ExpoChem Blog

Happy New Year 2012

February 8, 2012 Posted by: Laura Dornbusch @ 5:02 pm

With 2012 well under way, we would like to thank all of our customers and suppliers who have worked with us, allowing Expo to increase efficiency, productivity, environmentally friendlier products to better service our industry, economy and environment. Your commitment to creating chemistries which contribute to the future of our industry is greatly appreciated.

2011 was a year of growth and transition at Expo Chemical. The year started with Sherri Elder, PhD coming aboard as our Director of Business Development. Her extensive petrochemical background and problem solving orientation has already made her an asset to our customers. Don Goffinet utilizes his wealth of chemical and industry knowledge to service key longstanding customers Expo’s increasing focus on formulations required a higher level technical talent in the lab. This need was met when Jim Kelly joined the team. He quickly became our Technical Director’s, Gene Elphingstone, PhD., right hand freeing Gene up to do what he does best, create! Gene, Gong, Sherri, Elton and Jim have been working on developing finished products to assist our customers with their chemical needs in addition to supplying raw materials, as we have for over 30 years.

Francine Leal joined as Operations Assistant and is working diligently to acquaint herself with all of you. She is a tremendous asset and a greatly appreciated team member. Some of you have had the pleasure of talking to Trang Vu, our highly skilled controller. Coming from a large corporate environment, Trang has been a quick learner with the ins and outs of a small company and most importantly to the staff and vendors she is making sure everyone gets paid on time, every time.

Laura Dornbusch’s primary focus as CEO, sole owner and visionary has been on Expo’s evolution in continuing its growth in the areas of research and development, as well as production while supporting the distribution of specialty chemicals. When the client speaks, Laura listens!

Elton Dornbusch continues to assist in procurement and contribute the wealth of knowledge gained over the past fifty plus years working in the chemical industry. Gong Chen, PhD, is working to find new products with increased functionality and current products at a better price to serve our customers needs. Because much of his work is international, Gong is often times operating on the time zone of another country, but he will get back to you promptly.

The Chemical Educational Foundation remains the core focus of Expo’s many philanthropic efforts. At Expo, we are passionate about lifelong learning. We support the exposure of chemistry at a young age by sponsoring several schools, the regional, state and national competition. Francine Leal has taken on the daunting task of chairing the YBTC project. Thank you to the many who have shared your experience and expertise by judging the regional and state competitions. If you would like to attend one of our competitions, please give Francine a call and she will send you all the information. It is always an exciting time as we watch these young minds compete and remember chemical facts most of us have long since forgotten. It is comforting to know the future of chemistry will be in good and capable hands.

For those of you who were unable to make our December open house, Donna Simmons did an amazing job of converting a chemical sales office into a magical winter wonderland. Many of you had no idea that in addition to regulatory management, logistics, and customer service and support; she is quite the interior decorator! Amy Allen’s mission is to train others in her many areas of expertise. Her lightning speed at completing tasks leaves the rest of us wondering what just happened, if only we could clone her! In addition to imparting her wealth of knowledge she continues to provide top notch service and delivery to our customers. Many of you know Amy Blackburn; but, did you know she has now moved into the customer service arena and will be providing the excellent care and service Expo has become known for. Amy is doing a great job learning the ropes. Cynthia Crocker, our fearless Organizational Development leader continues to push, pull and drive us to become better, smarter and more effective for our stakeholders. For those of you who know many of us; you have a complete understanding that the individual trying to direct this group must be fearless!

We wanted you to have a peek of Expo and the team that supports our customers. With the team assembled, we know 2012 will be an exceptional year. To paraphrase Donald Trump, at Expo we like to learn from the past, and plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That’s where the fun begins.

Laura Dornbusch
Expo Chemical Co., Inc.
CEO

Surface Chemistry

February 3, 2012 Posted by: Don Goffinet @ 12:43 pm

Surface active agents, commonly called “Surfactants”, are organic chemicals consisting of hydrophilic and lipophilic components. This bimodal structure allows these materials to concentrate at interfaces.  This property affects the surface tension of materials in which surfactants come in contact with. The nonpolar lipophilic component of a surfactant is usually a type of hydrocarbon which can be linear or branched and interacts very weakly with the water molecules in an aqueous environment. The hydrophilic polar or ionic component of the molecule interacts strongly with water due to components such as carboxyl groups, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorous. It is the balance between the “hydro” and “lipo” parts of a surfactant molecule which gives the special properties we associate with surfactant active agents. This is the result of different solubility’s of each end of the surfactant molecular structure.

