Zinc, chemistry and leadership are all in the family for Javier Hernandez-Gallegos. His parents were both chemists, and in 1972 his father helped start a zinc plant in Torreón, Mexico, where he became the superintendent. And now, 50 years later, Hernandez-Gallegos has been named general manager at Nyrstar Zinc Plant in Clarksville.
Hernandez-Gallegos, who began his new role in October, is a chemical engineer with 33-plus years of experience in chemical and metallurgical industries. Has served in executive management positions for the last 15 years.
Some of his earliest memories revolve around that zinc plant in Mexico.
“I recall watching my father going out in the morning and returning home with his boots and hard hat,” Hernandez-Gallegos said. “Then in high school he got us to work at the smelter lab, as helpers. I learned to make chemical analysis there by titration first and then other instrumental methods. So when I got to choose my college studies, I really did not think much what I wanted.”
He went straight into the sciences and earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico and an MBA in Management from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.
He previously served as vice president of Operations in Metals and Chemicals at Penoles Industries in Torreón Area, Mexico.
Moving to Clarksville
Hernandez-Gallegos is moving to Clarksville with his wife, Lucy. They have three adult children.
He said that so far he’s found Clarksville to be a charming city full of Southern hospitality, and he’s been excited to see nature all around.
“I come from a desert land, and there we appreciate very much the beauty of the desert. But coming here has been very pleasant, seeing all this nature, woods and rivers around which we don’t have where I lived. I am also very impressed by the respect local people have for the environment. My office here is surrounded by trees, and I see deer and turkeys and squirrels every day.”
Once he’s settled in, one of the first things he’ll be looking for in is down time will be a place to ride his bike and run. He began running during high school and recently advanced from half-marathons to marathons, and then triathlons, doing three of those in 2019, and then a 200-mile trek across the western Sierra in Mexico in 2020.
“I am waiting for my bicycle to come to learn of some routes around town,” he said.
What’s next at Nyrstar
Like most industries, Nyrstar faces both local and global challenges, he said. “Fortunately, zinc smelting is a business that is intimately tied to the automotive and construction industries, and even more fortunately, Tennessee has the purest zinc mineral in the world, that we receive from our mines located near Gordonsville and Strawberry Plains.”
Their biggest current challenge is the result of what has been one of their greatest strengths: Their stable, well-trained work force that has been with them almost from the beginning.
“We are facing a generation change right now, and the people that started this plant 43 years ago are coming to retire. So we need to secure knowledge retention and be very efficient in developing the skills in the new hires so to keep the business running and stable,” he said.
They are responding with ongoing efforts to ensure Nyrstar continues to be a great place to work. “We are working hard in maintaining a safe workplace and making Nyrstar the employment of choice for our young candidates,” Hernandez-Gallegos said.
“I not only hope, but I am certain that the amazing and very talented team of employees in Nyrstar will overcome these challenges and keep ‘The Zinc Plant’ a sustainable source of employment and a notable player in Clarksville’s economy for generations to come.”
Working at Nyrstar
Nyrstar, which has been operating in Clarksville for 43 years, is a proud sister organization to Puma Energy, both owned by Trafigura. Nyrstar now employs nearly 270 people and plans to add 30 more positions by the end of September 2022.
The company offers many benefits including paid time off, opportunities for advancement, competitive wages with opportunity for a bonus, immediate participation and immediate 100% vesting in a company 401(k) with Safe Harbor and contribution matching, an excellent safety boot program, prescription safety eyewear, extremely competitive employer share toward medical, dental and vision insurance premiums, uniforms provided and laundered and more.
Medical plan options for employees cost as little as $25 per month, with Nyrstar depositing up to $1,200 in your Health Spending Account (HSA).
For more, go to the Nyrstar website.