When I moved to Houston, Texas just over a year ago, one thing stood out right away: the sheer scale of Texas industry.  

From the steel mills of Midlothian to the petrochemical hubs of Houston, Baytown, and Freeport, this region doesn’t just power the U.S., it makes products that keep the world running. 

Inside these massive, high-risk sites, the work never really stops. Every shift brings new challenges: controlling process safety risks, maintaining compliance across thousands of procedures, and protecting people in environments where one small mistake can have serious consequences. 

That’s where we come in. For decades, we’ve been helping industrial teams manage that risk, stay compliant, and keep operations running safely—every single day, on both sides of the Atlantic.  

A tale of two port cities 

When I explain TenForce’s story in the U.S., I like to start with two ports. 

First up is the Houston Ship Channel. It’s a cornerstone of Gulf Coast industry, stretching 50 miles inland and moving more than 200 million tons of cargo each year. It’s also where our U.S. story began. 

Our team, previously known as Process Data Control (PDC) Corp, started here helping companies manage complex regulations and stay ready for whatever came their way. 

Across the Atlantic, in Europe’s largest chemical cluster, the Port of Antwerp is where TenForce began its own journey—developing software to help high-risk industries keep people safe and operations on track. 

Houston and Antwerp have been “sister ports” since 1977, trading knowledge to make global industry safer and more sustainable. That story feels familiar to us because in 2021, PDC and TenForce did something similar: combining U.S. regulatory expertise with a proven European EHSQ platform to support industries on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Our roots in Texas industry

Our partnership now spans continents, but the story started right here in Texas. 

In 1986, when Jerry O’Brien and Paul Nix founded Process Data Control (PDC) Corp to help U.S. companies meet environmental, health, and safety compliance across state, local, and federal regulations.  

Over the next four decades, PDC became the trusted partner for some of the most complex operations across the U.S. and Canada, building deep expertise in air emissions management, hazardous waste compliance, and ESG reporting.   

By the early 2000s, PDC was already working with major Gulf Coast operators, from Gerdau’s Midlothian steel facility to Chevron Phillips Chemical in Sweeny.  

For many in steel, refining, and petrochemicals, PDC became the go-to partner for one simple reason: we helped them keep people safe and data in order while staying ahead of the regulators. 

That foundation is what we continue to build on today. 

Our beginnings in Belgium 

Meanwhile, in Leuven, Belgium, TenForce was founded in 2001 with a similar mission: to help high-risk industries manage complex operations by automating workflows, digitizing follow-ups, and making critical data easy to act on.  

By 2006, TenForce had become a leader in EHSQ software, supporting major players in chemicals, pharma, and food & beverage. We saw firsthand how digital EHS platforms could lift the manual burden from plant teams and make their work safer and simpler. 

Moving forward, together 

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In 2021, our two stories came together when PDC joined the TenForce family. 

PDC brought decades of experience with EPA, OSHA, and TCEQ regulations. TenForce brought a mature, proven EHSQ, shaped by years of experience supporting high-risk, complex operations across Europe.  

Together, we share a hands-on understanding of what it takes to run safe, compliant operations from the plant floor to the boardroom.  

That’s why we focus on delivering tools that are quick to roll out, easy to use, and trusted by the teams who rely on them every day 

With TenForce, you get software designed for the people who use it—backed by global know-how and decades of practical experience right here in U.S. plants.  

Looking ahead for Texas industry

Today, TenForce supports more than 180,000 users in over 20 countries, including some of the largest industrial operators in Texas and beyond. 

Our goal is simple: to help every customer protect people, performance, and the planet—one safer operation at a time. 

And while our story now spans continents, our focus remains local. We’re proud to stand beside the industries that keep Texas, and the world, moving safely forward.