strength.
Four years ago, the company purchased a 110-million- pound-a-year
polypropylene facility in Gahanna, Ohio. Earlier this year, the company added a 100 million-pound-a-year compounding facility in
Crockett, Tex., boosting total capacity to about 300 million pounds per year.
The
company's big challenge now is bringing discipline to a much larger
organization. This summer, Pahuja hired Charles M. Chiappone, a veteran business
manager,
from SPX Cooling Technologies in Overland Park, Kan., to step in as his president and chief operating officer. “We hired him,"
says Pahuja, "because we wanted to move
away from an entrepreneurial management approach.” More.
Honeywell
Finds a Solution
to
its Gas Needs
by
John Reid Blackwell
Natural
gas is the lifeblood of Honeywell International Inc.'s massive Hopewell plant.
Every
day, the sprawling complex off state Route 10 consumes about 57 million cubic
feet of natural gas, which is used to fuel the plant's operations and as a raw
material to manufacture a key ingredient in nylon.
"We
are probably the largest consumer of natural gas on the East Coast and one of
the largest in the United States," said plant manager Rick Higbie.
Methane
gas enters the compressor station at
the Atlantic Waste Disposal landfill
near Waverly. The operation is the
largest landfill gas project in the
country.
Don Long/
Times-Dispatch
The
dependency on natural gas has been a
challenge for the plant management team in
recent years. As natural gas prices have
increased, the plant has faced burdensome
energy costs that, in turn, have
contributed to job reductions at the site,
which employs about 700 people.
As
plant managers looked for ways to cut
dependency on natural gas, they found an
underground solution. Among the maze of
pipes that wind around one section of the
complex, a single pipeline juts from the
ground and connects the whole plant with
an energy source that originates in trash
containers up and down the East Coast. More.
New
Market Corp. --
The
New Ethyl
Company
finds competing in the fuel
additives business is still a whale
of a job.
by
John Reid Blackwell
There's
nothing like tough times to sharpen a
business team.
That's
how Thomas E. "Ted" Gottwald ,
chief executive officer of NewMarket
Corp., described the company's moxie at
its annual shareholders' meeting in April.
A
few years ago, things were indeed tough
for NewMarket, one of the Richmond area's
most iconic companies. The company, which
for decades was named Ethyl Corp., makes
petroleum additives that are used in
engines and fuels all over the world.
Though those products are essential, the
company's markets and performance were
difficult enough in 2001 for the previous
CEO, Bruce C. Gottwald, to stand before
shareholders and bluntly proclaim it
"a sorry year."
Warren
Huang, president of Afton Chemical
Corp. stands near a display in
company headquarters.
Joe
Mahoney/
Times-Dispatch
Shareholder
meetings seem to have become gradually
cheerier in the years since. Challenges
still lie ahead, but NewMarket has made a
turnaround from the days when the company
seemed to be in a deep hole.
"The
tight spot that we got into -- I was part
of the decision-making that put us
there," said Teddy Gottwald, 45,
during an interview at the company's
Colonial-style headquarters in downtown
Richmond. When he succeeded his father as
CEO in 2001, "I didn't feel I had
anything to prove," he said.
"But I felt I had a responsibility to
our shareholders and employees to improve
performance." More.
DuPont
Safety & Protection Group V.P
Addresses Investors
RICHMOND--DuPont
Safety & Protection Group Vice
President Mark P. Vergnano told investment
analysts here that his business segment is
addressing the rapidly growing demand for
products and services that help protect
people, property, operations and the
environment.
"We
have taken the DNA of DuPont -- a
passion for safety and science -- to
help make people around the world
feel safer and more secure both at
work and at home," Vergnano
said. "We have expanded the
definition of our addressable
markets and have developed a rich pipeline
of market-driven
and
science-based innovations."
The
Safety & Protection segment is
aggressively leveraging its globally
recognized branded products -- like DuPont
Kevlar, Nomex and Tyvek -- around the
world, including in emerging markets, and
is accelerating the introduction of new
products. This year's new product launches
include Tyvek Silver Home wrap,
architectural panels with Kevlar for
hurricane protection; a new hybrid Kevlar
tire cord for Goodyear; and a new
insulation material for transformers using
Nomex. More.
News
Business
Albemarle
Expands HPC Capacity.
