Kevin Chase, shown in his office, and his wife, Carole, founded Chase Plastics in 1992. Since then, they have seen the company grow into the largest of its kind in the United States.

Carole and Kevin Chase of Chase Plastics are dedicated to high-level customer service.

As owners of the Clarkstonbased international resin distributor since 1992, the couple have brought their practice of providing the best for customers to the business of high-end plastics.

“As other companies have moved into totally using voice mail where you never find anyone live to talk to, we’ve actually moved in the other way,” Carole Chase said.

“We personally answer our telephones. We have a receptionist that answers the telephone and for quite a few years tried to discourage the use of voice mail.”

The Chases got started in their own business after years of working for other plastics companies.

“Kevin graduated from Ferris State University with a degree in plastics engineering,” she said. “He had a desire to go into plastics all the way back in high school. He worked for a compounder, then Borg Warner Chemicals, which was eventually acquired by GE’s plastic division.” After a lot of transformation at GE, the Chases decided to form their own plastics company. “We wanted to do it our way,” she said. “We saw a big opportunity to service the customers. “Larger corporations get bureaucratic, and the desires of the customer aren’ listened to. We had a desire to partner with our customers.”

Each employee comes in knowing that customer service is essential and the main order of business.

“We let all of our employees know that we are a resin distributor — we don’t manufacture anything. Our product is service,” she says.

The 64-employee company serves 42 states and nine companies that make products worldwide for automotive, consumer goods and high-end chemical applications in electronics, construction, marine products and the medical field.

For example, Chase material is in the popular Segway personal transporters and Polaris snowmobiles.

The Chases not only invest in their customers through their service, but also through their community.

“When we started looking for a business location, we wanted to stay within our community that we live in on a personal level,” she said.

Chase Plastics also reinvests in its own customers.

Its offices are furnished with furniture from Michigan companies, such as Herman Miller and Haworth.

“We have a lot of product in the Zody chair from Haworth, and it has won a lot of awards for it being ergonomically correct,” she said.

“Everyone in our company has one. When we were refurnishing our cubicles and office furniture, one of our main concerns was to be able to return the business to our customers that we sell materials to in Michigan. If I have the ability to promote Michigan business growth I will.”