Arizona Chemical’s Panama City plant has earned the coveted Highly Protected Risk (HPR) designation from FM Global, a globally recognized insurance company that specializes in risk prevention services.
Some of the criteria that enable a facility to earn the HPR designation include implementing all reasonable physical and human loss prevention measures to protect buildings and equipment from losses and establishing needed human element programs.
Last year, the company rolled out a global Process Safety Strategy with a goal to continuously reduce risk across Arizona Chemical. “The EHS/PSM Strategic Plan is our blueprint for change and includes realistic timelines, resource requirements, and clear leadership/ownership,” explained Mike Brantley, Director – Global Manufacturing Capability.
He explained that one of the company’s PSM Strategy goals is to have sites designated as HPR by FM Global. “Panama City is the first to earn this designation at Arizona Chemical, and others are actively working on achieving it,” Brantley said.
The Panama City plant earned the HPR designation through not only capital projects but also through a number of human element initiatives. “The Panama City team has worked diligently over the past years to implement a structured safety program, improving areas such as work permits, management of change process, task risk analyses and process incident documentation and follow up,” said Michael Osborne, Panama City Plant Manager.
He added, “We’re putting the people, resources and processes in place at our sites to ensure that we meet our risk reduction goals, and that commitment of resources has certainly paid off in Panama City. We look forward to having other sites across our company join us in achieving this designation soon.”
The Panama City plant, which holds the distinction of being Arizona Chemical’s first manufacturing plant (built in 1936), makes tall oil fatty acids, distilled tall oils, rosin, rosin esters, terpenes and terpene resins for the adhesives, tires, and roads & construction markets.
About Arizona Chemical
Arizona Chemical (www.arizonachemical.com) is a world leader of bio-refined products for the adhesives, roads & construction, tires, lubricants, fuel additives, mining and oleochemicals markets. With more than 1,100 employees and state-of-the-art refineries in six countries on both sides of the Atlantic, Arizona Chemical provides sustainable raw materials to hundreds of companies and, in-turn, to millions of consumers all around the world. The company has headquarters offices in the U.S. in Jacksonville, Fla., and in the EU in Almere, the Netherlands.
Media Contact
David Cowfer, Vice President – HR & Communications (904) 928-8860 david.cowfer@azchem.com