Surfactants are classified as either “anionic”, “nonionic”, or “cationic” depending upon how they react in an aqueous solution. Nonionic and anionic surfactants are by far the largest used product groups.  Surfactants are used and touch us all every day. Most are formulated for specific products and usually not used alone. They touch the “oilfield”, “agriculture”, “personal care”, and ” industrial cleaners” just to name a few areas.
Future articles will discuss other uses or the chemistry of specific products.

Acknowledgement for portions of this article:
Dr. Paul Berger, Oil Chem Technologies

Don Goffinet
Expo Chemical Co., Inc.

Is Your Company at Risk for a Brain Drain?

January 24, 2012 Posted by: Cynthia Mueller Crocker @ 5:15 pm

Brain drain, that slow drip, drip, drip of information accumulated over years of work experience that leaves an organization as an employee exits a company.  According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2014 nearly 20 percent of the workforce will be comprised of people ages 65 and older.  This drip could become a faucet turned on full blast if a company does not prepare.      In smaller companies, an employee’s exit means the company’s brain trust is reduced by a more significant percentage than that of a midsize or large company.    A silver lining of the market crash and the poor economy is this social security eligible sector of our workforce have delayed their retirement based on need or discomfort of economic conditions.  However, now that the economy is showing signs of rebounding, it is becoming critical that the experience level of your workforce is evaluated.  This is especially true for the petrochemical industry which has not been hit as hard as other industry sectors. There are a few things a company can do to minimize the vulnerability of exiting knowledge.  Key areas to consider are developing knowledge transfer mechanisms and becoming adaptable by offering phased retirement.

Knowledge transfer is difficult.  Productive employees sometimes don’t even know what all they know.  Consider a job description. It is really just an outline of what someone actually does within a position.  It’s the “and other related duties” where much of the heavy lifting is done.  In the last Expo Newsletter the article titled “Who’s on First?  Knowing When to Redistribute Work” discusses the benefits of conducting a Workflow Analysis for each position.  This is an excellent mechanism to identify knowledge transfer needs.  Making hiring decisions to balance future needs is another mechanism.  It may be worth the investment to hire someone with a bit more experience than needed currently, if they can start developing in an area that is susceptible to a brain drain.  Cross training is another mechanism.  One size does not fit all, first you identify what knowledge is unique to your business and then, what method would be best in ensuring it is maintained and retained.

Phased retirement results in a win-win for the employer and employee.    It is far more beneficial to a company to have someone lengthen their tenure by reducing the amount of time at work.  (Fewer days per week can equal more years before true retirement).     At Expo for “phasing” employees, an increase in compensation may not mean increase in dollars as much as it may be increased in time off.  It allows an employee to enjoy life outside of work more and the company to proactively transfer company, technical and industry specific knowledge.

Such flexibility does not need to be reserved for employees approaching retirement.  It is also an excellent option for many scenarios in the life of an employee; motherhood, pursing higher education, medical issues, caring for aging parents; the list goes on, life happens. The Specialist Group January 2012 Newsletter comments, “Finding the right people is becoming increasingly complex.”  Even with high unemployment rates there is a scarcity of truly qualified candidates.   Employees that are aware you are open to such arrangements, creates an environment for open and honest conversations leading to the employee and employer working together to find a solution and plan ahead.

Flexibility provides an advantage to the company.   Retaining talent secures the investment spent on training, as well as the experience an individual has gained while working at that company, it reduces the “Brain Drain”.  It is a good recruiting and retention tool too!   Finding, retaining, and developing talent are constants providing a company with a competitive edge in today’s world of fast paced change.

The take home, evaluate the vulnerability of brain drain to your company, plan ahead, consider the options, be creative and be flexible.

Cynthia Mueller Crocker, SPHR

3rd Grade Chemistry Experiment

January 15, 2012 Posted by: Jim Kelly @ 12:03 pm

Expo Chemical Company is a Texas state sponsor for the Chemical Educational Foundation’s You Be The Chemist program.  Laura Dornbusch, the owner and president of Expo Chemical, asked me if I would be interested in teaching third graders at Salem Lutheran School a chemistry experiment.  She asked me due to my experience in the chemistry lab as a senior lab technician and I gladly accepted.

Knowing that this was the very first time for most of the students to be involved with chemistry, I fully understood how important it was to make it a great experience for them.  This was achieved, in part, by having a 100% success rate of the experiment.

Before the experiment started and while I still had the student’s full attention, I asked the four following questions and here are the responses in their own words:

Q – What is chemistry?

  • A – chemical reactions
  • A – putting chemicals together

Q – What does a chemist do?

  • A – test chemicals for approval
  • A – breaks atoms (they also added that a chemist makes bombs this way)
  • A – makes acids

Q – Where does a chemist work?

