We supply our customers with specialty surfactants and a high level of service.
Where are we:
Since 1949 Akzo Nobel Chemicals has had a plant in McCook, Illinois, at the corner of 47th Street and Lawndale Avenue. The site occupies 26 acres with residential areas to the north and south and industrial facilities to the east and west. Chemical operators, quality control chemists, engineers and administrative staff are part of the 100 employees.
What products do we make?
The plant was originally built by Armour and Company to utilize the fat from cattle processed in the Chicago Stockyards. The McCook site produces industrial chemicals known as surfactants. Surfactants are a class of chemicals that, when mixed with water or other chemicals, change the surface properties of materials. For example, your laundry products contain surfactants to remove dirt and stains and make your clothing soft to the touch. Your shampoo has surfactants to clean and condition your hair. The oil in your car's engine contains surfactants to keep vital parts clean, so your engine burns clean and lasts longer. Surfactants are an important group of chemicals that touch our everyday lives. The consumer products pictured contain the type of products we manufacture.
How do we make our products?
We start with natural fats and oils, including the fat from cattle and the oils from soybeans and coconuts. Our sister plant in Morris, Illinois, converts these fats and oils to fatty acids and fatty amines and transports them to McCook by rail and truck. Then, we convert these to more value-added products by applying heat and pressure and reacting them with various synthetic chemicals. Along with our sister plant in Morris, we use special equipment with a strict adherence to safe practices to make over 200 products. These products are shipped to about 2000 customer locations via truck carriers in drum, bag and bulk quantities and sometimes via rail.
Responsible Care® and ISO Certifications:
Akzo Nobel has endorsed the American Chemistry Council's six original Responsible Care Codes of Management Practices since its inception in 1988. The company has achieved full compliance with the original six codes and is in the process of implementing the new Security Code. These efforts we have included a community awareness and emergency response program, as well as programs in pollution prevention, process safety, and employee health and safety.
In 1997 Surfactants America completed the Responsible Care Management System Verification (MSV) Audit. Public stakeholders, auditors and other industry representatives verified that the Management systems we had in place met the requirements of the Codes. Surfactants America was only the 22nd company to participate in this initiative. The plant is covered under an ISO (International Standard Organization) 9002 quality certification received in 1994 and upgraded to an ISO 9001 certification in 2000.
In 2000, the plant received ISO 14001 certification (Environmental).
In the next couple of years the site will seek certification under the RC14001 program. This program would combine the structure of our existing environmental management system with the performance codes of Responsible Care and would require auditing by an independent third party to verify that it is complete and fully implemented.
We place great value on being a good neighbor. We adhere to all environmental regulations and participate in a Community Outreach program to inform our neighbors about our operations and to provide a forum for their concerns. Open houses are held to invite citizens to see what we do. Annual property taxes of $257,000 help fund programs in the surrounding community.
