Specialty Chemical Companies | Blog

Sustainability Week 2019

By admin | Published September 16, 2019

At Anderson Development Company (ADC) we devote our efforts to being a sustainable company while continuing to improve processes, serve our customers, and invest in the community. Just recently ADC held our very first Sustainability Week which was a great success!

The purpose of Sustainability Week was to engage for not only our employees and visitors but local community members as well. Through the use of educational posters, social media platforms, and a company-wide interactive scavenger hunt, we were able to highlight our sustainability initiatives, goals for our 2020 sustainability agenda, along with displaying our contributions towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The week was a great success with participation from all areas of the company, as well as customers and suppliers.

The educational posters highlighted our wide range of products and how they are contributing to a more sustainable future. Each of our product lines contains different sustainability aspects. For example, Almatex® Bio-based PUD’s that are produced from a Soybean Oil Derivative or use chemical intermediates that were derived from recycled plastic bottles; our Almatex® Acrylic Resins have a very low carbon footprint, and nearly 100% of product is used by end-user resulting in little to no waste; and our Andur® Polyurethane product line offer a low-free TDI option that reduces emissions and safety concerns from TDI vapors. Additionally, ADC has many partnerships within the community and schools with sustainability as part of that focus. ADC provides real-life experiences for community members and local students through student internships & co-ops and through events like Payback for Education Program, and the annual Household Hazardous Waste Day Event which directly impact different community groups.

Sustainability Week 2019 was one way to communicate why sustainability is important to our company and how all stakeholders are impacted. ADC will continue to strive for excellence in developing a more sustainable future for our company, community, and world.

Posted in About ADC, Business, Community, Education, Employee, Environment, Lenawee County, Specialty Chemical Company, Sustainability | Comments Off

iChallengeU 2019

By admin | Published July 25, 2019

This year Anderson Development Company (ADC) was excited to continue the tradition of the iChallengeU event. ADC works in partnership with students across the county as they are presented with real world challenges that will generate educational feedback to benefit each student’s overall learning experience.

The two week educational program is provided to students throughout Lenawee County allowing them to work internally with local businesses. Anderson Development’s team consisted of Cheyenne Ely; of Adrian High School, Stephen Stump; of Sand Creek High School, and Trinity Bowen; of Hudson High School, along with their team leader Kelly Cichy; Madison High School faculty.

This year’s team worked hard, while being tasked with the goal of providing new ways to attract more highly skilled employees to Anderson Development Company. All information collected over the two week period was then presented by each of our team members at the 2019 iChallengeU competition, held at Baker College.

As the 2019 iChallengeU program came to a close ADC asked each student the following question, “How would you describe your experience at Anderson Development Company?

“My experience at ADC was nothing short of amazing. There was not a single moment where I didn’t feel welcome, safe, or that I wasn’t learning. Every single employee was more than happy to help us out, even though we are just a group of high school student’s brain storming on a project and stealing their printer paper. I wish I could come back to ADC every summer for iChallengeU. It’s truly so much more than I expected. I feel like there is a place for everyone here and I really hope that what we produced can help ADC get more employees. I mean who wouldn’t want to work at such a positive place?

– Cheyenne Ely

“I participated in the iChallengeU program because I am getting ready to go to college and could use some more scholarship money to help me pay for college. I also know that I need help with communication, public speaking, and critical thinking because I have autism. I figured that this program was the perfect opportunity to help me get better at that. I also figured that I could use the experience gained from the iChallengeU program in everyday life. The experience I had while participating in the iChallengeU program was able to help me better myself at communication, public speaking, and critical thinking.”

– Stephen Stump

“My experience at Anderson was more than I expected it to be. To be welcomed and supported in such good manner was amazing. Everyone here is so helpful, and they all show why Anderson has such a great environment. Doing this competition made me even more excited to go into the work force. Seeing how great the whole business side of the company is truly inspired me, especially to see females like myself in such prestigious positions. I’ll be forever grateful to ADC for this experience and what everyone taught about what makes a good company.”

