Finding out what fuels Mark Nikolich of Braskem America Inc.

When Braskem S.A. bought Sunoco Chemicals and its Marcus Hook plant in 2010, the future chief of its fast-growing Americas division came along with the deal.

Mark Nikolich, 50, was Sunoco Chemicals' vice president when the global Brazilian plastic resins producer closed the $350 million purchase.

Now, Nikolich runs Braskem America Inc. as its chief executive.

In 2012, the Brazilian firm bought Sunoco's propylene splitter in Marcus Hook, cementing its place in the region. In 2017, Braskem is expected to complete phase two of a multimillion-dollar investment upgrading the Marcus Hook facility.

The Brazilian influence is obvious in Philadelphia, where employees expect (and get) espresso in the office pantry.

Also, "Americans are punctual," showing up on time for meetings, he said. "Twenty minutes later, the Brazilians would start rolling in."

Fifteen minutes of soccer talk follows "and then you'd get into the meeting."

Nikolich said that the culture of Sunoco's chemical crew actually fits better with Braskem's culture.

"Some of it is related to the passion, the entrepreneurship, the creativity of the Brazilians," he said. "This is a country that is coming into its own. It has so much potential, natural resources, human resources. It's big. For Braskem, the U.S. is the frontier. We were their first acquisition."

What does Braskem make at Marcus Hook?

We take hydrocarbon gas - it could be derived from natural gas or from oil - and turn it into a solid pellet. That pellet can be melted and made into a whole breadth of products by our customers.

What kind of products?

Mostly rigid packaging. Cups, dairy, yogurt, cottage cheese. Also, non-wovens, for diaper backing, disposable medical gowns, feminine care, adult care products.

You're part of the group talking about making Philadelphia an energy hub, bringing in natural shale gases via pipeline or rail. Will that happen?

I'm very optimistic, because there's going to be job creation and economic growth. Those will win out in the end. There's a lot of noise from a regulatory perspective.

Are rail lines an issue?

We have a blessing and a curse in Philly. We have a blessing of being in the part of the U.S. that has really good public transportation. The challenge is that we have Amtrak, we have SEPTA and we have industrial freight all sharing this same corridor.

We need to find a way to accommodate both our great public transportation corridor as well as enough industrial movement so we can support industrial growth. [Lack of rail capacity] is a show stopper.

What do you mean?

If we can't efficiently supply domestic [companies] with [fuel] products, they will go into export. If it can't efficiently move here, it can move on a large vessel to Asia.

Our goal would be to grow to supply domestic clients. One thing that can strain that growth is the logistics infrastructure, pipeline and rail.

How do you answer environmental concerns?

First, gas is one of the cleanest fuels on the planet. Fuel is needed and this is a very clean version of it. It's hard to communicate that message because the message is all hydrocarbons are bad.

Does this conversation ruin your fun at parties?

Usually not, because we get into sustainability. I usually steer the dialogue into the end use. For example, trying to get more efficient fuel consumption so we have less emissions. One way is to make the car lighter. Over 30 percent of our business is in automotive, and our products allow auto manufacturers to make a lighter weight car.

Braskem is in talks with U.S. regulators to settle fallout from a Brazilian probe into whether Braskem executives in Brazil made improper payments for raw materials. Braskem has said it cannot predict how much the company will be impacted. Any comment?

Our day-to-day operations here in the U.S. have not been impacted, as reflected in Braskem's solid financial results and high-capacity utilization of our U.S. production facilities.

Interview questions and answers have been edited for space. The emailed answer to the final question came via a company spokesman.

jvonbergen@phillynews.com

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@JaneVonBergen