By Jeannie Peng Mansyur
INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA (INEOS), a leading manufacturer of olefin and polyolefin products, has pledged a $250,000 cash donation in support of the San Jacinto College Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology. The Center is poised to become the largest petrochemical training facility in Texas.
INEOS has hired 24 San Jacinto College petrochemical graduates in recent years and has demonstrated its commitment to an up-and-coming workforce and to ensuring student training aligns with industry needs. As a major sponsor of the Center, INEOS will receive naming rights for one of the Center’s skills labs.
“The primary goals of INEOS, as well as the other petrochemical manufacturers in the region, are to operate safely and serve as good stewards of the environment,” said Bob Bradshaw, Site Manager of INEOS’s Battleground Manufacturing facility in La Porte. “These goals can only be achieved through a knowledgeable, well-trained and qualified workforce. This is why INEOS is so pleased to partner with San Jacinto College for the construction of a world class education facility. Once operational, the Center will provide the petrochemical industry with the next generation of qualified workers to safely and expertly operate the significant capital investments currently being made by our industry in the region.”
INEOS is already an active member of the San Jacinto College Petrochemical Advisory Council, formed by Dr. Brenda Hellyer, San Jacinto College Chancellor. Sponsorship of the Center is a natural complement to the many other local workforce and education outreach initiatives of INEOS, including apprenticeship and internship programs and various science and career fairs.
The 145,000-square-foot Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology is scheduled to open in 2019. The Center will house skills labs in process technology, instrumentation and analyzer technology, and non-destructive testing and electrical technology; a craft training center; a control room; a process simulator lab; a glass pilot plant lab; an exterior glycol distillation unit; and corporate training space.
The Center’s development has been made possible by collaboration with industry partners like INEOS. The Center’s goal is to increase the number of skilled workers needed for a Texas Gulf Coast petrochemical industry experiencing unprecedented growth, with announced projects totaling $40 billion in capital investment, while 50 percent of its workforce approaches retirement age.
“INEOS has been part of our plan since its inception,” said Jim Griffin, Associate Vice Chancellor/Senior Vice President for the Petrochemical Training Division at San Jacinto College. “Their vision and industry leadership will help ensure not only the successful construction of the Center, but a world-class education.”
The Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology is under the guidance of the Petrochemical Advisory Council and the East Harris County Manufacturers Association (EHCMA), both of which supported the 2015 bond election to fund the Center.
For more information about the San Jacinto College Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology, please visit www.sanjac.edu/CPET.
About INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA
INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA manufactures over 7.5 billion pounds of product by transforming hydrocarbon raw materials into high quality olefins, high-density polyethylene, and polypropylene, while creating value for its customers, employees, and stakeholders. INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA is one of several businesses comprising INEOS, a privately owned multi-billion-dollar Anglo-Swiss conglomerate of global upstream, midstream, and downstream manufacturing, automotive, retail, and recreational businesses. For more information, please visit www.ineos-op.com or contact Charles Saunders at (281) 636-6630 or [email protected].
About San Jacinto College
Surrounded by monuments of history, industries, and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto College has been serving the citizens of East Harris County, Texas, since 1961. As a fiscally sound institution, the College currently holds bond ratings of AA and Aa2 by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, respectively. San Jacinto College is a 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence Rising Star Award recipient and an Achieving the Dream Leader College. Approximately 45,000 credit and non-credit students each year benefit from a support system that maps out a pathway for success. The College offers eight areas of study that prepare a diverse body of students to transfer to four-year colleges or universities or enter the workforce with the skills needed to support the growing industries along the Texas Gulf Coast. San Jacinto College graduates contribute nearly $690 million each year to the Texas workforce. For more information about San Jacinto College call (281) 998-6150, visit www.sanjac.edu,or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.