Profile Lauren Hageman

Tell us a bit about your role at Milliken, what does it involve? 
At Milliken, I help evaluate existing and new products in various paint applications including architectural, industrial, and wood.  I may help to enhance paint performance by improving the rheology of the paint for better flow and levelling, or enhancing hardness and drying to reduce return-to-service times.

What are the main ways you can help Milliken’s customers?
I solve new and old coating problems for customers using Milliken products. One example of this would be resolving slow dry times in a wood stain and removing cobalt to improve the GHS labelling of the paint.  I enjoy being able to help solve both performance and sustainability challenges. 

What does a typical week look like for you? 
I have been focusing on our driers line, both current and experimental products.  Driers are added to some paints to speed up drying or to improve final film properties such as rust resistance.  I study various driers and different amounts of those driers to see how they affect multiple paint properties.

What is your favorite part of the job? 
I like the independence I have to explore a hypothesis and really dive into a problem or project.

What’s is your favorite Milliken memory? 
In September 2021, everyone working for the Borchers brand attended the Cleveland Guardians baseball game together. It’s always fun to network with snacks and a game in the background.

What’s special about Milliken’s Chemical business? 
I like all the opportunities for growth and learning at Milliken.  I appreciate that Milliken is continuously investing back into the labs by allowing us to purchase new equipment. By doing this, we have additional tools in our toolbox to prove our theories and differentiate between our products and competitive products.

What’s one piece of advice you have for someone looking for a job or internship at Milliken?  
Networking is helpful to get your foot in the door.

Lauren Hageman, Senior Applications Development Chemist, Milliken, United States