Nouyron is a chemical company that was founded in 2019 after splitting from its parent company. We visited one of its sites in Deventer, Netherlands. In the 19th century, this site was a flour mill for bread among other particle-like substances. At one point the Deventer location had product testing, but now it is mostly research and development. Nouyron’s focus is on customer satisfaction and sustainability. Their strategy statement states they have a “focus on innovative/sustainable solutions that answer customers’ needs”. Nouryon works with customers–usually businesses that want additives in their products–to make the desired product.
One part of the trip was a demonstration of this. At Nouryon, they were creating a product for a dishwasher company. The company wanted to erase hard water stains on glasses. To satisfy this, Nouryon had several dishwashers from that company that they performed tests on. First, they filled the dishwashers with various dishes that had various stains. Some had burnt bits, others were covered in grease. Then, a cup containing a frozen mixture of ketchup, mustard, and other common food particles was inserted into the dishwasher. Finally, the dishwasher was run and the results were tested. Testing the results included illuminating glass cups and seeing the hard water patterns.
Nouryon has very strong sustainable policies in place. 77% of Nouryon’s product sales are focused on sustainability, 22% of materials used are bio-based materials, and 34% of the energy used is renewable energy. They also partake in CO2 offsetting as well as reducing water usage. By 2050, they pledge to be a net zero CO2 emissions.
They have 5 power plants that are carbon neutral and 9 sites powered by renewable energy. All of these sites are in Brazil. This is due to a combination of two factors: local sources make it easy and newer plants are designed with sustainability in mind. Globalized companies such as Nouryon have different regulations they must meet in each country they have a location in. A globalized company also means that the further away the end user is, the more carbon emissions. If one item is made in a plant in Brazil but the customer is in Asia, it might make more sense
Nouryon also fulfills 10 of the UN Sustainability Goals. They have also received an A- grade from the CDP. The qualifications of this scale change as companies become more and more sustainable, meaning that other companies must also improve their sustainable goals in order to receive a “good” grade.
In regards to ethics, Nouryon has a unit researching the ecotoxicity and biodegradation of their chemical products. The effects are tested by 30 employees. They want to make their products as safe as possible not only to align with government regulations but also to ensure sustainability.
Talking to one of their employees, the subject of maternity leave and vacation was brought up. We discussed the cultural differences between American companies and Dutch companies. In the Netherlands, mothers get 25 weeks maternity leave that they MUST take off. In the US, we usually have 12 weeks. Regarding vacation, no matter what level of employee you are you get a vacation. This means that if you were just hired or have been working for 10 years, you are entitled to the same amount of vacation days.
This topic also came up with alumni at the networking event. One stated that in Germany 2 years is customary and that if you are over 50 you get an extra day of leave at his company. The alumni also discussed how they ended up in the US. A common theme was that job’s moved them to the Netherlands; they didn’t chose to leave. While they are satisfied with their lives in the Netherlands, they definitely did not plan to end up in that location. Many also stated that the fields they ended up in were not where they thought they would be. One alumni got a degree in chemistry from Pitt but is now in marketing.
Overall, the alumni event and the trip to Nouryon was very insightful in both a business and engineering aspect.
