PROFILE: Family works at plant for three generations and counting

SWEENY

With more than 1,200 employees at its Old Ocean site, it’s not surprising some of the workers at Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Sweeny complex would know each other away from the plant.

Some even have known a co-worker since birth.

Jimmy Schuelke, 49, started at the company in 2005 as a process operator at the plant and became a supervisor eight years ago. He brought with him a well-known name.

“My dad got me motivated to join the industry,” Schuelke said. “My dad was a 30-year Phillips employee. When I became a supervisor at the company, my dad was a supervisor at the company as well.”

The company’s family tree doesn’t stop there, however. Jarrod Schuelke, 27, started out as a contractor at the plant during the day who went to school at night. He decided his time would be better spent full-time at the company.

“I love what I do,” Jarrod Schuelke said. “I wouldn’t give up my current co-workers for anything. There are five people in the turnaround group I work closely with.”

Jimmy Schuelke doesn’t see his dad and his son as his only familial connections.

“I know all these guys at work on a personal level,” he said. “They all have families, so I keep them safe. I want to do that until the end of my career.”

Jarrod Schuelke’s motivation is also family themed.

“I do it because I love my wife and want to support her and our 15-month-old baby,” he said.

“I’m a turnaround coordinator,” Jarrod Schuelke said. “You have to take out all the chemicals and clean the pipes. You do it every five or six years for maintenance and upkeep. Turnaround plans everything.”

While Jimmy and Jarrod Schuelke are truly father and son, the two think of their company as a family. Chevron Phillips pays for younger people to get process technology certifications, a requirement for the industry, so they can join the field. Much like a family, Chevron Phillips also helps pay for college.

And their bond has never been stronger.

“I think when you work as a family, you’re more accountable; you can’t get away from your family,” Jarrod Schuelke said.

“I like it, too,” Jimmy Schuelke agreed. “It’s good because if I want to see my boy or talk to my boy, he’s only a short ways away. Another thing I like is we both have J. Schuelke stitched on our name tags, so we can wear each other’s uniforms.”

While the younger Schuelke loves his job and said he wouldn’t change a thing, his dad jokes he would gladly give up the paperwork.

“If I had to give up one thing about my job, it would be doing timesheets and paperwork,” Jimmy Schuelke said. “I like being out in the field with my guys, not being an office guy.”