Phil Haagensen

President
Phil Haagensen

President

Phil is the President and Owner of Chem-Materials, starting with the company in 1991 as the northern Ohio Technical Sales Representative, moving up to General Sales Manager in 2011, and President in 2014. He has a Chemical Engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University and has been in the CASE industry for over 30 years. He has held positions on several boards, including the Cleveland Paints & Coatings Association, Evonik Distributor Advisory Council, and Material Marketing Association. He has two adult children and lives with his wife Kathy in Westlake, Ohio. He enjoys baseball, music, and reading in his spare time along with the occasional pinball game.

Ellie Stepanik

Director of Finance and Operations
Ellie Stepanik

Director of Finance and Operations

Ellie joined Chem-Materials in 2013 and is our Director of Finance and Operations. She handles all things financial for the business – billing, receipt of payments, accounts payable, payroll, 401K administration, etc. Ellie graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. She has over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance in many industries ranging from real estate, retail, and medical equipment prior to her role at Chem-Materials. She has been a volleyball coach for the last 10 years coaching both high school and competitive club volleyball. Ellie and her husband, Darrell live in Amherst, OH and they have a chocolate Labrador, Teak. In her free time, she enjoys boating, fishing, gardening, and volleyball.

Angie Mack

Customer Service Manager
Angie Mack

Customer Service Manager

Angie Mack joined Chem-Materials in 2014 and is our Customer Service Manager. Angie is a graduate of The Ohio State University and has over 25 years of experience in the customer service field, ranging from various positions in retail to working with customers in the banking and IT industries. Angie lives with her husband, Terry, and teenage son in North Ridgeville, Ohio. She has two award-winning German Shorthaired Pointers. She enjoys volunteering for the Sports Boosters and her son's many sports as a team mom.

Tracey Shafts

Accounting Assistant
Tracey Shafts

Accounting Assistant

Tracey Shafts joined Chem-Materials in 2013 and is a Customer Service Representative at Chem Materials Company where she coordinates warehouse orders and manages existing orders. Tracey has 20 years’ experience in the customer service field ranging from front desk work at a medical therapy company and city recreation facility to billing for a home health company. She helps our customers place, keep track of, and logistically coordinate their orders. Tracey has three children whom have served in the armed forces (the marines, the army and a son who graduated as an officer from the West Point Military Academy) and has 4 grandchildren that she loves to spend time with. She enjoys sewing, attending music concerts, and bike riding.

Ross Waldon

Purchasing Analyst
Ross Waldon

Purchasing Analyst

Ross joined the Chem-Materials team in September 2022 transferring over from a procurement role in the automotive/motorsports industry. After studying health care administration at Ohio University, he switched gears to a purchasing career where he discovered his niche. He brings 10 years’ experience in domestic and international purchasing, supply chain management, and inventory control. When he’s not crunching numbers, he is either planning a vacation somewhere palm trees grow naturally with his parents and fiancé, Genevieve, wrenching on his small fleet of dirt bikes, or attending a concert or sporting event with friends.

Heidi Schmit

Accountant
Heidi Schmit

Accountant

Heidi Schmit joined our Accounting Department in March 2021 and handles accounts payable. She has over 15 years’ experience in business holding positions in Purchasing, Project Management and Finance. Heidi moved to Cleveland from Chicago and enjoys exploring the Cleveland area. In her spare time, she enjoys cycling, golfing, live music, long walks on the beach (kidding!), and spending time with family.

Lauren Gilchrist

Customer Service Representative
Lauren Gilchrist

Customer Service Representative

Lauren joined the Customer Service Team in 2022.  She graduated from Eastern Michigan University where she played saxophone with the marching band for 3 years.  She continues to play saxophone with The Bay Village Community Band.  Lauren has 20 years’ experience in the customer service field ranging from sales, banking, mortgage loans and front desk & billing in Pediatrics.  Lauren lives in North Olmsted with her two dogs Rosie and Luna.  In her spare time, she enjoys attending concerts, going to Cleveland Indians games, crocheting/crafting, and baking.

Mike Haraczy

General Sales Manager - North

OH, MI, IN, NY, PA

Mike Haraczy

General Sales Manager - North

Mike is the Technical Sales Representative in northern Ohio and the eastern Midwest territory, joining Chem-Materials in 2014. He has over 30 years’ experience in paints and coatings. He previously held R&D positions in the
coatings industry (ICI/Glidden; Watson Standard) as well as sales and marketing positions (RT Vanderbilt; Cary Co). He is a Past President of the Pittsburgh Society of Coatings Technology (2005 – 2006) and current Cleveland Coatings Society member. Mike has a grown son and daughter and lives in the Greater Cleveland/Akron area with his wife Peggy. He enjoys renovating houses, golfing, and riding his motorcycle in his spare time.