  • lab
  • chemical plant (this wasn’t surprising because we hear that word everyday in Houston)

Q – What does a chemist wear to keep them safe?

  • A –lab coat
  • A – shirt
  • A – safety glasses
  • A – gloves
  • A – pants
  • A – closed toe shoes
  • A – mask
  • A – keep hair out of face

I was amazed by some of the answers.  Overall, this was a terrific and educational chemistry experience for the students.  A few weeks after the experiment, I attended an event on campus and saw some of the third grade students and asked if they were ready for another chemistry experiment.  They all yelled with a very enthusiastic ‘YES’!

Jim Kelly
Senior Lab Technician
Expo Chemical Co., Inc

Expo Loss Check

January 8, 2012 Posted by: admin @ 5:35 pm

If we were to tell you that Expo now has an eco-friendly, high-performance, cost-effective material developed for loss circulation control, would we have your attention?

Introducing Expo Loss Check; naturally better for your application, naturally better for your balance sheet, the all-around naturally better choice.

Expo Loss Check can be used with:

  • Completely oil-phase muds
  • Diesel muds
  • Mineral oil muds
  • Synthetic-based muds

Expo Loss Check is compatible with:

  • Cementing and completion fluids
  • Coring fluids
  • Other drilling and cementing fluid additives

Call us today so we can tell you more about Expo Loss Check, your natural choice.

How Healthy is Your Business?

January 6, 2012 Posted by: Francine Leal @ 10:11 am

What does every Executive, President, and CEO of a company have in common?  They all desire for their company to be a “healthy” business.  Healthy in every dynamic: employees who function as a team and independently, an organization that is present every working day and most importantly, financially healthy.  Every business leader understands the significance of their employees to be present at work.  After all, they are the most valuable aspect that make-up their team and the team that achieved record profits.

So how does a successful corporation keep their employees in attendance and healthy?  Many companies have a gym at their office, or offer to pay for a gym membership, and others offer health screenings.  Such employee incentives are part of a Health &Wellness Program.  The purpose of a corporate wellness program is to keep premium insurance cost down, strengthen productivity, decrease absenteeism and reduce workers compensation claims.  According to the article “Benefits of Corporate Wellness Programs” by InfiniteHealthCoach.com researched statistics confirm the welfare of a Health & Wellness Program:

  • The total cost of obesity to U.S employers is $13 billion per year1
  • Obese Americans spend about 36% more on health services and 77% more on medications than people of healthy weight.  That’s more than heavy smokers or heavy drinkers2
  • Workplace alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use costs over $100 billion each year3
  • Job stress is estimated to cost $200 to $300 billion annually in absenteeism, tardiness, and lost productivity4
  • Workers’ compensations costs for a smoker averages $2,189 compared to only $176 for a nonsmoker5

In conclusion, your business health is only as healthy as your employee’s health.  In order to continue to develop a business financially and continue to expand on building customer relationships, our team must be healthy.  Encourage your team to take part in a successful corporate wellness program today.  Expo’s starts theirs tomorrow!

Wishing you and your company health and happiness in 2012.

Francine A. Leal
Expo Chemical Co., Inc.
Operations Support Assistant

FOOTNOTES

  1. 1. Cost Benefit Analysis and Report 1979-2001, Univ. of Michigan Health Management Research Center
  2. 2. R and Corporation, 2004
  3. 3. Six Reasons Why Health Promotion Makes Sense, Welcoa, 2002
  4. 4. Six Reasons Why Health Promotion Makes Sense, Welcoa, 2002
  5. 5. July 2001, Journal of Occupational and Environmental medicine
  6. 6. Cost Benefit Analysis and Report 1979-2001, Univ. of Michigan Health Management Research Center
  7. 7. Cost Benefit Analysis and Report 1979-2001, Univ. of Michigan Health Management Research Center

Green Solvents

September 28, 2011 Posted by: Tags: , , — Gong Chen @ 4:46 pm

Expo Chemical has been in the forefront of Green Chemistry by providing green solvents and green products, as part of our routine business practices. As a producer and distributor, primarily to the oil and gas industry, we have found an increasing demand for environmental friendly “green solvents” to many industries. We are offer non-aromatic hydrocarbon solvents for various applications such as diesel replacement. A majority of solvents being used in the industry today are a hydrocarbon based material. The requirement for this class of solvents to be green is the solvent should contain zero or reduced toxic components such as aromatic. The increased demand has created sourcing challenges. With an increased understanding of environmental benefits, other classes of green solvents from renewable sources are becoming increasingly acceptable to our customers. Sourcing and distributing these types of more suitable materials to the market is an ongoing effort at Expo.

