Today we drove to Nouryon’s chemical plant in Deventer, which is about an hour and a half from where we are staying in Sloterdijk. It was long and very informative site visit. They touched a little on their role in the supply chain, and focused a lot on their sustainability initiatives which is something very important to them.
We were first given a safety training and a thorough presentation about Nouryon from a Pitt alum, Christina Pampena. It was cool to meet a Pitt alum in The Netherlands and she was really informative about Nouryon. Nouryon is a chemical company that produces and wide range of chemicals for companies, such as Loreal, Sherwin Williams, and Johnson & Johnson, just to name a few well known larger companies. The Netherlands is an extremely sustainable country and Nouryon contributes to this goal. Nouryon was actually graded an A- by the CDP, which is an international organization that discloses and grades companies’ environmental impact. After the presentation, we were provided a catered lunch from a local restaurant and ate in the break room with the employees. I got to talk to the one of the employees, Tom, who was really nice and talked more about the company, what he does, and other personal topics. After lunch, we were given a great tour of the facility in groups. We first got to see how they test chemicals with dishwashers and washing machines. They intentionally stain or make the objects dirty and test the chemicals they have created. Next, we went into the lab and got to see all types of chemical reactions. It was interesting seeing these happen and learning the reason for them. One test they run is to make sure certain pressure doesn’t cause chemicals to explode. Last, we went into the research department and got to see how the research happens at Nouryon.
My favorite part of the day was meeting more Pitt alumni at a restaurant in Assendelftstraat. It was a great opportunity to network, and I liked hearing all their stories of their time at Pitt and why they moved to The Netherlands. I had a great conversation with Nick Ferrara who works for PPG Paints. I didn’t know PPG was an international company, so it was cool to learn about that. The reason he moved to The Netherlands was because he worked at PPG in Pittsburgh and they asked who would want to travel and he volunteered and loved The Netherlands so much that he stayed.
Overall, it was great day Networking and Nouryoning.
