Moorthy – From Process Technician to Plant Engineer

Although he has been with Evonik for 16 years, Moorthy, EPS Plant Engineer in Singapore, feels that every day at Evonik Oil Additives (EOA) is like his first day. In fact, he has grown and developed with Evonik, starting as a Chemical Process Technician and now leading projects and process improvements for the EOA site in Singapore.

Moorthy, you always wanted to become an engineer. Why? 

I have always been driven by the goal of applying what I have learned, and for me that was being an engineer. Routine jobs are not what excites me, I am more  interested in driving for sustainable change and valuable development for my organization. Being born in India and considering my family background, I had to go to work soon, but I always had the vision to progress step by step. 

Share with us a bit about your career path! 

Continuous learning is key. Upgrading my skills and learning new topics has helped me progress in my career and opened up new opportunities. My employer and supervisor have always been supportive. I started as a Chemical Process Technician in 2008 with a Diploma in Chemical Technology and was promoted to the position of Plant Engineer in 2022 after completing my Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering.

Besides, I have also completed my Bachelor in Business Administration and several additional development courses such as Green Belt certification in Focused Improvement Pillar (TPM), Train the Trainer and Energy Manager course.

How do you motivate others to take advantage of development opportunities?  

In addition to plant engineering tasks, I am also responsible for the Evonik Production System (EPS) at our site. This newly implemented production system drives the efficiency of our production processes and serves as a framework to systematically improve production and technology-related processes on an ongoing basis and to avoid non-value-added activities.

By doing the rollout and change management on site, this production system allows us to work more efficiently as a team in the given work environment. Reducing the “silos” wherever possible, e.g. between different departments, allows cross-functional learning and opens up new ways of thinking that are self-motivating. 

Sustainability is a big topic in Singapore. How do you contribute to it in your daily work? 

We are working hard to fulfill our sustainability roadmap. We want to achieve a 30 % reduction in CO2 by 2030. By 2050, we want to be carbon-neutral here. Among other things, I am working on a project to install solar panels to improve our EOA carbon footprint.

It won’t be the big “game-changer“, but it will contribute to the ambitious target we have set in Singapore. My colleagues also contribute to improving our CO2 footprint on a daily basis, with more than 65 ideas submitted to optimize our processes, which shows a lot of commitment.  

What does #PartofSomethingSpecial mean to you?  

Being part of the sustainability team that will build the net zero carbon buildings and operation plants in the future.