Mid-Term Employee
In my experiences both at the site and within the project group, the leaders ahead of me trusted me and helped me to grow professionally.
Aaron Howard, Production Superintendent, Beaumont, Texas
What attracted you to Arkema?
I joined Arkema Beaumont in 2004 to be a part of the Sulfox Project as an outside operator.
What keeps you engaged with Arkema?
The right people at the right times over the years have stepped in to help me develop and progress in my career with Arkema.
What’s a typical day at Arkema look like for you?
I begin each day communicating with the operations group about the health of the plant to then take that to the operations management team for a path forward. Days are typically filled with production planning, budget management, and coordinating maintenance. Occasionally nights may be taken up helping to solve operational problems.
What skills have you learned or developed working for Arkema?
Through my tenure at Arkema, I have worked as an outside operator, console operator, shift supervisor, project lead, and now production superintendent. I learned to be a strong operator dealing with multiple types of equipment and processes. This led me to develop into a strong console operator. Gradually, I developed the leadership skills to earn the position as shift supervisor. My stint in the project group not only honed my understanding of equipment and technology but also helped to develop my understanding of the business side of production. During this time I also took advantage of the tuition program and have almost completed a degree in business management with Lamar University. Through the previous path and my schooling, I developed the skills needed to earn the position of production superintendent.
What are you proud of when you think about your time working with Arkema?
I am most proud of three things while working at Arkema. First, I have successfully raised four children who have been well taken care of. Second, I am almost complete with a college degree thanks to the support of Arkema and the management team here. Finally, I’m really proud to fill the role of Production Superintendent and am only curious as to what my next adventure with Arkema will be.
What Arkema Value resonates strongly for you and why?
Empowerment - In my experiences both at the site and within the project group, the leaders ahead of me trusted me and helped me to grow professionally. There are a few I can think of specifically that really helped to give me an edge and become a better leader, I am continually thankful for those people.
What Arkema Value do you see prominently practiced at work?
Simplicity - I would have to see this one seems most prominent at work. Especially this year in dealing with our changing market and trying to adapt to meet evolving demands, we have to constantly evaluate our priorities and manage the essentials.
More about me!
I’m very proud to say my youngest child just graduated high school with most of his first year of college complete. He has decided to join the Army and we are nervous but proud. Our daughter is finishing up college and plans to pursue a masters in marine biology. With everyone gone, my wife and I love to travel and will be planning more trips both back to her home in Guam and I’d like to take her to Europe. We’ve made all but three states in the U.S. which hopefully this coming year we will knock out. My favorite thing is my annual trip to Alaska where I fish during the yearly salmon migration. If I could have done anything differently in life, I’d have been a chef and spend a lot of my free time going through cookbooks and trying new things with my family. I plan to write a Guamanian Cookbook in the coming years as there are very few published and the generation that holds a lot of the old recipes is beginning to diminish.