Ten years ago, if you would’ve asked Romain Vidal-Michel, Sr. Production Engineer/Operations Manager at Monument, what his fitness routine looked like, he wouldn’t have even said running — he’d tell you he jogs.

But that was then. Now, he’s clocked hundreds of competitive miles throughout his more-recent running career.

When it comes to motivating youth, inspiration can strike anytime, anywhere – and things like classroom projects, field trips, after-school programs, and camp activities can all have a lasting impact on a student’s life. Over the past few years, the Monument Brandenburg Community Advisory Council (MBCAC) has sought to create more of these opportunities through its Community Partnership Initiative (CPI) grant.

We are thrilled to share the news that Monument has acquired KMTEX LLC, a privately-owned specialty chemical distillations manufacturer based in Port Arthur, Texas. This acquisition will bring approximately 50 talented new colleagues to our team, and we’re excited to explore new possibilities and opportunities – both for Monument and for our customers – as we begin working together.

Learn more about some of those new possibilities – and why we’re so eager to bring KMTEX into the Monument family…

We’ve learned a lot about the power of collaboration over the past year. As we’ve tackled challenge after challenge, our team has worked together – with each other and with our customers, suppliers, and partners – to become more creative and agile in the solutions we bring to the market.

And this commitment to collaboration has driven wins in areas NOT related to the pandemic as well! One big priority that has greatly benefited from smart partnerships is Sustainability – a timely focus area for new thinking and fresh innovation.

Even though we encourage creativity in all aspects of new opportunity development, we rally around common principles to choose and pursue the best projects. Here are some of those guiding principles – for inspiration in your own growth plans, as well as insights into what it’s like to work with the Monument team on new opportunities…

A big part of our success last year was a commitment to open dialogue and sharing best practices, not only among our Monument team, but also with our peers, our customers, and the industry as a whole. In the spirit of that ongoing sharing – and as part of our efforts to celebrate these fantastic wins – we sat down as an EHS&S team to identify the biggest contributors to our success and improvements through 2020’s challenges.

Given the increased importance of agility in today’s world, we know it’s critical to be aware of the things we’re doing to grow agility in every function and team – so that we can keep doing them – and even build on those wins to keep our “wheels” as nimble and healthy as possible. And since the Monument team is always up for sharing our experiences to keep our customers and partners on top of their game as well, we'd like to share five of our favorite tips for keeping agility front and center in this unforgettable year. (And likely well beyond!)

Within the chemical industry, the challenges of the pandemic have allowed companies to showcase their values in action – and how those values can help us quickly respond to changing market needs and adjust our way of doing business to keep employees and customers safe. At Monument, we’ve been amazed to see how our employees have brought our values to life in unique ways that will be remembered long after a return to normalcy. We’ve also been inspired by many of the incredible actions of our customers and peers. In the spirit of that inspiration-sharing, we’d like to spotlight one of our favorite examples of Monument’s values in action from the past six months: our ramp-up of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethanol.

Last year, the Monument plant in Brandenburg, Kentucky awarded its annual $10,000 Community Partnership Initiative (CPI) grant to the Meade County 4-H Youth Development to support its new “Get STEAM’d Up” program. With some fast and creative re-imagining, this program is now making a big difference in helping fill the growing demand for virtual STEAM learning with local kids of all ages.

“Paul is an outstanding global leader with a proven track record in enhancing business performance through sales growth and improved business execution,” said Bill Grube, Executive Vice President and Owner, Monument. “His expertise is a mix of specialty materials technical knowledge, operational experience, strategic leadership – and he is broadly recognized as a strong developer of the people in his organizations. Paul knows first-hand the importance of building collaborative teams to reach new markets and customers – and his leadership will ensure we continue to seize opportunities for growth.”