Nanophase Technologies Corporation

Founded in 1989, Nanophase is a global provider of engineered nanomaterial solutions across a broad range of markets. As a world leader in nanomaterials, we help our customers succeed with proprietary and patent protected technologies that empower them to create innovative products. From high volume consumer products that are part of our daily lives to collaborating with customers to expand their competitive advantage and the markets they serve through the use of our materials, we are committed to creating the products you need.

ABOUT US

Nanophase develops, manufactures and sells an integrated family of nanomaterial technologies. Nanophase produces engineered nanomaterial products for use in a variety of markets including Surface Finishing,Exterior Coatings, Personal Care, Plastics, Scratch Resistant Coatings, and Textiles. The Company was founded in 1989, went public in 1997 and the common stock currently trades on the OTC Market (OTCQB) under the symbol NANX.

Company headquarters are located in Romeoville, Illinois which houses corporate offices, manufacturing, quality and research and development laboratories. The Company also has manufacturing operations in Burr Ridge, Illinois. Both facilities are certified under ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 standards.

As a leader in the field of nanomaterials technologies, Nanophase has evolved from solely a producer of nanoparticles into an integrator of commercially scaled nanomaterial technologies focused on market and customer applications. The Company has the capabilities to make, coat and disperse nano metal oxides and offers customers a ‘solution’ approach for applications. The integrated family of nanomaterial technologies forms Nanophase’s core intellectual property and proprietary knowledge. Nanophase currently owns or licenses 18 United States patents and patent applications, and 48 foreign patents and patent applications.

MISSION

Nanophase is a world leader in delivering nano-engineered materials to enable innovative products that improve people’s lives. Our aim is to understand our customers unmet needs and to deliver exceptional value to help them win. By making our customers successful, we benefit our shareholders, employees and community. We conduct our business in a safe, ethical and environmentally responsible way.

VISION

Nanophase will be the top nanotechnology provider worldwide and the “go to” nano company for our customers by successfully commercializing nano products which revolutionize the world.

VALUES

In the pursuit of our mission and vision, we commit to focus on the customer by applying the following key values:

• Innovation
• Teamwork and Loyalty
• Integrity
• Respect
• Uncompromised Quality
• Stewardship
• Safety and Environmental Responsibility
• Shareholder Value

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Jess A. Jankowski

Beginning in 2009, Mr. Jankowski has lead Nanophase in a targeted strategic expansion in to several new markets, working directly with commercial end-users, in order to best exploit the Company’s technical and market advantages.

In addition to its legacy book of business, Nanophase has currently focused its business and technical development on four key applications areas:

-Personal Care

-Surface Finishing

-Alkaline Batteries

-Solar Control

He believes that this high degree of focus will best position Nanophase for significant near- and mid-term growth.

In addition to serving on the board of directors of Nanophase, Mr. Jankowski serves on a series of commercially-focused and non-profit boards.  These currently include; the Northern Illinois Research Foundation, the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association, and Thrive Chicago.  Past service has included; the TechAmerica Midwest Board, the Romeoville Economic Development Commission, and the Joliet Montessori School.

Mr. Jankowski is also a subject matter expert for the Invest Illinois Venture Fund program (a state- and federally-funded program targeting small business growth).  He remains active in supporting the nano- and high-tech communities through advocacy work in the State of Illinois and in Washington DC, and is an active member of the Economic Club of Chicago.

Mr. Jankowski has been with the Company since 1995, having helped to take Nanophase public in 1997, serving as CFO from 1999 to 2009, and CEO since 2009. He holds a B.S. from Northern Illinois University and an M.B.A. from Loyola University of Chicago.  During his tenure, in addition to re-focusing Nanophase’s business strategy, he has been instrumental in raising growth capital through venture, public, strategic and private funding vehicles.

Frank J. Cesario

Mr. Cesario joined the Company in June 2009 as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Nanophase, Mr. Cesario was Chief Financial Officer of ISCO International, Inc., a publicly traded global supplier of telecommunications equipment, as well as Turf Ventures LLC, a privately held chemical distributor. He began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick and then served in progressively responsible finance positions within Material Sciences Corporation and Outokumpu Copper, Inc. Mr. Cesario holds an MBA (Finance) from DePaul University and a BS (Accountancy) from the University of Illinois. He is a board member of the Chicago chapter of Financial Executives International and also a registered CPA in the state of Illinois.

Kevin Cureton

Mr. Cureton joined Nanophase during November 2012 as its Vice President – Sales, Marketing and Business Development.  Kevin’s chemical industry experience has spanned more than twenty years with companies including twelve years at AMCOL, where one of his roles was Managing Director of its nanomaterial-based Health & Beauty Solutions division.  Prior to that he worked at Air Products, Borden and other entities.  He holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. 

Nancy Baldwin

Ms. Baldwin has served as the Director of Human Resources and Information Technology since joining the Company in 2000.  In September of 2008, she was appointed as the Company’s Vice-President of Human Resources and Investor Relations.  Prior to joining Nanophase, she served as Vice-President of Human Resources at iLink Global, and Chief Human Resources Officer at The Marketing Store Worldwide, a global supplier to McDonald’s Corporation.  Previous experience includes 14 years at Arthur Andersen, LLP & Andersen Consulting, LLP, in various management positions.  Ms. Baldwin holds a B.S. degree in Education.  She was appointed to the Romeoville Economic Development Commission in 2010 and elected as Vice-Chairman in 2012.  She was appointed to the Will County Workforce Investment Board in 2014.  She also participates in Three Rivers Manufacturing Human Resources Association and Three Rivers Education Partners supporting STEM initiatives.

Harry Sarkas

Dr. Sarkas holds a Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Sarkas has over 20 years of direct experience in nanomaterial synthesis, production, characterization, and product development.  Dr. Sarkas joined Nanophase Technologies Corporation in 1995 after holding a fellowship at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.  He is currently the Acting Director of Research and Development at Nanophase Technologies.  He is an inventor or co-inventor on twelve US and foreign patents and has authored over 35 technical publications.

H. Glenn Judd

Mr. Judd has been in charge of Operations at Nanophase since 2009, a role to which he brings a style of leadership built on a mindset of continuous improvement, focus and discipline, and a goals oriented approach to delivering meaningful results to the company.  He has successfully implemented Lean principles to all aspects of operations, which has yielded substantial improvements in efficiencies, enabling his group to deliver more, do it faster, and do it cheaper.  Over the past five years, he has worked with the senior leadership team to craft a business development strategy that gives Nanophase its best chance of winning by focusing on markets and applications where our technical capabilities and passions overlap with unmet needs, and makes sure his organization is well aligned with that strategy.

Mr. Judd has been with the company since 2000, working his way up to his current position through engineering roles with increasing levels of responsibility.  Prior to Nanophase, Mr. Judd spent eight years with the Eastman Kodak company, primarily in process engineering and research positions, where the knowledge and expertise he gained working on the synthesis and dispersion of small particles has provided him an ideal set of skills to bring to bear for his role at NTC.  He graduated with honors from Michigan State University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1992.