Albemarle Corporation has broken ground on
a 10,000 metric tons-per-year capacity
hydroprocessing catalyst (HPC) production
plant at its Bayport facility in Pasadena,
Tex. – the first of three expansions in
Albemarle’s global operations. Said
Albemarle executive Huub Cuijpers:
"The capacity increase at Bayport is
the most substantial of the three
expansions, and is needed first and
foremost to help meet rapidly building
demand for our products in the
Americas." (June 1, 2006)More.
Albemarle
to Purchase DSM Assets.
Albemarle Corporation has agreed to
purchase the assets of DSM Pharmaceutical
Products (DSM), along with the with the
fine chemistry services and
pharmachemicals business associated with
DSM's South Haven, Mich., facility. The
target acquisition date was Sept. 30. Said
executive John Nichols: "The South
Haven acquisition is another key move in
our ongoing efforts to reposition the Fine
Chemicals division around services and
higher value activities." (Sept.
20, 2006)More.
Afton
Expands Detergent Capacity.
Afton Chemical Corporation has completed
the first phase of a two-part expansion
for detergent production. The
“de-bottlenecking efforts” will
increase detergent capacity by 20 percent,
supporting the growing demand of existing
customers for detergents used in engine
oil additives. (July 28)More.
Afton
Partners with STP. Afton
Chemical Corporation has signed an
agreement with the Armor All/STP Products
Company designating Afton as AASTP's
exclusive licensing agent for performance
additives, branded with the STP mark, to
gasoline marketers in North America. Said
Afton executive Jackson Davis: “We
understand the pressures most gasoline
marketers face with today’s volatile
fuel costs. By showcasing the STP brand as
an integral part of their blends, those
marketers can quickly communicate a
compelling brand message.” (June 29,
2006)More.
Performance
Snaps up German Polyester Business.
An affiliate of Performance Fibers has
acquired INVISTA Resins & Fibers
GmbH's German polyester yarn business.
Said CEO Greg Rogowski: "The addition
of these German operations will expand
Performance Fibers' presence in Europe,
add to our product portfolio and enhance
our technical and research
capabilities." (May 30, 2006)More.
Research
VCU
Profs Develop Nano Hydrogen- Storage Device.
Virginia
Commonwealth University researchers have
developed a new storage system to hold large
quantities of hydrogen fuel that may one day
power cars in a more cost-effective and
consumer-friendly way. Puru Jena, a physics
professor, and his team have described the
theoretical composition of a material – a
lithium-coated, nano-scale fullerene in
which one lithium atom can store five
hydrogen molecules. (July 2006)
Tech
Establishes Materials Center of Excellence.
Blacksburg-based
Virginia
Tech, Virginia’s leading research
university, has been selected by the Army
Research Laboratory to establish a Materials
Center of Excellence. The center will
develop polymer-based materials to protect
personnel and equipment against weapons
attack. Researchers will develop structural
materials with chemical resistance, thermal
stability and fracture resistance;
transparent materials that are self-healing
with anti-reflection and anti-abrasion
surfaces, and new, efficient manufacturing
processes to create multi-functional,
multi-layered materials. (May 30. 2006)More.
Products
Honeywell
Lands Spectra Contract with Fishing Line
Manufacturer.
Honeywell has signed a long-term, $45
million contract to supply Spectra fiber
to Innovative Textiles, of Grand Junction,
Colo., manufacturer of ultra-high-strength
fishing lines. Spectra fiber will make the
fishing line easier to use, cast more
smoothly and last longer. (Sept. 6,
2006)More.
Tredegar
Extends Diaper Tab Offerings.
Tredegar Film Products Corporation has
extended its original product line of
StretchTab laminates: StretchTab laminates
PSA, with pressure-sensitive adhesive; and
StretchTab laminates Y-Bond, developed for
side tab closures that require additional
attachment strength. (May 9, 2006)More.
Albemarle
Unveils Bromine-based Biocide.
Albemarle Corporation has introduced
STABROM Plus Biocide, a liquid bromine
biocide optimized for industrial water
treatment. Said Tina Craft, biocide
product supervisor: "Water treaters
who use STABROM Plus biocide can use less
product to achieve the same benefit, while
also profiting from minimized storage
space and costs, reduced freight costs and
less frequent fieldwork than with other
biocide programs.” (August 23, 2006)More.
