Eastman Chemical Middelburg B.V. in the Netherlands covers 25 acres, was started in 1968 and currently employs approximately 250 people.

The Middelburg site produces 80 different resin products. The main applications for those products include adhesives, printing inks, coatings, paper production, paint, the food industry, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles and building products. The facility exports more than 90% of its total sales to 70 countries worldwide.

Eastman's Middelburg site is strongly committed to Responsible Care® and is currently ISO-9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 22000 certified.

Environmental Awareness
The Middelburg plant has an environmental plan for 2006 to 2010. Several projects to minimize waste, energy usage and emissions have been developed and implemented. Safety and environmental improvements are already being realized. Below are some examples:

• Process and design improvements have reduced VOC air emissions at Middelburg by 60%.
• Energy efficiency has improved by 10% due to an extension of the Regalite plant. This facility produces hydrogen as a raw material, and is characterized by its reliability and efficient heat integration. Almost all process generated heat will be reused, not only in the hydrogen plant but also in other manufacturing units.
• A Six Sigma study on wastewater resulted in a reduction in the volume of wastewater by 10%, while the oxygen consuming organic load of the waste water (COD) was reduced by 31%.
• In 2007, the installation of a new hot oil unit with a low-NOx burner has helped reduce NOx-emissions by 10%
• Added an incinerator, with a steamboiler, that converts waste heat into steam, used for heating other parts of the production process. This has resulted in a 13% reduction of CO2 emissions and a 30% reduction in the use of natural gas
• Disposal of hazardous waste has been reduced by 25%.

In 2008, construction began for expanding the Regalite plant. Also a new and larger hydrogen plant is in place to help improve the facility’s energy efficiency.

Safety

As a Seveso site, Eastman Chemical Middelburg B.V. has a health and safety system in place. In 2007, the site successfully completed a BRZO audit by BRZO authorities.

Behavioral Based Safety was implemented at the Middelburg site following a Safety Cultural Assessment. As a result of the assessment, improvement opportunities were identified and addressed. The Middelburg site had one OSHA recordable incident in 2008. The goal for the site is to create an interdependent safety culture.

The Middelburg site’s environmental management system was recertified and the site was certified for ISO 22000, which is the norm for food safety and hygiene. The Middelburg site succeeded in achieving certification as the first manufacturing site for chewing gum resins in the world. Due to new European legislation the site has submitted IPPC environmental permit applications.

Citizenship 
The site’s Community Advisory Panel continues to work toward improvement of communications between the plant site and its neighbors in the community.