Kyle Vandermolen
Kyle Vandermolen
Chemical Engineer
Chemical Engineer
Kyle Vandermolen has built a solid career as a Chemical Engineer over the past 18 years, focusing primarily on safety, industrial hazardous materials, and chemical spill abatement. Throughout his career, he has worked with major chemical facilities, steel manufacturers, and companies specializing in chemical processing. He has also contributed his expertise to various panel roles, including service on the Hydrogen Fluoride Panel sponsored by the American Chemistry Council.
His knowledge centers on best practices and safe handling of Hydrogen Fluoride, known as hydrofluoric acid. This chemical is widely used in metal pickling, glass etching, semiconductor processing, and as a precursor for other industrial compounds.
Kyle, who resides in Wentzville, Missouri, earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 2004 from Michigan Technological University. While attending Michigan Tech, he was recruited by the Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity, of which he remains an active member.
During his college years, Mr. Vandermolen engaged in several extracurricular activities. He served on the Michigan Tech Judicial Board and participated in the Michigan Tech Student Foundation. He also participated in various campus events, including involvement with the football team and a student organization called New Innovations in Tech Entertainment (N.I.T.E.). These experiences complemented his academic pursuits and helped develop his leadership and organizational skills.
Kyle Vandermolen’s most recent role is as a Technical Services Specialist for Solvay, a global company known for chemical sciences and processing technologies. His early professional experience includes working as a Chemicals Coordinator at a US Steel Corporation Coke Plant. In this position, he served as a frontline shift manager responsible for supervising a crew of six union employees. He quickly progressed to Departmental Supervisor, managing four shift managers and over 30 union employees, demonstrating strong leadership and operational skills.
From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Vandermolen returned to US Steel Corporation as a Process Manager at their Granite City, Illinois plant. His responsibilities included overseeing the Process Safety Management (PSM) Program and the Isolation, Purging, and Reintroduction (IPR) Program. He also coordinated planning for plant outages and organized responses to chemical spills, ensuring safety protocols were strictly followed.
Afterward, he joined Cathay Pigments as a Facilities Process Engineer and Project Manager. In this role, he was key in planning and installing a new color pigmentation production line at the Valparaiso, Indiana, plant. He also managed various facility improvements and expansions, contributing to increased efficiency and production capacity.
Other significant positions held by Kyle include serving as Operations Manager at Koch Industries’ KCBX Terminals in Chicago, Illinois. There, he led operations and logistics planning for the company’s distribution workforce, focusing on reducing downtime and boosting efficiency. Additionally, as a Production Engineer at Innophos Inc., he managed and planned capital projects to decrease factory downtime, improve product reliability, and remove bottlenecks in processing lines.
Kyle has been recognized as a member of the American Chemistry Council's Hydrogen Fluoride Panel, reflecting his expertise and commitment to safety in chemical handling. He has also received the United States Steel Award for "Safety Excellence in Hazard Identification & Elimination," acknowledging his dedication to workplace safety and hazard management.
Outside of his professional life, Kyle Vandermolen is a husband and proud father with a deep appreciation for the outdoors, especially open waters. He enjoys scuba diving, cave diving, and exploring underwater shipwrecks. As a trained technical scuba diver, he is skilled in using rebreathers, which allow longer and safer dives.
Mr. Vandermolen values sharing his love of nature with family and friends. He frequently spends weekends hiking, fishing, or hunting with his loved ones, which provides balance and relaxation away from work.
In addition to outdoor pursuits, Kyle enjoys cooking, grilling, and baking. He often experiments with recipes from various cultures, striving to perfect each dish. The methodical and precise approach he learned as a chemical engineer influenced his cooking style. He carefully selects ingredients and considers fundamental principles such as heat, fat, salt, and acid in his culinary creations. Although these ideas are common in cooking, he enjoys testing and pushing these concepts further to develop new flavors and textures.
For Mr. Vandermolen, the kitchen is more than just a place to prepare food; it is a central space for family connection. He often entertains guests with meals crafted from his experiments, and the kitchen serves as a gathering spot where he shares stories from his dives or teaches his child new recipes. The kitchen is a hub of conversation about local happenings and national events, strengthening family bonds.
Kyle Vandermolen believes life's three most important pillars are faith, health, and family. He puts effort into nurturing and protecting each of these areas. He hopes that his child will choose a path in life that brings true happiness and fulfillment. Balancing professional responsibilities with personal values remains a guiding principle throughout his life.