Before the pandemic hit, the nation’s manufacturing sector — including the refining and petrochemical industries — was wrestling with how to find and train enough young people to replace the wave of Baby Boomers retiring from the workforce at a rate of nearly 6,000 per day.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – AFPM President and CEO Chet Thompson released the following statement on the rioting that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
It was 2010 and Jerry Wascom, ExxonMobil’s Americas refining director, was worried. Despite fuel and petrochemical manufacturers making significant improvements in the safety of their individual operations, across the industries there was an uptick in serious incidents. Workers were getting injured, surrounding communities were losing confidence, the reputation of the industries was being tarnished and regulators were becoming increasingly engaged. Wascom turned to his counterparts within the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers Association (AFPM), the industry trade group, and asked, “Are we doing enough to protect people?”
Coronavirus developments are front of mind for everyone, including the staff at AFPM. We took a moment to speak with Jeff Gunnulfsen, senior director, security and risk management, about industry preparedness for the pandemic.
U.S. fuel and petrochemical manufacturers are committed to doing their part to limit the spread of COVID-19 while maintaining the core services and functions our nation requires daily.
By an act of Congress and with the stroke of a pen, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) programs will continue to receive funding for the next 14 months.
“Information security is the immune system in the body of business.” This cybersecurity saying has gained new weight in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic reinforcing the need for cybersecurity to be robust, flexible and agile—just like a healthy immune system.
Over the last few years, AFPM has increased its efforts to attract people to the wide range of careers in the fuel and petrochemical industries in anticipation of not only a wave of retirements that will hit the industries in the next 5-10 years, but also tremendous growth thanks to the shale revolution.