Personalities (updated Jan. 22, 2016 10:38 A.M)
Archroma appoints head of sustainability for Textile Specialities
Archroma, a global leader in color and specialty chemicals, today announced that it has appointed a Sustainability Officer for its Textile Specialties business and released its list of products compliant with the new version 1.1 of its list of Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substance List (MRSL) published in December 2015(1)
James Carnahan, who joined from the BASF textile chemicals business acquired by Archroma in July 2014, has been appointed as Global Sustainability Manager, Textile Specialties, and will be responsible to further intensify the business focus on more sustainable solutions. Carnahan has more than 30 years of experience in textile chemicals in application development and marketing & sales in South Africa, Italy, Germany, China and Singapore. In his last role with BASF, he was responsible for portfolio strategy development and implementation, with focus on developing sustainable solutions to support the textile value chain in this direction.
Thomas Winkler, President Textile Specialties at Archroma, commented the nomination: “Everyone at Archroma is committed to continuously challenge the status quo in the deep belief that we can make our industry sustainable. We have been looking for the right sustainability specialist and, when we met James Carnahan, we realized he shared our belief and had been acting upon it during his past tenure.”
The ZDHC Group’s Manufacturers List of Restricted Substances sets concentration limits for the chemical groups banned under the ZDHC Joint Roadmap, an initiative first launched in 2011 by major apparel and footwear brands to lead the industry toward zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2021. The ZDHC Group updated its Manufacturing Restricted Substance List in December 2015. The updated document now includes leather apparel and footwear applications, and updates its list of priority chemicals with maximum concentration limit of each substance within commercial chemical formulations.
Archroma published its list of ZDHC MRSL-compliant colorants and chemicals for textile and apparel for the first time in July 2014, shortly after the first version of the ZDHC MRSL was released(2). The list features a full range of colorants and chemicals for colors and functional effects, and process chemicals, covering fibers to finishing.
Archroma’s ZDHC MRSL-compliant products are also integrated into Archroma’s ONE WAY Calculator, the tool used by Archroma as part of its ONE WAY Sustainability Service to support customers by providing a fast, measurable and reliable approach to the selection of chemical product and process solutions(3).
The new list released on January 13, 2016 by Archroma actually required no change from its previous version, as the listed range of colorants and chemicals all already complied with the limits set by the updated version 1.1 of the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substance List.
“We didn’t have to remove one single product from our list to comply with the updated list of the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substance List,” says James Carnahan. “This is a consequence of Archroma’s long commitment to supporting textile producers and brand owners in identifying products that help reducing or eliminating impurities from the wastewater, as well as those reducing water and energy usage in processing.”
The list can be downloaded by clicking on the first link below.
www.textiles.archroma.com/zdhc
LyondellBasell Announces Executive Leadership Changes
LyondellBasell, one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, today announced several senior leadership changes.
After four years with LyondellBasell, Timothy D. Roberts, executive vice president of global Olefins and Polyolefins has announced his decision to leave the company. Mr. Roberts will be succeeded by Daniel M. Coombs who joined LyondellBasell last year as executive vice president of global Intermediates and Derivatives, Technology and Procurement. Coombs brings 30 years of experience in petrochemicals, including leadership roles in commercial, manufacturing and joint ventures in the Middle East.
“We will miss Tim’s leadership and energy. We thank him for his significant contributions and wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” said Bob Patel, LyondellBasell’s CEO. “I feel confident that our depth of talent and prior succession planning allows for a smooth transition and continued industry-leading performance.”
James D. Guilfoyle, currently senior vice president, global Intermediates and Derivatives, will continue in his current role while assuming additional responsibilities for the company’s supply chain activities. For the past year, Guilfoyle has worked closely with Daniel M. Coombs leading the company’s global Intermediates and Derivatives business.
“As part of our strong leadership team, Dan and Jim have made a tremendous positive impact on our business,” said Mr. Patel. “As we continue to execute our growth program, both Dan and Jim have the business acumen, industry knowledge and leadership skills necessary to take their functions to the next level.” Coombs and Guilfoyle will report to CEO Patel.
As part of this transition, LyondellBasell will further expand its regional leadership by appointing Paul Augustowski as senior vice president of Olefins and Polyolefins in the Americas. Mr. Augustowski has over two decades of experience in Polyolefins, in the U.S. and Europe. Richard Roudeix will continue as the European Olefins and Polyolefins business leader. Mr. Augustowski and Mr. Roudeix will report to Mr. Coombs.
Prior to joining LyondellBasell, Daniel M. Coombs held several senior executive roles with Chevron Phillips Chemical Company including senior vice president for Specialties, Aromatics and Styrenics, vice president of Corporate Planning and Development, and vice president and deputy general manager for Qatar Chemical Company Limited. Mr. Coombs holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University, a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tulsa and an MBA from Texas A&M University.
Guilfoyle joined a LyondellBasell predecessor company in 1993 as a chemical engineer at the La Porte, Texas Olefins Plant. Prior to assuming his current role, he held a number of technical and managerial positions within the Olefins and Polyolefins business including vice president of Global Propylene Oxide and Co-Products. Mr. Guilfoyle holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati, a Master of Science in chemical engineering and an MBA from the University of Houston.
LyondellBasell is one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell) manufactures products at 56 sites in 19 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
New and first female head of the Coverstro Polycarbonates Segment
Michelle Jou took over as head of Covestro’s Polycarbonates Segment effective January 1, 2016. She is the first woman to hold this position and succeeds Dr. Markus Steilemann, who as of this same date, became head of the Polyurethanes Segment. Since September 1, 2015, he is also member of the Board of Management and responsible for Innovation.
Michelle Jou has over 20 years of professional experience in the chemical industry in Asia, where she served in a variety of positions in sales, marketing and supply chain management. Before joining Bayer in 2003, she worked approximately ten years for a leading French petrochemicals company in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
At Bayer MaterialScience, she performed a number of different managerial duties in Shanghai, initially with the company’s central departments. Jou then joined the Polycarbonates Business Unit, where in 2012 she was named head of Commercial Operations in the Asia region.
A native of Taiwan, Jou holds a bachelor’s degree from Fu-Jen University there. She also has a master’s degree from the EMLYON Business School in France.
Bayer MaterialScience has operated under the name of Covestro since September 1, 2015. The company had already relocated the headquarters of its global polycarbonate activities to Shanghai in 2011, as the primary markets for thermoplastics are located in Asia.
With 2014 sales of EUR 11.8 billion, Covestro is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and sports and leisure industries. Covestro, formerly Bayer MaterialScience, has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 15,700 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of September 2015.