We supply our customers with specialty surfactants and a high level of service.
Where are we:
The Morris Plant is located about 60 miles southwest of Chicago in Aux Sable Township, Grundy County, Illinois. The site occupies 323 acres centrally located within a 10,000 acre industrial park. A tributary of the Illinois River forms the southern boundary and Equistar Chemicals, LP petrochemical complex forms the northern boundary of the property. The actual manufacturing facility occupies only 26 acres. Over 80% of the utilized land is devoted to environmental treatment. The plant began operation in 1973 and today employs 115 persons.
What products do we make?
Armak (a predecessor company to Akzo Nobel) originally built the Morris Plant as the largest and most efficient fatty acid nitrogen derivatives plant in the world. The Morris site produces industrial chemicals known as surfactants. Surfactants are a class of chemicals that, when mixed with water or other solvents, 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 engine parts clean, so it burns clean and lasts longer. Surfactants are an important group of chemicals that touch our everyday life. The consumer products pictured use the types 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. These products arrive at the plant in large tanker trucks and rail cars. Ocean transports of fatty acids from a sister plant in Malaysia. Then, using synthetic chemicals such as ammonia, hydrogen, isopropyl alcohol, methyl chloride, ethyl alcohol and formaldehyde, we apply heat and pressure to form new chemicals. Along with our sister plant in McCook, Illinois, we use special equipment with a strict adherence to safe practices to make over 200 products. These products are shipped to our customers via truck and 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. Through these efforts we have implemented community awareness and emergency response programs 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 Citizen's Advisory Panel to inform our neighbors about our operations and provide a forum for their concerns. Regular open houses are held to invite citizens to see what we do. Annual property taxes of $606,000 help fund programs in the surrounding community.
