Covestro employee recognized nationally by Manufacturing Institute

In recognition of her leadership and contributions to the manufacturing industry, Covestro Baytown employee Neha Phadke was selected as a recipient of the "Women in Manufacturing STEP Ahead Award," presented by the Manufacturing Institute. The STEP Ahead Awards honor women for their leadership and excellence at all levels of the manufacturing industry.To get more covestro news, you can visit shine news official website.
Phadke was among 130 women nationally to be honored, which is part of the larger STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead initiative. Launched in 2012, the initiative is the nation's marquee program to close the gender gap in manufacturing. All of the award winners will be recognized during an awards gala November 4 in Washington, D.C.

"Neha is a great ambassador for Covestro's Baytown site, both inside the facility and through her activity in the community," said Demetri Zervoudis, head of operations North America and site manager of Covestro Industrial Park Baytown. "She is well-deserving of this national recognition and is serving as an excellent leader and role model to the next generation of women that we want to attract in our workforce."

As a senior chemist for Covestro's largest North American manufacturing site in Baytown, Phadke supports the Coatings and Adhesives business with process development, optimization and troubleshooting. She is a highly respected chemist at Covestro, whose technical knowledge and intrepid approach to problem-solving earned her a spot on numerous high-profile projects globally. One such project involved introducing a new 3D printing product to the U.S. market. While this type of chemistry had not been produced before at the company's Baytown facility, Phadke paved the way in scaling up production. She developed an extremely efficient system that not only satisfied expectations and timeline, but laid the foundation for a strong customer partnership.
Manufacturing creates possibilities to transform customer needs into reality," said Phadke. "I enjoy working with global teams to develop innovative and sustainable solutions. It is rewarding to see your lab chemistry coming to life, which gives me hope for making the world a brighter place!"

As a young girl growing up in India, Phadke had to contend with cultural norms and expectations that didn't support women pursuing higher education. Through her involvement in a week-long STEM education event hosted by Covestro in collaboration with the non-profit Greenlight for Girls, Phadke impacted more than 3,000 girls from 42 schools across India. She also conducts science and math classes for the children of underprivileged farmers, drawing from her own experience as a certified organic farmer.

Phadke is making a difference in her local Texas community as well, where she serves on the leadership team for Covestro Baytown's Diversity Inclusion Council, sharing her own experiences to create greater awareness around the U.S. immigration process and offering herself as a resource for questions and support.

"Women in manufacturing proved themselves time and time again after the pandemic began, leading our industry in innovation and progress. We will honor these manufacturing leaders with the STEP Ahead Awards, elevating their success and granting them a platform to inspire the next generation of women manufacturing leaders," said Manufacturing Institute Executive Director Carolyn Lee.Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business, which is among the world's largest polymer companies with 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronics and healthcare industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 16,500 people at the end of 2020.