When community needs a helping hand, Arekma is there

Advance Correspondent

BRISTOL BOROrdH - History, education and the arts have this in common with emergency services: All are organizations that rely to some extent on corporate donations. For Bristol Borough groups, such as the Bristol Cultural and Historical Foundation, the Bristol Riverside Theater, Bristol High School, DnG nHDUby fiUH FRPSDnLHV and rescue workers - just to name a few - Arkema is there.

Arkema, founded in France in 2004, is a chemical manufacturer that employs 14,000 workers in seven research centers and 80 plants located around the globe, including Arkema’s Altuglas plant, headquartered in Bristol. And the company has worked hard to be a good neighbor by keeping the community informed and listening to its concerns through an advisory panel made up of citizens, hospital administrators, safety wRUNHUV DnG VFKRRO RIfiFLDOV, said Steve Bader, plant manager for Altuglas.

Another highlight

of

its presence in Bristol is Arkema’s unstinting support for local activities. For instance, just this year, the company donated A5,000 to the Bristol Cultural and Historical )RunGDWLRn WR KHOS finDnFH Historic Bristol Day activities. The same amount went to the Bristol Riverside Theatre to help cover the cost of various programs and shows, Bader said.

2WKHU bHnHfiFLDULHV LnFOuGH BULVWRO DnG CURyGRn fiUH FRPpanies, the Bucks County Rescue Squad, the Bristol Lions Club’s “Shop with a Cop” event, the rnited Way of Bucks County, and scholarship programs for the schools.

The company also sponsors the Bristol Pop Warner Wardog Football Association in Bristol Township.

Amy haissar, managing director of the Bristol Riverside Theatre, said that Arkema’s contributions have helped the theater put on a talent show that brought out the best in amateur entertainment from locals of all ages. Company assistance also helped stage hands construct a Plexiglas set for its “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” production (Plexiglas is Arkema’s product’s trade nameF, and, more recently, sponsored “ArtRageous” Summer Camp for youth.

“It is so important for us to have corporate sponsorship. It’s a sort of community ecosystem: it’s where companies want to be and where people want to live. When you have a company offer that sort of give and take, we’re able to be more creative,” haissar said.

Arkema also considers the occasional requests for donations and those are distributed on a “rotating” basis, Bader said.

“Arkema makes a point to be a responsible member of its community through the advisory panel, and its donations. These are our ways of letting the community know what we do within our walls. And, we want to work to support activities in the community,” he said.

The Bristol plant, which employs 91 plant workers and 30 corporate employees, manufactures a variety of acrylic molding resins with properties such as impact resistance and exceptional optics. A visual translation of the big bins of colorful granules that leave the plant every day would be, for instance, the coating on the Chevrolet “bow tie,” on lighting, on auto tail lights, and on faucet handles.

Arkema spent A11 million in payroll, utility use and property taxes so far this year. Donations to local organizations amount to A20,000, and investments in health and environmental safety (participation in OSHA’s soluntary Protection Program, and other safety measuresF comes to A250,000 for this year. The company boasts that there have been no injuries resulting in lost work for more than four years.

“We live here so we want to provide help directly to the people in Bristol and in other areas,” Bader said.