DuPont

My first assignment with DuPont was at a Dacron textile fibers plant in Kinston, NC in 1973. I worked as a process engineer assisting with problem solving and product improvement in the production equipment. Most chemical plants operate 24/7 so I was essentially always on call. I worked hard, enjoyed the challenges, and moved up through the progression system.

In those days, engineers were transferred often to gain a variety of experiences with different chemical processes and to prepare for possible managerial positions. From 1976 -1987, I was assigned to production plants in Charleston, SC (textile fibers), Cleveland, OH (industrial chemicals), Deer Park, TX (petrochemicals), and Delisle, MS (pigments). Three of these assignments involved start-up of new facilities. Sandwiched between the plants were two staff assignments at company headquarters in Wilmington, DE. Frequent transfers were great for personal development, but difficult for my family.

Chestertown Tea Festival

Obviously not a DuPont assignment, but it is one of my fonder memories of that era. Most of my plant assignments were 2 - 3 years max, but this event spanned most of the DuPont years.

This annual event is held over Memorial Day weekend in Chestertown MD, on the Chester River. It includes a reenactment of an event in 1794, when residents forcibly boarded the brigantine Geddes and tossed her cargo of tea overboa to protest restrictions on tea consumption or sales in Chestertown. Additional information is available here https://www.chestertownteaparty.org.

A few of the welders at the Cleveland plant had a working relationship with Jim Huber, who owned waterfront property in Chestertown. I believe the first party was 1979 with maybe 6-8 people camping at Jim’s house, which was later renamed Taj Ma Huber. I think my first party was 1980. The regulars from Cleveland the first few years were Ken Smyers and Patti Braun, Andy and JoAnn Bajorek, Teddi Figuli, Dave Everett ples DeLana and me. Ken and Andy were welders at the plant. Teddi, Dave and I were in R&D. A few morrde plant people came every year. Rick Kellemeyer, a long time friend from DuPont in NC was living in Wilmington, and he quickly became a regular. Each year we camped, cooked a pig, enjoyed adult beverages and partied beginning Friday evening, then returning in time to work on Tuesday.

The DuPont participation in increased each year, and many of us continued the tradition after we had transferred to other locations. DeLana and I participated from Texas and Mississippi, and I even returned twice while working in Taiwan! Many of us brought our kids to the party in the later years. Unfortunately, a personal tragedy kept Jim away from Chestertown for a couple of yeras. Although many of us stayed in contact over the years, our streak at Chestertown was broken.

Chestertown Crew

our host

Jim Huber

and our friend

Boerne - cicra 2017

Taj Ma Huber Guest House

Dano and Dave Everett and me

Taj Ma Huber Campground

Randy and Rick Kellemeyer

Costumes

Chestertown locals

aging gracefully

Lake Murray - 2022

Taj Ma Huber today

Radcliffe Landing

Radcliffe Landing

Huber's Message

DuPont addendum

In addition to the Chestertown group, most of my long-term DuPont friendships started during the Cleveland assignment.

Kasturi Rangan later joined the Taiwan team. After his retirement, we lived in the neighborhood in Boerne TX, until moved to be closer to family in CA

Dave Shimp later joined the Conoco JV team with me, and we lived in the same neighborhood in Houston until the JV was shutdown.

Taiwan

This was my dream assignment, which started in 1987. DuPont planned to add to a small manufacturing presence in Taiwan by building a new world class pigment plant. I was picked to lead the design, construction and start-up effort as project/plant manager. I chose my own team and worked for upper-level management that I knew and respected. We agreed on a written set of project objectives and priorities, which were influenced by prolonged and costly startups of several new DuPont plants in the early 1980s. I agreed to stay with the project until the plant was running. The original schedule estimate was 3-4 years.

We did not expect an environmental protest effort by local community leaders near the proposed plant site which escalated to a national issue. We worked through this with an innovative community outreach effort and eventually changed the plant location to an industrial park. This slowed down the design effort and delayed construction by three years.

Adapting our manufacturing methods to Taiwanese culture was challenging. We spent a lot of time and effort orienting the team of US transferees and their families. DeLana was very involved in the family orientation process.

