AdvanSix helps firefighters in Virginia

Materials firm AdvanSix Inc. has donated communications equipment to Hopewell Fire & Rescue in Hopewell, Va.

AdvanSix's plant in Hopewell helped purchase two intercom headset systems to improve safety and responses to an emergency. The equipment — valued at $5,000 — will to assist and improve communication for firefighters onboard a fire engine.

"Communication is critical for firefighters," AdvanSix Health and Safety Manager Daniel Wingler said in a news release. He added that the headsets work with a department's two-way radio allowing crews to receive critical updated information as they respond to an emergency scene.

The noise reduction feature of the headset system also protects firefighters' hearing which without protection can be damaged over the course of their careers.

Hopewell Fire Chief Donald Hunter added that the AdvanSix donation "helps our firefighters, helps our community and gives us the extra edge we need to respond to calls quickly and safely."

Parsippany, N.J.-based AdvanSix works closely with local fire departments throughout the year on emergency drills and other training. The company has donated more than $40,000 in equipment and other resources to local fire departments since 2011. Many of its employees serve on public safety boards or as volunteer firefighters in their communities.

AdvanSix's Hopewell site employs more than 700. It's one of the world's largest single-site producers of caprolactam, a primary feedstock for nylon resins. The site also is a global leader in the production of ammonium sulfate fertilizers.

AdvanSix ranks as one of the world's largest makers of nylon 6. The firm posted sales of just over $1.5 billion in 2018. AdvanSix was formed in 2016 from a spinoff of the resins and chemicals business of Honeywell International Inc.