Green solvents are just one example of environmentally responsible chemistry. Expo has been engaged in the business of producing products by recycling and reclaiming materials from waste streams for many years. Such conscientious efforts have minimized the waste impact on the environment and produced valuable materials. As an example, Expo provides a product reclaimed from a waste material, which is used as one of the components in a green product widely used in oil and gas production. We are continuing our green efforts to provide various green products to meet the new environmental challenge of the industries while growing our business.

Who’s on First? Knowing When to Redistribute Work

September 14, 2011 Posted by: Tags: , , — Cynthia Mueller Crocker @ 9:36 am

Like a middle aged waistline, as time goes on, positions have a tendency to expand beyond what is considered highly functional. This happens for various reasons, especially when the person in a particular position is a talented and dedicated employee. The two primary reasons for “position swell” are organizational growth and workforce reduction.

As a company develops and grows, more and more has to be done. There is the purgatorial period when there is too much work for a single position and not enough, or the perception of not enough sustainable income to authorize an additional position. To separate perception from fact, crunch the numbers to see if the tasks being consistently performed are below the “pay grade” .. .you may be paying a premium for processing that order.

While current economic conditions have ramped-up workforce reductions for most business sectors, it has been ages since companies have had the luxury of being “overstaffed”. The chemical industry has been heavily impacted with the ebb and flow of the economy, being short staffed has become normal operating procedures. As individuals leave and are not replaced, or in many cases laid off, employees left behind expand their portfolio of tasks. More is expected to be done with fewer people, this too can negatively impact the bottom line.

Either scenario results in the misunderstood and highly overrated multitasking. Martha E. Mageldorf’s article, How Too Much Multitasking at Work Can Slow You Down, published in MIT Sloan Management Review, 3/23/11, states variety can increase productivity, but at some point when more and more tasks are piled on, productivity is reduced. Josh Kaufman, refers to it as the “Cognitive Switching Penalty” in his book The Personal MBA. Neurologically, it’s impossible for the brain to multitask because you are switching attention from one task to another rather than the misperception you are parallel processing.

After a period of time, reactionary work distribution creates situations in which it is difficult to determine who is responsible for what? It is hard for managers to hold people accountable when work has not been strategically aligned with core competencies. Taking the time to determine “Who’s on First” can save significantly on resources in the short and long term. A simple process is to have each employee categorize what they do. Think of it as sorting tasks into buckets. This is not about duties and responsibilities or the dreaded job description; it is about how each individual functions. Have each person drill down on their scope of responsibilities by identifying 4-6 main categories. Dissecting the work a person does will provide the individual, manager and ultimately the organization with a wealth of information.

Rare is the employee who will embrace this exercise with enthusiasm. At the beginning it is yet another task to add to the skyscraping “to do” pile, after it is completed they are usually amazed at all they do. This information allows for a strategic manager to make some alignment decisions so people can work smarter not harder. Talent and efforts are leveraged and cross training needs can be determined. One of the most significant benefits is the ability to conduct more robust evaluations. By addressing specific areas it will be clear where the employee shines and where improvements in performance need to be addressed. Once the initial position breakdown is complete, quarterly updating requires minimal effort and long term benefits, especially as a company prepares for growth or makes some belt tightening decisions. The guesswork will be taken out as you have real data. Not only will you know who is on first, you will know who is on second, third and who your utility player is. At the end of the day, it is about better team management. Bases are loaded; go hit one out of the park!

Cynthia Mueller Crocker
SPHR Director of Organizational Development
Expo Chemical Company, Inc.

The Corporate 15

August 28, 2011 Posted by: Tags: , , , — Francine Leal @ 4:47 pm

Do-Nuts, Cupcakes and Pie – Oh my! It is no wonder working in the corporate world will easily cause you to gain fifteen pounds the first year of your career. A common mistake for a corporate kitchen is the easy access to these foods. I was certain these sorts of simple carbohydrates would not consume my office life and dethrone my fruit cup as my number one go to food. By all means I am not a Food Nazi when it comes to simple carbohydrates. As a matter of fact, I’m the first in the office to indulge in a blueberry do-nut or an Italian cream cupcake. As I began my journey here at Expo Chemical, I was given tons of “positive grief” for possessing a B.S in Human Foods & Nutrition as well as partaking in the CrossFit games. Little did they know that I was also here to lend a helping hand with their daily office life style. The toughest part about this position, are the various personalities as well as the strict pallets some individuals possess. However, understanding that change is difficult for some people – it is rather imperative to not impose unrealistic restrictions on their daily routines. It all begins with Baby Steps!