Sean Wagner

General Sales Manager - South
Sean Wagner

General Sales Manager - South

Sean is the Technical Sales Representative in the Carolinas and lives with his wife, Jessica, and four young children in South Carolina. He joined Chem-Materials in 2010, with a background in lubricant and fuel additives (Midcontinental Chemical) and industrial chemical (Buckeye International) sales and a chemistry degree from Southern Illinois University. He has been the (2018) President of the St. Louis Paint and Coatings Society as well as a local liaison to the American Coatings Society. In his spare time Sean enjoys golf, amateur meteorology, and acting in community plays.

Tony Novello

Technical Sales Rep

OH, IN, KY, TN, WV, MO, AR, KS

Tony Novello

Technical Sales Rep

Tony is the Technical Sales Representative in Southern Ohio and the lower central Midwest territory. He joined Chem-Materials in 2014. He started out as a lab chemist at Rohm Tech in 1991, formulating dispersions and emulsions for the leather finishing industry. He has extensive technical experience in developing products for this industry and worked here until moving into specialty chemical sales in 2006 with Boehle Chemical. Tony has three grown children and lives in Madison, Indiana with his Great Dane, Bernadette. He enjoys live music, helping to organize the MadHop Music Festival, and well-made dress shoes.

Bill Tranberg

Technical Sales Rep
Bill Tranberg

Technical Sales Rep

Bill joined Chem-Materials in 2012 and previously worked for MA Hanna (now PolyOne) for 22 years as well as 17 years with Ferro Corp selling color concentrates and dry color to the plastics industry. Bill is our plastics industry expert, having served in several capacities with the SPE at the national and local levels, including President of the Chicago affiliate. Bill and his wife, Dee, live in North Royalton, Ohio, where Bill enjoys golfing and watching his grandkids play sports.

Ed Santorella

Technical Sales Rep

AL, GA

Ed Santorella

Technical Sales Rep

Ed joined Chem-Materials in 2019 and is the Technical Sales Representative for Georgia.  His experience in the chemical industry spans nearly four decades. He has held Director level technical and commercial positions on the supply side at large and small specialty chemical companies. Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit, he has contributed to and been awarded several US patents. He was the founder, and co-owner of a Georgia-based company that produces acrylic poured flooring and concrete repair systems.  He grew up in northern New Jersey and has called Canton, Georgia home for the past 15 years. Ed and his wife of 28 years, have 2 grown children. He enjoys spending time with his family, and restores and races vintage motorcycles.

Joe Makhlouf

Technical Sales Rep

NM, TX, OK, LA and MS

Joe Makhlouf

Technical Sales Rep

Joe is the Technical Sales Representative for Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Mississippi and joined Chem-Materials in 2022. He has a degree in Polymer Chemistry and 20 years of experience in formulating Automotive OEM waterborne coatings prior to moving into a Technical Sales role, continually growing his sales territory using his extensive knowledge of chemical raw materials. Joe says the best part of his job is consulting with customers and leading them to a joint resolution. He has been a member of the Dallas Paint & Coatings Association since 2012 and calls McKinney, TX home (home is also where you will find his wife, 4 kids, and 3 dogs). Joe loves to travel with his family and is also an avid musician where he is a keyboardist with his DFW-based rock band.

Lindsey Roth

Customer Service Representative
Lindsey Roth

Customer Service Representative

Daniel Canavan

General Sales Manager - South
Daniel Canavan

General Sales Manager - South

Seth McGaughy

Technical Sales Rep

IL, WI, IA, ND, SD, MN, NE

Seth McGaughy

Technical Sales Rep

Seth joined Chem-Materials Co. in 2019 and covers the states of IL, WI, MN, IA, NE, ND and SD. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of industries with particular familiarity in the CASE, Inks, Thermoplastics, and Composites markets.  He enjoys collaborating with his clients to solve problems in a unique and cost-effective manner.

Originally from the Chicago area, Seth now resides in Madison, Wisconsin.  He and his wife Sara have a young son named Cole and 2 crazy rescue Spaniels named Dolly Madison and Betsy Bratwurst.  In his free time he enjoys travel, sports and the theater.

Devin Hicks

Technical Sales Rep

AL, FL

Devin Hicks

Technical Sales Rep

Devin is the Technical Sales Representative for Florida and Southern Alabama and joined Chem-Materials in 2022. He graduated from Clemson University with a minor in Chemistry and pursued a career in sales. He gained extensive experience in outside sales where he successfully grew the Florida market for over 8 years in the industrial supply sector. His passion for sales has been driven by building partnerships with customers and helping them find solutions that will benefit their business. He resides in St Petersburg, FL with his wife and fur child (Finley the Australian Shepherd) and enjoys golfing, boating, and a cold beverage on the beach.