BACKGROUND
FMC Corporation is based out of Chicago. In 1989, sales stretched over five major businesses totaled $3.4 billion. The five major businesses that FMC operates are: Industrial Chemicals, Performance Chemicals, Precious Metals, Defense Systems, and Machinery and Equipment. The company specializes in the production of military equipment, a variety of industrial chemicals, gold and other precious metals, agricultural chemicals and a selection of specialty chemicals, and an extensive range of specialized machinery and equipment for the material-handling, petroleum and food industries. When FMC Corporation won a bid with the U.S. Navy to build and supply surface-ship missile launching canisters, they decided that a new plant should be built to fulfill the contract.
FMC Green River
The Green River, Wyoming facility of FMC Corporation, first opened in 1948, supplies sodium-based chemicals to over 100 worldwide customers in the detergent industry, the glass industry, and large commercial chemical plants. The resources are obtained from a large underground mine and numerous plants. The underground mine produces trona ore (a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and soda ash). Two refining plants turn out various grades of soda ash every year. The Green River facility also runs the largest sodium tri-polyphosphate plant in the world. The United Steel Workers of America organizes the 1,150 employees of FMC Green River.
Kenneth Dailey has been the site manager for FMC Green River for 18 months. In the past, there were separate managers for the mine and for the surface plants. However, Dailey reorganized the complex and now has a manager for the soda ash business on both below-surface and ...