Allow me to begin with an explanation of the differences between simple vs. complex carbohydrates (CHO). As humans, our bodies crave simple CHO for a quick burst of energy. Do-Nuts, Cupcakes and Pie – Oh my! Table sugars, candy, and processed sweets are all examples of simple CHO. Complex CHO require an intricate process for digestion and consist of items such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables filled with fiber. Now these are the ideal CHO to consume. Some very important characteristics to remember about complex CHO, they are – low in calories, fat, and high in fiber. Fiber is essential in the digestion process as well as providing a full feeling to discourage overconsumption of foods high in caloric value. The misconception of CHO that is often a topic is that they will cause you to gain weight. This statement is certain to be true if consumed in large quantities. The FDA recommends that 45% of your daily intake consist of CHO, preferably complex. CHO are the main source of energy for the human body to function on a daily basis. You must wisely pick and choose the complex vs. simple CHO to consume in your daily food intake.

Here are some other ideas to ponder the importance of incorporating fresh fruit as a complex CHO in your daily food intake. Fruits are 100% cholesterol free, one of the most natural foods, high in fiber, they are affordable, and most importantly – fruit stimulates the memory. My first step was to change the environment at Expo. This did not mean eliminating the simple CHO filled donuts; it meant providing easy access to other options. Within the past few months at Expo Chemical, our employee refrigerator has been stuffed with an abundance of berries, plums, apples, bananas and grapes. Even one of my team members has brought in lychee fruit to share with us all. If you never tried a fresh lychee – you are in for such a treat! I believe that this is the very first step in preventing the Corporate 15 at any company, especially Expo Chemical.

Francine A. Leal
Operations and Support Assistant
Expo Chemical, Inc

You Be the Chemist

July 29, 2011 Posted by: Tags: , , , — Laura Dornbusch @ 10:22 am

“What do you want to be when you grow up”?  The likelihood of a young student answering spontaneously “I want a career in the chemical industry” is fairly low in the ranking.  It is equally as adverse for adults; when asked by most new social contacts what I do for a living; I can almost see the individuals recoil when I respond that I own a chemical company.

Statistics show that a high percentage of western society view chemicals as harmful to life and the environment. The word chemical has a nasty, ‘toxic waste’ stigma attached to it for most children and adults.  That view is slowly changing due to many in the industry working diligently to show what we really do.  It was not that long ago, that if I Googled the words “chemical industry” and clicked on images, what came up was toxic waste, explosions and people in full personal protection hazmat suits.  I would have to go to the second and third pages to find any images useful for me.  Today I Googled the word chemical industry and I almost had to go to page two to find the first explosion.

The truth is, without chemistry, life would be dismal. As an industry, we have struggled to build awareness of the huge investment and advancements made in environmental preservation and renewal, in product stewardship and industry driven codes of practice such as Responsible Distribution and Responsible Care, in the research, development and innovation that results in a better quality of life, every day, for everyone, on this planet.

One way to lead the change and to influence positive interest in our industry is to support the work of the Chemical Education Foundation (CEF), an internationally recognized, award winning organization based in Washington, DC, with the central mission of promoting the value, importance, and benefits of chemistry education and chemicals. CEF believes that investing in science education for the young is vital to the future of the chemical industry, its affiliated organizations, and our communities as a whole.

CEF has created several educational programs aimed at engaging educators and students of grades kindergarten through eight in science education. CEF’s You Be the Chemist (YBTC) programs include YBTC Activity Guides – Lesson Plans for Making Chemistry Fun, the YBTC Challenge – an exciting academic chemistry competition that engages grades five through eight students in learning important concepts and discoveries, and the YBTC Lesson Plan Competition – a competition that awards cash prizes to educators for their innovative teaching techniques.

John Rice, Executive Director of the Chemical Education Foundation says “Using CEF programs serves as an effective method of bridging the chemical industry and community gap, and helps provide a countermeasure against negative perceptions created by misunderstanding and fear. Use of CEF materials also provides an avenue for constructive dialogue between industry and the community.”

CEF provides programs for companies to introduce to the communities in which they do business. In turn, these programs create tremendous community outreach opportunities for industry members, positioning them as engaged members of the community.  Most importantly, CEF programs help assure that students are being given an extra boost when it comes to science education.

Please visit the website at www.chemed.org and see all the opportunities provided to interact with members of your community and with schools in your area.  You Be the Chemist Challenge is now gearing up for this school year and we would welcome your help.  If I can provide you with additional information, please let me know.

Laura Dornbusch
President
Expo Chemical, Inc

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