Tom Edman

Background

About Tom Edman

With the help of two of the most talented Product Managers in the industry, I manage Univar Solutions' caustic soda business as part of the BCD (Bulk Chemical Distribution) team. BCD is a small group of less than 30 people handling six high-velocity, bulk commodity chemicals: Caustic, HCl, Sulfuric acid, Bleach, KOH, and SBS. As I like to say,"commodity chems are not sexy, but they're a lot of fun!" I have spent over 27 years in the chemical industry in both operations and commercial roles. I used to say my career was split roughly equally between ops and commercial roles, but the balance has now shifted toward the commercial side of the house. It has been quite a ride. In 2017, I made the leap from producer to distributor with a new position at Univar. I had worked closely with some great people at Univar for a decade, and was excited about the opportunity to join their team and do my part to contribute to their success. Five years in (and another corporate name change later), it has proven to be a great transition. When I finished my undergrad as a chemical engineer, I was told to expect to work for at least five companies during my career. In that respect, I suppose my career has been a bit atypical since I essentially worked for only three over more than two decades. That’s not to say I didn’t have my share of opportunities for new roles moving between plants and between business units. I have worked in Chlor-Alkali and Derivatives, Fine Chemicals, Pharmaceutical Intermediates, PVC compounds, and even a little time in the water treatment space. It is also not to say that the company name on my business card didn’t change several times. I experienced a divestiture, mothballing a facility, a merger, a hostile acquisition, and a private company going public and then private again- all in under 15 years. Through it all, I have enjoyed working with, and for, some of the most talented people in the industry. The company name on my cards may have changed (PPG, ZaCh System, Axiall, Westlake Chemical, Univar, and now Univar Solutions) but it is always the strength of the team which makes these companies industry leaders in North America and globally.