One of my earliest memories includes driving past LyondellBasell and watching the lights inside the unit light up the plant; providing light on a dim back road as I returned to my hometown of Morris.

I never envisioned myself working at LyondellBasell. After all, to me, it was a place where people who loved science worked- engineers, chemists, technicians, and mechanics. Not me, I wanted to be a journalist.

The idea of telling other people’s stories has always intrigued me.

So as I sit behind my desk at LyondellBasell, a global leader in the petrochemical industry, I never thought I would find myself in public relations, telling other people’s stories. Not here. But as I navigated my personal career path, I found myself in manufacturing in a regional role where I got to spend time with those engineers, chemists, technicians, and mechanics and tell their stories on a very broad scale to the local media.

The perceptions of manufacturing are changing. In fact, according to the Illinois Manufacturing Association, the annual average wage for careers (yes, careers) in manufacturing is $74,000. Illinois manufacturers employ more than 662,000 men and women (myself included).

Investment in manufacturing is strong, including at the local level. The LyondellBasell Morris Plant recently invested $55 million in a state-of-the-art, 89,000-square-foot operations center featuring a control room, maintenance shops, offices, and a testing laboratory. Our employees are able to work on some of the latest equipment and technology available within our field.

With around 350 people onsite at the Morris Plant, LyondellBasell is one of the largest manufacturers in Grundy County. The plant manufactures ethylene, the world’s most widely-used petrochemical, which is then made into polyethylene plastic resins. Our customers use these resins to make countless products such as leak-proof and shatter-proof containers and packaging that protects our food from spoilage and contamination.

It is very possible the products you purchase at the grocery store are packaged in plastic that was produced in Morris. (My kids think that is cool).

Manufacturing facilities employ people from many different backgrounds, including accountants, human resources, health and wellness, environmental specialists, administrative assistants, and so on. People with a vast array of educational experience and those who receive on-the-job training are employed in manufacturing.

I live locally. My children go to the local school and I support my family on a career within my backyard. It turns out there is a place for people like me in manufacturing.

For more information on Manufacturing Month:

Manufacturing Month – Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (ima-net.org)

For more information on LyondellBasell:

www.lyondellbasell.com