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OBIC
The Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC) is a research initiative that integrates academia and industry toward the development of renewable specialty chemicals, polymers/plastics and advanced materials.
| OBIC Collaborator Profile- Jack Pounds |
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 Jack Pounds, a native of Cambridge, Ohio, is President of the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council (OCTC), the statewide trade association representing chemistry technology companies conducting research, production, and marketing/sales operations in Ohio. Prior to joining OCTC, Pounds held public affairs positions with Hercules, Incorporated, BetzDearborn, Inc., and Rohm and Haas Company.Pounds joined OCTC in early 2000, bringing more than 25 years of experience in the chemical industry and ascended to President and Chief Operating Officer in of OCTC in 2001. His role at OCTC is to represent Ohio’s chemistry industry in the public arena, to develop and execute an advocacy program to enhance the business climate for OCTC members in the state of Ohio, and to support the industry’s efforts to work with state leaders to assure strong protection of Ohio’s people and natural resources. OCTC is a member-driven organization and does not receive state funding. OCTC has more than 80 members, including the leading companies in the industry, as well as firms providing consulting and other services to the industry. “This position has been the most fun, the most challenging, and the most interesting in my career,” says Pounds.” “People in the chemistry industry are smart, talented, and have high standards,” he adds. “Yet one of our greatest challenges is that few elected officials really ‘get it’ about this sophisticated industry.” Because of term limits, with legislators turning over at a rate of as many as one-third per legislative cycle, so there is barely time to get someone up to speed on industry issues before that person is replaced. “What is one of my biggest obstacles is getting people away from mistrusting the chemical industry, getting them away from associating the industry only with issues and problems. My focus is to demonstrate the innovation and problem-solving that is going on,” he adds. “For companies engaged in the business of chemistry, our challenge is the cost of the basic feedstocks from which chemicals, and often polymers ultimately are produced,” says Pounds. “At present, oil and natural gas are the source of most organic feedstocks. In recent years sharp spikes in the price of oil and natural gas have stressed these companies, and have contributed to the decline in Ohio’s chemical industry. Many of the largest chemical companies have elected to locate their manufacturing facilities in countries where raw materials prices and energy costs are lower—including China and other countries in Asia.” He says, “To some degree this is an inevitable trend—reflecting the growing prosperity in developing countries, which in turn is creating massive numbers of new consumers for sophisticated products that are possible because of high-technology chemistries. “ “Raw materials costs are important,” Pounds says. “Even in a recession or depression, bio-based raw materials have to be competitively priced if they are going to become widely used; but price alone is not the only determinant. They will also have to demonstrate acceptable performance in the applications in which they are used.” He says. “Can we produce more raw materials from biomaterials…yes, probably, but we have to do better than just say, oh, it’s green or there’s less of a carbon footprint. There has to be first-rate performance as an advantage, plus the competitive pricing.” Fortunately, says Pounds, Ohio has a solid history of government backing on energy issues, and Ohio companies have much more predictable energy costs than companies in other states. He adds that “Energy conservation will still drive the polymer industry, which depends on the chemical industry for feedstocks.” “So for any number of reasons, I have been especially interested in working with organizations such as the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC) and Ohio agricultural interests to encourage research and development efforts aimed at creating alternative sources of basic feed stocks from bio sources.” Included in such efforts has been the creation of the Ohio Agriculture to Chemicals, Polymers, and Advanced Materials Task Force. That task force, established by legislation sponsored by Representative Steve Reinhard, generated a detailed report on the opportunities for expanding the use of biomaterials in producing high value-added products of chemistry. Looking forward, Pounds sees the next round of challenges to include Federal climate change legislation. “If Ohio is subjected to the ‘cap and trade’ program now being moved through the (Federal) Congress, the chemical industry in Ohio will see a sharp rise in energy and raw materials costs and the cost of complying with a whole new set of regulations. If that happens, there will be further loss of jobs and taxes in Ohio as chemical companies either cease to exist, or move their operations to places in the world where energy and raw materials costs and regulatory programs are much more affordable and sensible.” “What I hope to accomplish, as my most critical mission in the next few years is to educate Ohio’s leaders on the importance of having a sophisticated chemical industry here—with the high-paying jobs it provides; the taxes its pays; and the synergistic effects on the rest of the economy that are realized when sophisticated chemistry technologies are produced here in close proximity to major users,” says Pounds. Included among the other appointments and duties Pounds has included in his busy schedule are serving as a member of State of Ohio Emergency Planning Commission (now in third term), serving on the Ohio Agriculture to Chemicals, Polymers, and Advanced Materials Task Force, and an appointment serve as the chemical industry representative on the Great Lakes Water Compact Advisory Board, a body created by the General Assembly to guide development of Ohio’s programs to regulate diversions of water from the Great Lakes. Pounds also is chair of the Ohio Climate Change Dialogue Group and a trustee of the Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice. The Ohio Chemistry Technology Council represents the chemistry technology industry in the public policy arena in Ohio, and also conducts a number of education, outreach, and training programs for its members. For more information, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The Ohio BioProduct Innovation Center is a Wright Center funded by Ohio Department of Development. OBIC focuses on enhancing Ohio’s leadership position in bioproduct commercialization. A novel market pull model integrates academia in support of comprehensive supply chain collaborations across agriculture, specialty chemical and polymer industry sectors. For more information, bioproducts.osu.edu. Links OCTC OBIC
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 | Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center OSU, College of Food, Ag., and Envl. Sciences Room 152 Howlett Hall, 2001 Fyffe Ct., Columbus, OH 43210 Phone- 614-292-2922 Fax- 614-247-4739 |