With the acquisition of Aristech Chemical Corporation in January, Sunoco Chemicals began a consolidated effort to integrate our customers, products, prices, and package codes into our existing database.  The endeavor was handled quickly and efficiently and was intended to integrate Aristech's customer service system with Sunoco's system.

To ensure that all the bases were covered in the order fulfillment process, Don Hinderhofer, Aristech Integration Manager and Hal Mathues, Systems Project Manager held regular Monday integration meetings.  These overview meetings also covered resources needed to get the job done on time.  At Hal's meetings, we reviewed the details of the order fulfillment process from shipment of the product to the application of payment. All Sunoco Chemicals departments and Aristech manufacturing plants were represented at these meetings to ensure that each phase of the process was completed.

Alicia Gonzalez together with Tom Gannon, Donald Pelley, Mario Cavalieri, and Tai Chen led the LOGICS system group effort.  Jim Regan mass loaded all of Aristech's data into Sunoco's Chemical LAN system, which enabled us to integrate Aristech's customers, products and pricing. Others assisting in the project were Susan Campbell, who was responsible for entering the package codes, and Robin Flynn, who developed data entry in the customer warehouse, so that we will be able to send out letters and faxes to our customers. Others who helped in the effort were Melanie Skalisky and Jerry Zajac, who assisted with data entry.

As we learned more about Aristech's customers and products, another team was establishing a training program for customer service representatives at Aristech.  Jean Conner, Candice Conard and Maria Pearson from Sunoco's customer service group set up training sessions at Aristech's office in Pittsburgh and later at Neville Island to educate the Aristech customer service people on how to enter orders into Sunoco's LOGICS order entry system.  Where exports and exchanges were concerned, information was sent back to Kathy Conway at Sunoco, who then set up the export customers and the exchanges in our LOGICS system.

Simultaneously, Michele Brown and Cathy Piersig visited each of the Aristech plants to better understand the Aristech distribution and shipping system in order to train the people in these departments on how to use LOGICS for shipping and invoicing to customers.  We were very pleased by how quickly the personnel at the Aristech facilities rose to the challenge and learned the new system.

The first plant to "go live" was the Haverhill, Ohio plant. Pittsburgh's Aristech customer service representatives for the Haverhill products were also very accommodating and quickly learned the LOGICS system.  At the end of January, the Haverhill products and customer base were transferred into the customer service department at Ten Penn Center in Philadelphia.  Once we started invoicing through the LOGICS system, Cindy Garzia and Audrey Garr at Sunoco reviewed the invoices for accuracy prior to sending them to our customers.

While Sunoco's customer service staff learned about Aristech's customers and products such as Aniline, BPA, DPA and CHP, it was decided that it would be best for customers ordering from the Pasadena plant to continue contacting Sandy Zadinski of Aristech, who has agreed to stay with us until June 30, 2001. After that time, customers can contact Melanie Skalisky.  Aristech's customer service representatives Rosalie Richards and Brian McDaniel will continue to handle products for the Neville Island customers.

We extend our special thanks to Aristech's James Nelson, who has been with us every step of the way and who continues to assist in achieving total integration. We also want to thank all of the Sunoco employees who remained at the office at Ten Penn Center handling customer service and supply coordination functions while their colleagues were on the road at training sessions or working on data projects. We are continuing to add and train new customer service representatives and supply coordinators, and business is getting back to normal -- until the next acquisition.

May 2001