Employees and families

There are additional pictures of team and familes in the refeernce section below

based in Wilmington DE

circa 1987

Taipei 1988

Ruth and Gary Grulich, DeLana and me, Margarita and C K Chen

Taipei 1994

circa 1994

Kuan Yin Reunion -San Francisco

1999

Kuan Yin Team and Families

disclaimer - These photos do not include eveyone on this team. During my time with the project, several poeple rotated in and out of Taiwan. No one has been intentionally omitted

In Memoriam

Sam Dovel, Project Accounting Manager, passed away in League City TX in 2001 at age 68. His integrety was admirable.

Tiam Yu lived with DeLana and me, managing our household while we were in Taiwan. He was a long time DuPont Taiwan employee and loved to cook and sing. He passed away in 2004 at age 73

Virg Romito, Mechanical Manager, passed away in Naples FL in 2019. His passion was his extensive family. He was 81.

Tom Buller, Technology Expert, passed away following a stroke in 2021. He lived in Red Bluff MT and Green Springs AZ and loved hiking the mountains. He was 73.

Dan Sloan, Plant Operations and Project Management, died of cancer in 2022. He had a passion for his family, nature, and all outdoor activities. He was 80.

Jim Sylvanus, Operations Manager, passed away in Wilmington in Dec 2023 at age 92. He lost his wife and soulmate of 65 years in 2022. They were a wonderful couple, always smiling and cheerful.

I was blessed to have known and worked with these folks

Lillie and Sam Dovel

early 1990s

Tiam Yu

DeLana with Tiam

Dini and Virg Romito

early 1990s

Jim and Leslie Sylvanus

early 1990s

Tom Buller and Dan Sloan

circa 2011

Taiwan addendum

The Taipei Kuan Yin plant has been very successful. I am proud of the team and enjoyed the experience, but it did not end well for me. DuPont had changed during the seven years I was in Taiwan. There was increased emphasis on inclusivity and diversity - John Wayne types were no longer heroes. DuPont upper management had changed and brought a different vision and perspective for the plant. I could have handled some of these challenges better, but I was reluctant to budge from the original project objectives. I was not offered another plant manager position, but assigned to a staff level position In Wilmington. The repatriation process 1994-95 were difficult for both DeLana and me.

In spite of this, 40 years after we returned to the US, the Taiwan years were still some of the best of our life. The travel and friendships were awesome. The long-term comraderie that come from a project team overcoming barriers is hard to understand if you haven't experienced it.

In August 2023, Chemours, originally part of DuPont, stopped TiO2 production at Kuan Yin and started demolition of the plant.

Conoco

DuPont had acquired Conoco in 1981, but they essentially operated as two separate companies. In 1996, a small team began to evaluate a potential joint venture (JV) where Conoco would acquire and opeate the DuPont plant powerhouse facilities. I was intrigued by this concept, joined the team in 1997 and then transferred into Conoco at their headquarters in Houston in 1998.

Conono Global Power

Work was exciting and fun again. It was similar to the Taiwan project in that we were developing a new business from the ground up. Like many new JVs, this project ended up being dissolved. Conoco continued with a scaled-down version of this model and constructed new power facilities on two DuPont plants, but the business was not successful.

I was disappointed and went into cruise control mode at work. I knew an early retirement opportunity would be available eventually, and that arrived following the ConocoPhillips merger in 2003. I gratefully accepted the retirement package. I worked part-time as an independent consultant for Dupont in 2004-2006, then retired full time in 2007.

Conoco Addendum

My favorite memories from the Conoco years are the football trips with Ron Walsh. He was one my bosses at Conoco and retired about a year earlier than me. We have a lot in common - both of us are engineers and had enjoyed internatioal work assignments. He was an an USAF aviator during the Vietnam era, a Misissippi State alumni, and a huge fan of Southerastern Conference (SEC) football. We went to numerous Texans NFL games in Houston, and enjoyed the tailgating experience before and after the games.

But the best football was the SEC games. Each year we went to at least one Tennessee or State game - our goal was to watch a game at every SEC stadium which grew to 16. Unfortunately, covid ended our straek at 16 years, but we did attend games in 13 of the 16 stadiums.

After I had moved to Boerne, we would meet on Friday afternoons at the host city airport then fly back home on Sunday morning. In addition to football, we had lots of time to discuss any topic available, including corporate politics, TX and global politics, and our faith. I thoroughly enjoyed those weekends.

South Carolina

Auburn

TDB