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Chris Horstman |
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Participants |
Anderson handles a wide range of chemistries including the following: polymerization, organo-metallic, isocyanate, esterifications, condensations, alkylations, hydrochlorinations, reductions, and electro-chemistry. Handling these processes on a competitive scale allows Anderson to be influential in the following markets: automotive products, powder coating paints, recreational products, agricultural products, flooring materials, health care products, semiconductors, office equipment, sporting goods, oil drilling products and construction materials. At Anderson, I began work on maintenance of PFD (Process Flow Diagram) files for the Acrylic Powders process. To keep up with safety changes and to improve efficiencies, adjustments are made to any process at any time and need to be documented. These adjustments are not only recorded in writing, but also on the PFD itself so anyone can see on paper what the process looks like without going into the plant. In performing this maintenance, I learned that equipment on paper looked a lot different than the actual equipment in the plant. I also learned some basic concepts related to piping design and control schemes. Another project was the fabrication of an in-line heptane coalescer. I was given the specs and paper design on the vessel and asked to, not only place it in the process, but also manage the fabrication of the vessel. This was a project that taught me a lot about lead time and scheduling. It also tested my communication skills as I had to effectively communicate with the maintenance shop (where the vessel and piping were being constructed) and the engineer who designed the coalescer. I did not witness the completion of the project, but I do know that the project was on “cruise control” as I returned to school this fall. While at Anderson, I was also asked to collaborate previous work completed on an excel spreadsheet and develop a new user-friendly edition. The spreadsheet handled recipes for different types of polyurethane products. I did get a chance to finish this project, and I was able to develop a good working knowledge of excel databases and look up tables. Some of my other tasks at Anderson included: placing safety check valves, installing high level switches on storage tanks, sizing conservation and explosion vents, piping lines for a steam vortex meter, monitoring steam consumption, and filing appropriate paper work for all of these changes. Overall, this was a great way to finish my run in the co-op program which I started in Fort Wayne one year ago with Central Soya. Working for Anderson gave me an excellent view of a small company, and it taught me a lot about communicating with other professionals in the work place. |
Last summer, I worked for
Anderson Development, located on the east side of Adrian Michigan.
Anderson Development is a “small” specialty chemical facility. I say it
is small, but maybe a better description would be compact. Anderson
Development is located a piece of land that would be equivalent to one
large city block, but it has the capability to produce millions of pounds
of finished product annually.