Covia's Cleburne, Texas Plant: Dedicated to Safety & ESG

When a plant goes above and beyond to build a safe work environment, take on an initiative that contributes to our ESG goals, or revitalize its working conditions – we love to highlight their incredible work and the great team that made it happen! Read on to learn more about the key contributions from our Cleburne, Texas, plant.

Covia’s Cleburne Plant, established in 2018, is in North Texas, approximately 15 miles west of downtown Cleburne. It is also around 20 miles away from Glen Rose, a town known for its quaint charm. However, Glen Rose is most famous for being the dinosaur capital of Texas, thanks to the well-preserved dinosaur footprints found in the Paluxy River. The Cleburne plant is constantly searching for dinosaur fossils and various footprints!

The plant serves the glass, building products, and oil and gas industries – and primarily produces GLASSIl® high-purity sand, GRANUSIL® high-performance industrial silica, and CERASIL® high-purity ceramic silica.

When Mike Foster started at Cleburne as the new senior plant manager in 2020, a major focus for him and the team was to ensure that every position was filled with the right Team Member. That focus helps create a positive work mindset and strengthens the team as a community. “This group really looks out for each other,” said Mike. “They treat one another like family.” Cleburne is home to a dedicated group of Team Members who work especially well together.

The Cleburne team also embraced an initiative to use data collection tools to improve their operation efficiency. It’s been a great success, and the plant faces little to no machine downtime. .

A Safety-First Mindset

With a strong safety record since 2020, every member of the Cleburne team is vigilant in upholding a safety-first work culture. When asked what a safety-first mindset meant to his facility, Mike said, “It means that in every job or task we take on, safety is the first thing considered. Not only is everyone responsible for their own safety, but also for the safety of those around them.”

The Cleburne team’s dedication to safety goes beyond best practices. That’s why the Team Members at the plant were recognized for their extraordinary safety efforts with the 2023 Covia President’s Safety Award.

The President’s Safety Award recognizes the Covia plant that achieves the highest level of safety performance across all categories. The collective efforts of the Cleburne team achieved the following results, which led to their selection as the 2023 award winner:

• No LTIs or reportable incidents.
• Completed 100% of incident investigation actions and incident alert actions on-time.
• Completed 100% of dust sampling on-time.
• Completed 100% of incident investigations within 28 days.
• Had no regulator or internal housekeeping citations.
• Created several safety teams for special initiatives.

In addition to their exceptional safety performance, the Cleburne team also met all Quality Improvement Program (QIP) requirements and conducted a thorough process risk assessment in 2023.

ESG Initiatives: Monarch Joint Venture Project

Covia is committed to the conservation, restoration, and biodiversity of the land where we operate. Our ESG goals were established to help provide an environmental framework for our locations throughout our footprint. The Cleburne team has stepped up to help lead our newest partnership, working with Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) to safeguard and enhance the habitat of the migratory monarch butterfly and other pollinators.

The monarch butterfly is facing significant challenges that have raised concerns about the sustainability of its long-distance migration. Factors such as habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and the decrease in milkweed plants crucial for monarch breeding have all contributed to this decline. MJV’s work aims to protect monarchs and their migration by collaborating with partners like Covia to deliver habitat conservation, education, and science across the monarch range.

The Cleburne plant is collaborating with MJV on a yearlong project to develop a multi-acre pollinator habitat at the plant. MJV will be offering guidance, expertise, and technical support in designing the habitat layout, preparing the site, selecting native plant species, and giving recommendations for dormant seeding.

The Cleburne team is in the beginning stages of their restoration project with MJV, preparing their property for the pollinator habitat. Mike stated, “We are excited about this partnership, and about creating what works for pollinators, particularly the magnificent monarch butterfly. We’re looking forward to seeing the new pollinator habitat develop.”

Ready to learn more about Covia and our mineral solution capabilities? Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about how we can support your operation. If you’re interested in joining our team, check out our Careers page to see our current openings.