Profile Blake West

Tell us a bit about your role at Milliken, what does it involve?

I get to work side by side with PhD chemists, who are some of the smartest people I have ever met, on projects in the laboratory. I find it very exciting to think about finding new ways to produce chemicals, or even producing something that has never been made before! I could be the first person around the world experimenting and accomplishing something like this.  

How does your expert knowledge help Milliken’s customers?

A lot of the time customers come to us with the idea of a specific chemical they may need to create their product and we try to find a way to make that chemical meet the specifications they set. Other times we can help the customer uncover what is going wrong in their own processes by running sets of experiments and tweaking small details.  We also spend time optimizing our current process, trying to find better and more efficient ways of producing a product to meet a customers’ needs.

What does a typical week look like for you?

Typically, I will run a set of reactions or experiments, then analyze the samples produced to see how small changes can optimize the process or control certain specifications.

What do you like most about your position, what excites you?

One my favorite things is the opportunity to learn different techniques and skills all the time. Almost every project presents a different problem or requires a new way of thinking or technique. I am always excited to learn these new things, whether it be in the lab or about how different parts of the team work together during a project.

What’s is your favorite Milliken memory?

One of my favorite memories is my first visit to the SiVance plant, where many of the products I work on are produced. I had never really seen anything like it before, including the sheer size of some of the reactors and the safety controls.. Meeting more of the R&D team was great, and. a great experience overall.

What’s special about Milliken’s Chemical business? What do you like about the company?

I think one of the most special things at Milliken is the community, with so many different innovative ideas going on in each business. It is awesome to see what others are doing and how we can all learn from each other and apply some parts of those ideas to our own projects.

What’s one piece of advice you have for someone looking for a job or internship at Milliken?

Just be yourself  and share what drives you.

Blake West joined Milliken in June 2021 as an Advanced Technical Specialist in the Fine Chemicals Research and Development Team. He is based in Spartanburg, South Carolina in the United States.