Growing up in Brazil, Wendell Borges, Brandenburg Operations Manager, always gravitated toward technology, but a passion for the sciences quickly squashed any chance of him becoming a coder. Lucky for him, he found the perfect solution — and almost three decades later, he’s still sure of it.

“Chemical engineering combined everything I loved into one,” Wendell shared. “So by the time I graduated college, I knew I wanted to work in a chemical plant and got my first job as a process engineer, where I became addicted to production projects and operations.”

Before joining Monument this past January, Wendell spent most of his career within two large-scale chemical companies, where he’s developed his experience in just about every role possible — in locations all over the world.

“After I grew out of my first position, I was transferred to Mexico to be Production Manager and then after a couple of months, became Site Manager” Wendell explained. “I was then relocated to the US, working as an Operations Excellence Manager in Charlotte, North Carolina, and eventually the Plant Startup/Production Manager at a new plant in Louisville, Kentucky. Once that was up and operational, I was eager for a new challenge, and that’s when I found Monument.”  

When asked what a typical day in production looks like, Wendell will tell you that’s basically an oxymoron. It’s too hard to find a pattern. In the morning, he could be on the floor coaching reactor operations teams at one plant, and after lunch, he may be analyzing performance metrics at another. But for Wendell, the challenges are the best part.

“I love how every day is so dynamic and having unique problems to solve is what motivates me,” Wendell explained. “We have several plants here that I oversee, as well as multiple teams that I work with to monitor our progress and better understand how we can improve our processes. I’m also very enthusiastic about Monument’s digitization efforts; I’ve helped create multiple dashboards that allow us to see what’s going on with our reactors, where are the gaps, and what additional resources we need to improve.”

On top of what you’d expect from a traditional operations management role, Wendell is redefining the job description as part of a major transformation initiative at one of Brandenburg’s largest plants. “I have so much fun collaborating with each department to discover new ways to improve,” Wendell says. “We’re working on several projects with the goal of figuring out how we achieve operational excellence and better results across every area — our safety KPIs, planning and scheduling, cycle times, quality, and our training.”

Speaking of training — it’s actually Wendell’s favorite part of the job. While the somewhat introverted multilinguist loves to get lost in a good read or escape into the woods for a long hike after work, he's certainly a people person on the job. “Helping others succeed is something I truly enjoy,” Wendell said. “I love learning the passions of young engineers and supporting them in pursuit of their full potential. We have such fantastic people with incredible know-how who are determined to build something special. We’re all given a real opportunity to make a difference here, and it shows at every level.”

Outside of the plant, Wendell loves to get outside of his house! With two almost-teenage boys, that typically means kicking around a soccer ball, cheering on swim meets, or taking their pup, Louie, for walks in the park (unless he’s taking them for the walk). “The Whippet greyhound is not a popular breed in the US, so people are always so fascinated by him,” Wendell shared. “But he’s a running dog, so if he ever got off his leash, he’d be gone in a second! We also all love to grill and cook out. We’ll make BBQ, shrimp, and fish. It’s a lot of fun for us!”

If Wendell could hang out with his younger self, he would tell him the same thing he tells his kids now: go experience the world outside your own bubble! “At 13 or 14, I never even imagined I’d leave Brazil, so I wasn’t taught the importance of learning other cultures,” Wendell explained. “But early in my career, I was exposed to all kinds of people and backgrounds, which helped me respect other perspectives and understand how to work with people in different ways. Here at Monument, they empower everyone to work with people who can challenge you and better you, and as a result, we’re all able to make a real difference.”