Month: June 2024

Did you know that Henkel North America employs approximately 8,000 employees in more than 65 sites across the U.S. and Canada? Collectively, these sites support two business units: Adhesive Technologies and Consumer Brands.

Our #AViewFrom series features select locations, sharing information and facts about our sites across Henkel North America.

If you’ve ever enjoyed soda or sparkling water from an aluminum can, driven an electric vehicle (EV), or flown in an airplane, you can thank employees at this Henkel site for their contributions in making those products possible. Here, a lean and efficient team manufactures lubricants, dispersions, and surface treatments used in metal packaging, EV battery production, and metal cleaning and finishing. Learn more in this segment of #AViewFrom: Delaware, OH.

Just a short drive from Ohio’s capital city of Columbus sits the town of Delaware, where a longstanding 130,000 sq. ft. Henkel production site runs 24 hours a day, five days a week. Here, Henkel employees are manufacturing a variety of BONDERITE® brand chemistries including release lubricants used in metal can manufacturing; surface treatment and metal cleaning formulas for metal forming production, sheets, stamping, and others; and unique graphite products that are a vital enabler of electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion batteries. Serving the company’s automotive, metal packaging, aerospace, and electronics businesses, about 60 employees in production, material handling, engineering, maintenance, safety, and quality are dedicated to enabling customers’ operations, Henkel brand excellence, and coworker success.

The products we manufacture are essential for all types of modern-day conveniences and transportation technologies.

Dave Bryant, Operations Director

“Our customers are making millions of aluminum cans daily. Henkel’s release lubricants help their equipment release the cans from the molds efficiently at extremely high speeds; high-volume manufacturing would be impossible without them. Also unique to this site are our graphite dispersion formulations and processes. These dispersions are special because they do not allow the graphite to settle over time allowing our customers to have the highest quality dispersion throughout their process. We are one of a few facilities globally that have mastered the complexity of this technique, which is exclusive to Henkel, and a significant contributor to several advanced technologies, most notably EV batteries,” explains Operations Director Dave Bryant.

Built in 1954 by the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company (Pennsalt), Henkel took over the Delaware, OH site in 2001 after acquiring Atofina’s metal treatment business. Since then, the facility has undergone several expansions, investments, and added new processes to its capabilities. Ongoing improvements have seen the addition of new equipment to the factory and enhanced sustainability efforts. Engineering and Maintenance Manager Tim Moore, a 30-year Henkel employee, comments on the latest initiatives designed to save water and capture operational metrics.

We are integrating a next-generation chiller to enable water reuse, which will result in the conservation of a million gallons of water per year. The Delaware site has also installed Sensorfact energy management software to monitor and report data such as energy use, water and gas consumption, equipment maintenance requirements, and plant temperature and humidity. This will be tremendous for measuring and assessing our efficiency for sustainable manufacturing.

Tim Moore, Engineering and Maintenance Manager

TEAM BUILDING, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY COMMITMENT:

Ask any Delaware employee, and they will tell you the culture is just different here. Kind-hearted, generous people who care about their coworkers, community, and their employer, make up the team at this Henkel plant. Production Manager Kenny Mouton joined the Henkel family earlier this year and felt welcomed from the start. “The staff here is authentic, down to earth, and so encouraging. I’m still learning and have been guided and trained with exceptional professionalism and positivity. Every day is different, and everyone is committed to excellence. I really enjoy working here.”

Quality Manager Tara Franklin oversees incoming raw material and outgoing product quality testing, and she also spearheads many of Delaware’s team building and employee appreciation endeavors. Tara ensures birthdays are celebrated and that notable events like the recent solar eclipse bring the team together for fun. The site also supports the local community, participating in Christmas clothing drives, among other activities, and recently donating Henkel products to local families impacted by a devastating tornado. “People needed cleaning supplies, so we donated Persil® brand laundry detergent and Dial® brand hand soap,” Tara recounts. “It was heartening to be able to help those affected with products our company makes.”

DID YOU KNOW?

One of the Triple Crowns of horse racing is held annually in Delaware, OH. It’s most likely not the Triple Crown you may be familiar with, but a unique contest called the Little Brown Jug, which is one of the jewels in the Triple Crown of harness racing.

“Say ‘yes’ whenever you can. Get out of your comfort zone daily. Lead by example, network frequently, join committees—and above all else—maintain a positive, can-do mindset.”

Words of wisdom on jumpstarting a career from one of our hospitality leaders Kimberly Hoffmann (INHC). And she knows a thing or two about building a successful and empowered career.

For Kimberly, wellness isn’t just her livelihood, it’s her passion. In just five short years at Kohler Hospitality, she’s lived and breathed her wellness mission—and accomplished A LOT:

200 hour certified yoga instructor through Yoga on the Lake’s training programEarly ambassador of Kohler’s Press + Chill cold-pressed juice brandIntegrative nutritional health coachCertified in Reiki energy healingPromoted to manager of Awakening Juicery + Coffee BarLeader in wellness seminars and retreats hosted by Destination KohlerPlus, her latest project, the launch of the Foundry Cat, Kohler’s newest coffee stop branded after a mythical cat with nine lives residing in our factories for more than a century.