– Trinity Bowen

Anderson Development Company is extremely proud of the work done by our iChallengeU team this year. They worked very hard and accomplished an incredible amount of work in the 2 week project time. ADC looks forward to implementing many of the recommendations made by the team as we look to improve our recruiting process. Moving forward into the year 2020, we are excited to continue the tradition of the iChallengeU program!

Posted in About ADC, Business, Chemicals, Community, Education, iChallengeU, Lenawee County, Michigan, Specialty Chemical Company, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Household Hazardous Waste Day 2019

By admin | Published July 19, 2019

The 2019 Household Hazardous Waste Day (HHWD) event would not have been successful without the help of Lenawee County and its local participants. Anderson Development Company (ADC), in partnership with Wacker Chemical Corporation, once again sponsored a highly successful Household Hazardous Waste Day event. Residents and businesses were given the opportunity to dispose of their unwanted materials properly.

This year’s event was held at Wacker Chemical Corporation on Saturday, May 18th, 2019 continuing with the tradition of alternating host sites. ADC wishes to extend our gratitude to Wacker Chemical Corporation and all of our community participants that volunteered their time to make this day a success. As in prior years, a large number of visitors brought their waste to the event to be disposed of properly.

The 2019 collection day saw incredible growth this year, with over 18% more waste being disposed of than 2018. Specifically, HHWD 2019 processed 573 cars, carrying a total of 53,461 lb of waste. This was an increase in both cars and total waste over 2018, which saw 550 vehicles and 45,005 lb of waste. The further growth and progress every year continues to show the positive impact HHWD has on the Lenawee community.

Playing a role in this year’s event was the Stubnitz Environmental Education Center by hosting the SEEC Spring Open House, offering a variety of programs and presentations centered on positive environmental impact. Participants were treated to a guided, interactive, trail hike that provided a great educational experience. ADC is pleased to work with Stubnitz as we strive to live in harmony with our environment and community.

We are excited to announce that next years even will be held at Anderson Development Company! Be on the lookout for dates and details to come!

Posted in About ADC, Business, Chemicals, commuinity, Environment, Household Hazardous Waste Day, Lenawee County, Michigan, Specialty Chemical Company | Comments Off

Payback for Education 2019

By admin | Published May 21, 2019

Anderson Development Company recently participated in the 2019, Payback for Education Event. Read more!

Posted in About ADC, Business, Chemicals, commuinity, Internships, Lenawee County, Manufacturing, Michigan, Specialty Chemical Company | Comments Off

Giving to Our Industry

By admin | Published May 14, 2019

At a recent conference, Anderson Development Company was asked the question of why we were willing to invest so much of time for our technical experts to lead different programs for the polyurethane industry–like leading an effort to create training materials for the safe, handling and disposal use of MOCA. The person went on to say “These days, everyone has stretched their resources to the bone and will only help their biggest customers, and you’re out there helping other people who don’t even buy from you.”

Right to Left: Chris Goeloe (ADC’s VP Quality/Responsible Care) and Mike Kocak, co-chairman of the EHS-Regulatory Committee, unveil the MOCA Safe Handling poster at the PMA Annual Meeting.

For Anderson Development Company, the answer to the question was pretty easy to answer. This was just one of the many ways as a company that we can “pay it forward”. It is the same reason we are involved in our community, why we try to support our educators and schools, and why we share our wealth by supporting people with things like food drives. This is just another way. We strongly feel that if we can use our expertise to lead the effort to protect the health of people who handle chemicals, we should! It doesn’t matter if they don’t buy from us–yet! It’s about doing the right thing; it’s about responsible chemistry. We strongly believe that chemistry can be performed safely if you understand what you are working with, have the right training, use the right tools and take the right precautions.

As a company, we’ve always believed that if you take care of people, whether they are your employees, your community members or the other people working in your industry, they will take care of you in the long run!

