Evonik, one of the world's leading specialty chemicals companies, celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Evonik Canada Oil Additives Inc. plant east of Morrisburg, Ontario. “It feels incredible that Evonik has been producing quality products in Morrisburg for six decades,” says Site Manager Pam Spencer. “We are very proud of our steadfast commitment to the environment, the health and safety of our employees, and to the Morrisburg community.”
In 1964, when the plan to build the chemical facility on Morrisburg’s County Road 2 was first announced, Canada was still flying the Union Jack. The Canadian diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lester B. Pearson ─ then in his second year as prime minister ─ famously formed a committee that year to create a new flag, and eventually the iconic design with the red maple leaf on a white band was adopted.
Like Canada’s national flag, Evonik’s Morrisburg plant endured, but the names on the facility’s sign have changed over the years. Evonik traces its origins to several chemical companies going back more than 150 years. The Evonik brand name has existed since 2007.
The Morrisburg plant was started by a subsidiary of the chemical manufacturer Rohm & Haas of Canada ─ famous for its Plexiglas® acrylic sheets. It began as a Plexiglas site, and a year later, the company added the production of oil additives, essential ingredients in modern lubricants.
Plexiglas manufacturing in Morrisburg was discontinued in 1994, but the oil additives business is going strong. Currently, 32 Evonik employees make products that help reduce the fuel consumption of engines by enabling enhanced oil flow at low temperatures and adequate lubrication at higher degrees. “Our people take great pride in their work,” says Site Manager Spencer. “We have a powerful team culture.”
The Morrisburg facility maintains strong community ties as well. “Evonik strives to be a good neighbor and is responsive to community needs,” says Fred Langlotz, a retired police officer and member of Evonik’s Community Advisory Panel (CAP) for more than two decades. A CAP comprises community and company representatives who regularly exchange information and ideas.
For more than 25 years, Evonik and its predecessors have been members of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada’s (CIAC) Responsible Care® initiative which advocates for safe, responsible, and sustainable chemical manufacturing. Started in Canada, the U.N.-recognized sustainability initiative it is now practiced in more than 70 countries and by almost all the 100 largest chemical producers in the world.
“Responsible Care covers all aspects of our business, employees, community, and environment,” explains Site Manager Spencer. “It is an important basis for our continued success in Morrisburg in the decades to come.”
