Indspec is all about bonding
PETROLIA — If equipment drove, flew or floated in the past 85 years, products from Indspec Chemical Corp.'s plant likely held it together.
The facility is the world's largest producer of resorcinol, which is used by industrial manufacturing companies to produce tire and rubber products, structural wood adhesives, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals, printing processes, packaging and cosmetics.
"There are a lot of neat applications for the material," said Dave Dorko, plant manager.
The plant churns out 50 million pounds of the flaky white compound per year — half the worldwide supply.
"We are the only people that make resorcinol and resorcinol derivatives in the western hemisphere," Dorko said.
In addition to 18 million pounds per year of resorcinol-based resins and derivatives, Indspec produces sodium sulfite and sodium sulfate, used in the manufacturing of glass and paper.
"There is a little bit of science and a little art that go into the processes," Dorko said, standing on a catwalk above the millions of feet of pipeline snaking through six main processing areas.
The plant also has chemical analysis and physical testing services.
Steel-belted radial tires, modern wooden ships and even skateboards are improved through the use of the product.
"If you try to bond rubber to steel, it is very difficult. Resorcinol is one of the few materials that will do that," Dorko said.
Goodyear, Michelin and Bridgestone are all Indspec customers. Resorcinol resins are also used in various hoses, transmission belts and conveyor belts.
As a wood bond, resorcinol made at Indspec was used to hold together the wooden hulls of minesweepers at sea during World War II, since mines would stick to a metal hull. The adhesive also is used in wooden-prop planes, whose propellers are made of many pieces of wood, instead of a single piece, to stave off warping.
The bond is stronger than, and often outlasts, the wood itself.
"There is a lot of chemistry you can do starting with the resorcinol molecule," said Dorko, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate.
Indspec has developed ethoxylated resorcinol, also known as HERAromatic Diols, for urethanes that must be resistant to high heat, wear and stress.
Golf balls as well as wheels for skates and skateboards, pallet jacks and conveyor rollers are made from these urethanes.
Indspec also develops formaldehyde-free products.
Anyone buying carpeting knows the smell emitted by its formaldehyde-based backing. A resorcinol-based backing eliminates the odor.About 30 acres of the 263-acre Indspec site are used in production. Reservoirs, three dams and forest space occupy the rest.About 260 people are employed by Indspec, and their positions are as varied as the products the company creates. Chemical, electrical and mechanical engineers work alongside welders, pipefitters and machinists."It takes a lot of different skills to keep the plant going," Dorko said.The process starts in the materials receiving department"Raw materials arrive mainly by rail and some by truck. When finished products leave, it's the other way around," Dorko said.The raw materials used in creating resorcinol include benzene, a byproduct of the coke-making process for steel production which is readily available from the Clairton Works Plant southeast of Pittsburgh.Diethyl ether also is used to process resorcinol. When added, it absorbs the product, leaving behind impurities. It is then boiled off, leaving behind a purer form of resorcinol."It is a difficult process. The chemistry is unique," said Dorko, explaining why more people do not produce resorcinol and why Indspec's product is so thoroughly tested.In the plant's process labs, chemists test the finished products for color, moisture content and chromatography, among other qualities.Chromatography is a purity test, measured in parts per million, or PPM, to adhere to the demands of Indspec's clients.Resorcinol is produced continuously, and its derivatives and resins in batches. Every bit is tested at multiple stages in its production.The finished product is shipped in 15-kilogram sacks or compact-car-sized "supersacks," by truck and container ship, if headed overseas. Molten resorcinol also can be shipped to customers who request it, but only within a driving range of about five hours.Indspec has sales offices in Pittsburgh and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. More than half of the facility's products are exported, going to clients all over the world.The Indspec site was developed to create materials for World War I, but the war ended before it could be used.Bear Creek Manufacturing, a division of Pennsylvania Coal Products, or Penacol, used it from 1920 to 1947, when Coppers bought the site.Coppers was bought out by U.K.-based Beazer, and Indspec Chemical was formed. Occidental Petroleum Corp. bought a portion of Indspec in 1996 and assumed full ownership in 1999.The plant's main competition over the years has come from Japan, but China is now emerging as a competitor, as well."It's a mixed blessing. (China) is a source of competition as well as our greatest source of growth potential," Dorko said. "Resorcinol is always going to be at the heart of what we do. We mainly see growth opportunities in our resins business."Indspec's annual worldwide sales total more than $150 million.Dorko said the company fights the adversity of competition and slow economic conditions through continuous improvement.The plant spends about $10 million every year updating and improving equipment. Most of that money is used for control systems, replacing levers and knobs with computer keyboards.In addition to materials receiving, product shipping, and testing and quality control areas, the Indspec plant features more than 20 multi-computer control rooms, continuously monitoring production.Indspec is a Responsible Care company, meaning it views workplace and environmental safety as a good business practice. The plant employs two full-time safety personnel and one environmental control officer."This is the first plant I've ever worked at with a stream running through it," said Dorko, a 27-year employee of Occidental.The stream, seemingly out of place in the pipe maze surrounding it, is home to fish and ducks during the spring and summer.To test its mettle as an industry leader in health and safety standards, plant management has invited the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to inspect the facility for consideration as a VPP Star.OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program promotes worksite-based safety and health, and less than one percent of the nation's six million manufacturing facilities meet its Star criteria.