“Yoga on the Lake was just the beginning. It opened my eyes to my love of yoga, wellness, and the incredible community connection that Kohler offers,” she said. “Five years later, I’m still consistently challenged, appreciated, inspired, and motivated by new opportunities.”

And, she isn’t slowing down. Kimberly lends her knowledge to fellow associates, facilitating “Mindfulness Monday” and lunchtime coffee sessions covering health and wellness skills. She also brings her passion and energy to the community as the current vice president of our Young Professionals of Kohler business resource group and as a volunteer for local non-profits.

“I want to be the light when someone is going through darkness. I want to help people understand that their healing is in their hands and bring awareness to the multiple modalities of healing that they can access daily.”

So much inspiration in five years.

ERGs Unplugged is our internal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) podcast, where we take a deeper dive into the power of our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). In our third episode, PRISM (our LGBTQIA+ ERG) members Avery Springe and Taran Neiderman share their experiences and discuss how the ERG has influenced them both personally and professionally.

Avery Springe shares an inspiring story of how he utilized his community in PRISM, our LGBTQIA+ ERG, to pioneer a change in policy—giving all individuals access to a gender-neutral bathroom no matter what state they reside in.

For Taran Neidermann having an employee who encourages them to be their true self has been life-changing. Above, they share how they found support through their participation in PRISM.

To learn more about our commitment to DE&I visit: Maximus.com/DEI

KFC

Bucket hats off to KFC Thailand for the launch of KFC Classroom – Thailand’s first-ever flexible learning curriculum designed to boost vocational and entrepreneurial skills among school dropouts. With hands-on experience at KFC restaurants, young people can balance work and study, equipping themselves with crucial skills for the future.

It’s all part of KFC Thailand’s Bucket Search Program, which has reintegrated 130 school dropouts into the education system since 2023, igniting their passions and guiding them toward fulfilling careers.

Here’s to building a brighter future where no potential goes untapped!

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

Tomme Beevas’ story starts in Kingston, Jamaica, where he soaked up inspiration from his grandmother, who loved to cook.

“My grandmother was a gregarious woman who built her own empire from scratch from the 1960s to 1980s,” Beevas said. “Growing up in her house, I had the opportunity to experience the greatest, freshest seafood one can imagine.”

In addition to teaching him how to cook, his grandmother, an entrepreneur, taught him about running a business, Beevas said.

Beevas earned an MBA and his career path took him various places, including several years in Washington, D.C., before he landed in Minneapolis in 2006.

Beevas has opened Pimento, a Jamaican food pop-up in 2012, opened his first brick-and-mortar Pimento location in 2013 and has since grown to five locations, most recently with the launch in 2023 of Pimento on the Lake, located on lake Bde Maka Ska.

“What it means for me to be a small business owner is to be an instrument of economic liberation to provide job opportunities for our community,” Beevas said. “What made me become a small business owner was the need to represent my culture and bring my food to the market.”

 Pimento on the Lake

In order to create Pimento on the Lake, Beevas needed affordable capital, he said.

He had long been a U.S. Bank customer, working in recent years with Business Access Advisor Tim Farrow, and reached out for assistance as he sought affordable capital.

Challenges with Beevas’ relatively small business coupled with the affordability of the capital he would need prompted U.S. Bank subsidiary U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance to collaborate with a local Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), on a patient capital investment. This enabled Beevas to receive capital in a financing structure that benefits both him and his newly created entity.

“Impact Finance is a strong supporter of CDFIs because we recognize the critical role they play in bringing investment to underserved communities, especially those that may not be eligible for traditional business financing,” said Jimmie Howlett, Impact Finance impact capital manager. “We are pleased that we could work with both MEDA and Tomme to help him achieve his business goals.”

In August 2023, Impact Finance closed on the investment with MEDA to successfully expand Pimento on the Lake. Beevas opened two months later.

“Access to capital can be challenging for small and minority owned businesses,” Beevas said. “If U.S. Bank hadn’t stepped up, this wouldn’t have been a reality.”

Adrian Ruddock, vice president of lending and business consulting services at MEDA, said U.S. Bank has been a major participant in this deal.

“I tell our clients all the time that banks, CDFIs and small business owners must figure out collaborative, alternative ways to work together and provide a holistic approach to the entrepreneur so they can walk through the life of a loan,” Ruddock said.

Eight months after opening, Pimento on the Lake is beginning to see a greater uptick in customers, Beevas said, especially as the Minnesota summer weather kicks in.

“I believe my experiences are an opportunity and seed to ensure other businesses like Pimento can have access and resources,” he said.

For more about Beevas’ story, watch the video above.