• MANAGEMENT

Executive Committee

President

Development Department Operations Department

Austm Laboratory

Marketing Division

Market Market Development

Distribution Technical Ijvorw'îr-Ck

Treasurer's Department

I Accounting

Division

1

Personnel Division

"Ί Manufacturing

Division

Safes Neches Plant

What's Happening at Jefferson? Management streamlines operations for more profits — farms out purchasing and traffic functions

J E F F E R S O N CHEMICAL'S recent move from New York to Houston came with­out fanfare or a great deal of publicity. But soon after installation of a new-president earlier this year, company management quietly went to work im­proving its administrative operations. What actually took place was a realign­ment of job functions and a determined effort on management's part to get company headquarters near production facilities in Texas.

Contrary to some opinions, certain facts about the company haven't changed since the day it was organized in 1944.

• Jefferson's general objective is the same—to permit both The Texas Co. and American Cyanamid to operate ef­fectively in the petrochemical field.

• Ownership and directorship is still divided equally among the parent companies. And Jefferson's 3-man executive committee consists of one

representative from each company plus Jefferson's president.

• More Engineering Power. Be­hind the scenes, Jefferson's management has been sharpening u p job functions and administrative procedures, without making drastic changes in the com­pany's organization chart. In the old days Jefferson had its own traffic and purchasing department, but these func­tions have now been farmed out to the parent companies.

If you get raw materials from your parent company, why not let them do your purchasing, and shave costs? By moving to Houston, Jefferson was able to contract its purchasing with The Texas Co., who has a sizable staff just several blocks away. American Cyana­mid, with chemical "know-how" and marketing experience i n allied chemical fields, logically took over traffic func­tions in N e w York.

With fewer "side-line" duties t o

worry about, Jefferson's management is concentrating on more plant engineer­ing. The Port Neches plant is now staffed to perform all of Jefferson's routine engineering requirements, al­though large-scale design and con­struction will be contracted out to engi­neering and construction firms.

• Ambitions to Grow. Marketing procedures will be modified to some ex­tent because of better communications between the nearby plant at Port Neches and research laboratory at Austin. But these changes are mostly administrative, aimed at improving efficiency and reducing expenses.

Jefferson is maintaining its full sales staff. The company plans to conduct an aggressive marketing campaign with all customers. Jefferson officials, how­ever, admit they are planning new products for both captive and noncap-tive markets.

• All Echelons Act Quickly. "Hous­ton's location for the executive offices gives us better liaison between adminis­trative, research, and marketing func­tions," adds Bryant. "People from our Austin laboratory and our Neches plant now meet weekly with the executive staff to map out sales and operating procedures."

4 0 7 Ό C&EN SEPT. 2 6. 1955