With over 45 schools in the Clear Creek Independent School District, there’s a lot of potential future engineers and scientists coming through the ranks every year. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for most of these students or their teachers to think these are the only two paths our industry has to offer. Lucky for them, Monument’s partnership with Clear Creek Education Foundation (CCEF) and Clear Creek ISD (CCISD) is on a mission to change that — and a whole lot more.

A business expansion is a positive thing. That doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be some growing pains that come along with it. So, when Monument Chemical Kentucky made the decision to expand by doubling the production of their amination unit, they anticipated some side effects in terms of excess aqua ammonia. But creative thinking and perseverance turned a messy situation into a historic win for the Kentucky team. 

On February 28, 2022, seven teams of four bright, young scientists from Hardin and Meade Counties took to the stage at Stuart Pepper Middle School for the You Be The Chemist regional competition. In hopes of winning the title and securing a spot in Nationals down in Houston Texas, each team faced four rounds of ten challenging questions across a variety of scientific topics.

It’s no surprise that our plant teams make safety their top priority. But as we all know, translating that goal into action isn’t always as easy. For our Kallo team, it’s all about teamwork fueled by repetition. And that strategy is yielding big results.

On Thursday, March 17, the Kallo team hit 1000 days without a major safety incident or lost time injury. And with 130 employees and 70 contractors working on site at any given time, the focus on safety has a large net to cast.

A beautiful Saturday afternoon at the Armand Bayou Nature Center set the perfect stage for worthy celebration in Pasadena, TX. Just over a mile from Monument’s Bayport site, dozens of employees and their families gathered — amongst the preserve’s gators, buffalo, and other wildlife creatures — for a celebration in honor of three years OSHA-free.

Getting certified as an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) is no easy task. But the hard work and commitment of Monument’s EMR-certified team members are key factors in building a safer work environment for all of us. 

The saying “consistency is the key to success” is more than just a quote or slogan – it’s a principle that drives our actions at Monument. With this in mind, we wanted to share some of the lessons we learned in working to achieve ISO 9001 certification for our Bayport site – and how we plan to build on these in doing the same at our newest facility in Port Arthur, Texas.

In 2021, Monument Brandenburg, Kentucky Site Leader Ken Babcock set a goal to reduce the plant’s Nitrogen usage.

“This was an important goal for the site, both from an economic standpoint but also from the perspective of managing our resources better,” said Ken.

Because the entire team felt a strong responsibility toward the large-scale impact of that goal, they didn’t just hit the target – they smashed it – reducing sitewide Nitrogen usage to historic lows in 2021. Since the effort began in March, the site decreased Tier 2 Nitrogen usage by 100% – a reduction of 60,067,845 SCF N2.

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.