Crisis Planning Leads To On Time Shipments During Floods
Researching, developing and shipping world-class additive products is not an easy task, but it is one Oronite focuses upon daily to maintain its position as an industry leader. Even at those unfortunate times when nature gets in the way, Oronite continues to operate at a high standard to keep its customers satisfied.
Within a six-hour span one day in May, two rainstorms dropped a total of five inches (about 12 centimeters) of rain on Oronite's Oak Point plant in Belle Chasse, Louisiana. The last deluge brought 3.5 inches (9 centimeters) in less than 60 minutes.
Being familiar with heavy rains common to the southern United States is but one example of Oronite's operational excellence. "We have seen these flooding events in the past," said Troy Tortorich, Oronite's Blending, Shipping, Utility and Ecology Section Supervisor at Oak Point. "We handled it in the best way possible for Oronite and Oronite's customers."
Securing the safety of plant workers first became the objective of Glenn Maise, the BSU&E Shift Supervisor who coordinated the recovery. Getting rid of flood waters is not just a matter of rigging pumps. The plant environmentally treats all rain water that falls inside the facility before it pumps it to the Mississippi River, an example of Oronite's environmental stewardship.
Despite the wet conditions, Oronite personnel in Oak Point systematically managed to ensure safety and environmental reliability and still maintain efficiency.
To recover from the flooding, Glenn Maise had all the power shut off to the plant pumps in the low areas. Glenn also shut down Blending and Shipping activities, canceled the train switch for the weekend, assessed all flood damage, flagged unsafe areas to limit traffic in the inundated areas, and then directed clean up efforts. "Plant personnel did an excellent job of safely maintaining the equipment throughout the event," said Glenn.
Blending and shipping activities quickly resumed at Oak Point, and no customer orders were delayed. Such an effective response exemplifies Oronite's dedication to being a safe and reliable worldwide supplier to our industry.
