Legacy Voice: Jermichael Thacker Reflects on 18 Years of People, Safety, and Growth at Kuraray

Ask Jermichael Thacker, CSP what has kept him at Kuraray America, Inc. (KAI) for 18 years, and the answer comes quickly: The People.

Jermichael or ‘JT’ joined KAI in 2008 as a safety representative, building much of his career around HSES programs, compliance, and helping protect the people around him.

Today, he serves as Manager of Production at KAI’s La Porte, TX site. As part of our #LegacyVoices series celebrating Kuraray’s Centennial, we are proud to highlight Jermichael Thacker, CSP and his people-first approach to leadership.

A Culture Worth Staying For:
When KAI acquired the La Porte site from DuPont in 2014, JT witnessed the transition firsthand. What stood out most was KAI’s support and respect for people.

In 2016, he joined the Global Team Training (GTT15) class, one of his first opportunities to travel and connect with colleagues across the Global Organization. That experience reinforced a lesson that stayed with him: mistakes and failures will happen, but growth will come from how we respond. We must “fail-forward” in order to achieve our goals.

“People remember how you made them feel, and that’s a key element of building trust.” he says.

Stepping Into Something New:
In 2022, JT transitioned to a production role, a shift that challenged him to see the site from a broader operational view. For JT, earning trust became central to that transition. Being friendly, firm, and fair while setting clear goals and expectations is what helped him take on these challenges with the Production Team.

Building Better Ways to Work: 
For nearly two decades, JT has been an active player in KAI’s safety culture evolution to adapt to changing regulations, Responsible Care® initiatives, and stronger process safety management requirements.

Alongside that safety evolution, JT has witnessed how digital tools transform everyday work

✅ Voovio, a digital simulation tool, that replicates jobs and tasks to enhance our training program for operators
✅ Project Kuralytix, KAI’s work with @Pinnacle Reliability to drive reliability improvements by bringing our maintenance, production, and technology teams together to make informed data-centered decisions
✅ Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) systems with Power BI, which helped teams access more real-time information and make daily work more visible, accessible and efficient.

Looking Forward 
After 18 years, JT’s view of KAI still comes back to
• respect for people,
• development of people,
• appreciating the people who make the work possible.

As Kuraray approaches its 100th anniversary in June 2026, his story is a reminder that legacies are built by people who continue to want to learn, lead others with respect, and by helping one another succeed.

“‘One Kuraray’ means One Team across every site and in every country, all looking out for one another,” he says.