2024 Covia Excellence Awards

Every day, Covia’s Team Members make a positive difference, both at work and in their communities. 2024 was no different, and we’re excited to recognize these outstanding efforts through several awards and accolades.

The Covia Excellence Awards are an annual celebration dedicated to highlighting the outstanding work and contributions of Team Members, project teams, and plants across North America. We are proud to announce this year's award winners and invite you to join us in celebrating their remarkable accomplishments.

The 2024 Covia Excellence Award winners are:

• President’s Safety Award – Oregon Plant (Illinois)
• Plant of the Year – Ahuazotepec Plant (Mexico)
• Leaf Award for Environmental Excellence – Huntingburg Plant (Indiana)
• Operations Impact Award – Kevin Traun, Senior Manager, Electrical Engineering
• Commercial Impact Award – CaryAnn Bruce, Sales Manager
• Support Impact Award
  • LeeAnn Banas, Controller
  • Andrea Keck, Legal Operations Manager
  • Chris Rundell, Senior Manager ERP & IT Project Management
• Prism Award – Monica Abarca, Inside Sales Representative
• Volunteer of the Year – David Morris, Maintenance

President’s Safety Award

The President's Safety Award is presented to the Covia facility that demonstrates the highest safety performance across several criteria. We are proud to announce that the Oregon, Illinois, plant earned this recognition through their unwavering commitment to safety and exceptional results.

With the support of their on-site Health and Safety Committee, the plant finished 2024 with zero lost-time or recordable incidents, and exceptional results across the board. Russ Montgomery, EVP and Chief Operations Officer, congratulated the team at the Oregon facility for maintaining an outstanding record of safe, responsible, and efficient operations.

Plant of the Year

This prestigious award recognizes excellence across safety, manufacturing, environmental practices, and community outreach. For the second consecutive year, our plant in Ahuazotepec, Mexico, has been named Covia's Plant of the Year.

After going above and beyond in 2023, the Ahuazotepec team continued to shine this past year, creating a safer environment, supporting the surrounding community, and demonstrating strong environmental stewardship. A few notable highlights of their commitment include:

• An exceptional safety record with zero lost-time incidents and zero recordable incidents while achieving PASST certification.
• The donation of trees to local communities and governments, along with active participation in local reforestation efforts.
• Successful EPA inspections and air compliance, with no violations.

Leaf Award for Environmental Excellence

The Huntingburg, Indiana, plant was independently nominated by eight plant managers as the winner of the Leaf Award for Environmental Excellence. This award is a testament to the plant’s extraordinary efforts in environmental compliance, environmental projects, and community involvement.

In 2024, Huntingburg plant celebrated several outstanding accomplishments, starting with timely completion of all environmental and safety reporting actions, zero community complaints, and no reportable spills or releases. Other achievements include:

• Earning Wildlife Habitat Certification and implementing a conservation plan tailored to local needs that exceeds regulatory standards.
• Reducing therms per ton by 32% and recycling nearly 1,200 pounds of waste.
• Establishing a comprehensive community action plan featuring volunteerism, donations, and regular Covia Cares Action Days.

Operations Impact Award

The 2024 Operations Impact Award recognizes Kevin Traun, Senior Manager, Electrical Engineering, for his exceptional technical expertise and dedication to supporting multiple Covia plants. Kevin played an instrumental role in identifying problems and providing solutions for several plants, with team members lauding his expertise and willingness to respond at any hour.

Kevin’ contributions ranged from implementing automation changes and conducting electrical mechanism-operated contacts to establishing new communications networks, consistently demonstrating his commitment to keeping operations running smoothly across the organization.

Commercial Impact Award

The Commercial Impact Award recognizes individuals who show leadership, performance, professionalism, and all-around commercial excellence. CaryAnn Bruce, Sales Manager, demonstrated these qualities both through her results and the way she worked throughout 2024.

As a member of the inside sales team managing over 2,000 accounts, CaryAnn helped generate more than $3 million in new business from 146 opportunities. Her expertise in the equestrian market and innovative utilization of by-products helped drive success within the organization. Her dedication to continuous improvement extended to others as well, as CaryAnn actively fostered relationships and developed training modules to empower her colleagues.

Support Impact Award

This year’s Support Impact Award highlights a trio of team members for their collaborative efforts during one of the largest projects Covia undertook in 2024 – the energy carve-out.

• LeeAnn Banas, Controller
• Andrea Keck, Legal Operations Manager
• Chris Rundell, Senior Manager ERP & IT Project Management

These three team members successfully managed the complex reconfiguration of our internal processes to accommodate new supply contracts, while ensuring accurate conversion of all contracts and thorough documentation of legal entities. Their dedication was particularly notable as they maintained their regular responsibilities while committing a significant number of additional hours per week to this critical project.

Prism Award

Monica Abarca, Inside Sales Representative, received the Prism Award for exemplifying and promoting inclusion both in the workplace and in the community. Monica consistently goes above and beyond to ensure her colleagues feel valued and appreciated, from organizing birthday celebrations to coordinating group messages of support.

Monica’s dedication to inclusiveness extends beyond the workplace as well. She is a strong advocate for the Safe Alliance Domestic Violence Shelter, regularly volunteering there to provide lunches to those in need and dedicating her Saturdays to thoroughly cleaning the shelter’s kitchen.

Volunteer of the Year

Covia is proud to help our team members invest in their communities, and the Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes a standout individual whose consistent service makes a difference in their community.

In 2024, David Morris, Maintenance, from Covia’s Cleburne plant logged more than 500 volunteer hours, the equivalent of 61.5 8-hour days. He spent that time supporting multiple organizations in Glen Rose, Texas, including The LDL Foundation, a nonprofit supporting educational, health, and environmental projects. He plays a particularly active role in the Glen Rose School District's Future Farmers of America program, where he helps prepare for livestock shows, coordinates transportation, and provides supervision at events.

Shaping Tomorrow Through Excellence Today

Each of our 2024 award winners exemplifies the values that set the tone for how we do business. Their dedication to safety, sustainability, operational excellence, business results, and community impact inspires us all and sets the standard for the future. Whether in our plants, offices, or communities, these individuals and teams exemplify the power of commitment, innovation, and teamwork.

At Covia, we're always looking for talented individuals to join our journey. Visit our Careers section to explore opportunities across North America and become part of a team where excellence isn't just recognized – it's celebrated every day.