Company Highlight: Pryor Chemical
09/06/2019
Pryor Chemical Company Investing in Safety and Reliability
LSB Industries Inc., Pryor Chemical’s parent company, has been investing significant capital into its Pryor Facility the last four years. The investments are focused on improving the safety, operating rates and overall reliability at its Pryor Chemical Facility.
On December 7, 2018, the facility took delivery of a new urea reactor that was the culmination of a two- year planning, design and construction project. This single vessel represents a multi-million-dollar investment in the future of the facility. The proprietary design was engineered and produced in partnership with Stamicarbon, the world leader in urea production design and specialty alloys. Actual production of the vessel was completed in South Korea and shipped by an oceangoing cargo ship half-way around the world. From the Port of Houston, the vessel traveled by rail to the Port of Catoosa where their large gantry cranes were used to lift and set the vessel on a specially designed heavy haul unit to transport to the Pryor facility. Finally, upon arrival, the unit was lifted and placed on its permanent foundation by Barnhardt Crane and Pryor’s own Williams Construction.
We are proud of our partner contractors, equipment fabricators and specialty companies who call Pryor and the Tulsa Metropolitan area their home. Businesses at MAIP are fortunate to have such a concentration of highly qualified manufacturers and support businesses. Their proximity provides advantages through reduced transportation cost and less down time. Another example of the ongoing investment and reliability additions was the arrival of a new gas fired boiler built and installed by Victory Energy of Collinsville, Ok. The new boiler went online the first week of February to replace an aging boiler that was reaching the end of its service life.
If you drive by the Pryor Chemical Facility on Hunt Street, you may notice that older obsolete sections of the plant are being removed and the grounds cleaned up for potential expansion uses in the future. LSB is committed to utilizing the Pryor Facility to its greatest potential. MAIP and Pryor Chemical are uniquely positioned geographically to take advantage of key transportation routes. Low cost raw materials, electricity and water make it possible to be highly competitive in the U.S. fertilizer markets dominated by big players like CF, Agrium, Mosaic and Potash Corp.
LSB Industries has established itself as the leading “merchant marketer” of nitric acid in North America. At the company’s production exhaust towers, all new pollution control equipment for the process tail gas are visible. LSB has made the commitment to environmental stewardship. Although it does not result in improved production or income directly, LSB has invested heavily in pollution control equipment for its facilities and the investment in ongoing.
At Pryor Chemical, our employees are the key to our success. Changes in the safety culture and a culture grounded in integrity is a direct result of the contributions and work ethic of our talented workforce. Few areas of the country have the work ethic possessed by the workers of Northeast Oklahoma.