Posted in About ADC, Acrylic Resins, Andur, Borate Products, Business, Chemicals, commuinity, Customer Satisfaction, Engineering, Manufacturing, Polyurethane, Powder coating, Safety, Specialty Chemical Company | Comments Off

Together for Sustainability

By admin | Published March 4, 2019

At Anderson Development Company we recognize the importance of being a sustainable company and are dedicated to devoting our organization to efforts aimed at fulfilling this purpose. As part of our journey towards sustainability we recently participated in a “Together for Sustainability” (TfS) audit in an effort to learn how we can become more sustainable, as we work to strengthen our ability to serve our customers. Anderson Development this wasn’t just about checking a box for our customers; it was an opportunity for our company to grow, and to demonstrate our commitment to being a sustainable company. Participating in the TfS audit taught us a few things and also validated that our efforts towards sustainability thus far have been successful and that we are doing great things.

TfS is an independent organization that was originally created by chemical companies with the goal of assessing, auditing and improving the sustainability practices within their global supply chains. After it was setup, TfS was “set free” from its founders, so that it can provide objective, independent insight into companies. The initiative is based on good practices and builds on established principles such as United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), Responsible Care Global Charter and more. In order to provide this insight, it audits and assess its subjects, covering topics relevant to sustainability including environment, health and safety, human rights and labor relations.

In preparation for the audit we conducted a gap analysis, and while we did discover some gaps we were able to close many of these during the preparation phase, and of course we continue to put efforts towards others. While we faired very well on our TfS audit scoring a 190 out of 200 possible points, we do not plan to rest on our laurels. We realize we are not perfect and we continue to focus on areas where we can improve as a company, and we continue to evaluate ways in which we can become even more sustainable than we are today.

Sustainability is often defined as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” As a sustainable company, continual improvement is always on the forefront of our minds and actions. We look forward to improving and implementing new practices that can have a positive environmental or social impact on our local and global communities and to continue on in our journey of sustainability.

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Pack the Pickup 2018

By admin | Published December 18, 2018

This year Anderson Development Company participated in our 4th annual collection drive for The Daily Bread of Lenawee. Read more!

Posted in About ADC, Chemicals, Customer Satisfaction, Donate, Lenawee County, Michigan, Specialty Chemical Company, The Daily Bread of Lenawee | Comments Off

Anderson Development Company Representative Wins Award at China Powder Coating Annual Meeting

By admin | Published December 4, 2018

Anderson Development Company employee Ruiling demonstrates excellence in GMA Powder Coatings at the Annual Conference & Exhibition on China Powder Coatings and Finishing Industry.

Posted in About ADC, Acrylic Resins, Award, Business, Chemicals, Customer Satisfaction, Manufacturing, Michigan, Powder coating | Comments Off

Anderson Development offers new HT Products

By admin | Published November 9, 2018

Posted in About ADC, Andur, Business, Chemicals, Customer Satisfaction, Manufacturing, Michigan, Polyurethane, Specialty Chemical Company | Comments Off

ADC Participates in Manufacturing Day 2018

By admin | Published October 8, 2018

“Open Doors, Open Minds. Inspire the next generation of manufacturers.”

This is exactly what Anderson Development is doing when we open our doors to the students of Lenawee County. For the third year, Lenawee County participated in Manufacturing Day. This year, Anderson Development welcomed several students on October 4th for Manufacturing Day. The students were provided a tour of our R&D facilities, production plant, and had the opportunity to meet with many chemists and engineers. It is part of Anderson Development’s mission to help students learn about the many opportunities within manufacturing. By doing so, students can see how we apply what they learn in school, the various types of materials we produce and the types of potential career opportunities that are available to them within the chemical manufacturing industry.

Did you know?

•For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.89 is added to the economy.
•In 2016, the average manufacturing worker in the United States earned $82,023 annually, including pay and benefits.
•Manufacturers have one of the highest percentages of workers who are eligible for health benefits provided by their employer.
•Over the next decade, nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will likely be needed, and 2 million are expected to go unfilled due to the skills gap.
•Taken alone, manufacturing in the United States would be the ninth-largest economy in the world.
•Manufacturers in the United States perform more than three-quarters of all private-sector research and development (R&D) in the nation, driving more innovation than any other sector.

To view more facts about Manufacturing, visit https://www.mfgday.com/resources/20-top-facts-about-mfg

Posted in About ADC, Business, Chemicals, Engineering, Manufacturing, Michigan, Specialty Chemical Company, Toll Manufacturing | Comments Off

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