Cheryl Klaus
Cheryl Klaus is a seasoned customer service and supply chain professional with more than 35 years of experience in the chemical manufacturing industry. Based in La Porte, Texas, she has built a long-standing career defined by adaptability, reliability, and a deep commitment to operational excellence. Over the past 25 years with Huntsman International LLC, Cheryl has played an integral role in supporting plant operations through logistics coordination, customer service, and supply chain planning.
Throughout her career, Cheryl has developed specialized expertise in rail and truck logistics, transloading, inventory management, and production scheduling. She is highly skilled in SAP systems, rail shipping and tracking, and has hands-on experience with platforms such as Uber Freight. Known for her ability to thrive in fast-paced environments, she effectively manages complex logistics operations while maintaining accuracy and attention to detail. Her background also includes strong capabilities in business process improvement, sales support, and cross-functional coordination across plant operations.
Cheryl’s professional success is rooted in her relationship-driven approach to customer service and collaboration. She is passionate about building meaningful connections with customers, colleagues, and carriers, and is recognized for her ability to multitask, problem-solve, and “wear many hats” in dynamic environments. Currently open to new opportunities as a Customer Service Representative or Supply Chain Specialist, Cheryl brings a wealth of industry knowledge, a strong work ethic, and a proven ability to deliver results in logistics and supply chain operations.
• Hazardous Materials Certifications
• Trucking Industry Training
• Champions School of Real Estate- Tomball College
What do you attribute your success to?
I think making relationships - great relationships with your customers and folks that you work with - is what has made me successful. They become family to you. When people reach out, they know that I'm very efficient and very good at my role. I'm committed to excellence, adaptable, and dependable, and they know that about me. I work across multiple areas in the business, so I do a little bit of everything. It's my consistency, dedication, and strong work ethic. I'm willing to learn new things and acclimate with changes to make myself well-rounded and flexible in what I do. I'm a go-getter, and usually when I do something, I start it and I finish it.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would just tell her to be open to change, because we are moving in a new direction with AI, and just to get yourself ready for that and try to learn all of that as much as you can, because I think this AI is going to change a lot of our roles. Learn from those that are more senior in their role - take and absorb everything that you can from those people that are willing to share a lot about the role and different functions that they do. I think you just have to be open for it. You have to be strong in what you know. Yes, it is definitely a male-dominated industry, especially in the chemical manufacturing area, because I'm working at a plant. There's only a couple of women out here, but I just think that you have to be strong in what you know, and I don't let them get over me like that. You've got to be strong to work in a plant setting. I think women can play a big part because we are very detail-oriented, and as a woman, I feel like we are more so.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
We are moving in a new direction with AI, and I think this AI is going to change a lot of our roles. In logistics, especially working in a plant setting, there are so many changes because you're constantly moving and scheduling things. It's not something that's real easy and runs smooth - you are putting out fires all day long. You have to reschedule this, do this, we need to move that out. You learn the transit times and how to solve those problems, because logistics is not an easy job. Working in a chemical industry with scheduling, it's very important that things do not overrun each other. There's a certain time that things have to come in and out, so it's just constant juggling. Rail is very different and it's its own entity.