We hope that this Member Update finds everyone back from a relaxing summer!
SEFA FALL CONFERENCE— “The Greening of SEFA”
The Board has been working hard to put together an informative and enjoyable Fall Conference, the focus of
which will be the September 18th General Session “The Greening of SEFA”. The program is co-chaired by
Stephan Hauville, Karl Aveard and Rick Johnson and will serve as a “LEED 101” primer. We will also be
discussing the revision to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED AGL (Application Guide for Laboratories). For
those who thought “LEED” was a passing trend we encourage you to read the June 30, 2008 article entitled:
“The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act.” The proposed Federal bill, which has
already been approved by the House and is now before the Senate, “would provide more than $20 billion over
the next five years to help states build and renovate schools and make them healthier, more energy-efficient and
better for the environment.”
If SEFA’s Recommended Practices are to remain the industry benchmark, we need to identify “Green”
opportunities and incorporate them into the Recommended Practices. We are reaching out to LEED AP’s to
assist us with this important undertaking. If any LEED AP’s in your firm want to participate in this program
please contact us.
The Fall Conference also features a full agenda of Committee meetings. We have made room for invaluable
networking opportunities as well. SEFA members exhibiting at Labs21 will be provided with invitations for
SEFA’s September 17th Welcome Reception. These invitations are to be distributed to select Labs21 attendees.
After a long day of meetings on Thursday, September 18th, join us for some laughs at the Improv Comedy Club &
Dinner Theater. We would like to thank our corporate meeting sponsors – Wilsonart International and RPC
Terry. We have posted the SEFA Attendee List on the SEFA site. Please make certain that you have separately
registered and paid to attend the SEFA Conference.
LABS21 Technology & Services Fair
We are pleased to report a record 27 SEFA member Exhibitors at Labs 21. We continue to build on this mutually
beneficial partnership. On Thursday, September 18th Labs21 has invited the SEFA Conferees to attend the First
Annual “Go Beyond Awards” Luncheon, with some SEFA members vying for these awards. We believe this will
be the precursor to the “Lab of the Year” award to be presented at an annual industry-wide event.
SEFA Asia Reception—analytica-China 2008
We currently have Nine (9) event sponsors — Durcon, Inc., Kewaunee Scientific, Oriental Giken, Thermo
Scientific, UltraLabs, Dalton, Abu Dhabi Medical Industries, Kerric Labs and Yamatake Corporation.
The
Reception Agenda and sponsorship information for this event are available online. It is not too late to add your
company to this impressive list of sponsors. We were pleasantly surprised to hear the following from Allen Mao
about the significance of SEFA’s presence in Asia:
Since Ultra Labs became a SEFA member nine years ago, we have been educating the Chinese
market about SEFA’s performance and product safety standards contained in SEFA’s
Recommended Practices. End users, architects and Chinese government officials are starting
to rely upon SEFA’s Recommended Practices for their lab projects. As a result, SEFA is being
recognized as a symbol of product quality and craftsmanship. It is important that SEFA remain
committed to educating these markets about the importance of quality lab furniture and the use
of SEFA’s Recommended Practices to assure that only qualified and knowledgeable
manufacturers are used.
Just a Reminder. . . . . .
Our new fiscal year began July 1st. If you have not already done so, please complete the Annual Certification
form and remit your dues payment. REMEMBER, only SEFA members in good standing are permitted to vote at
committee meetings and use the SEFA logo in their marketing materials. For your convenience, payments can
be made by credit card, online at sefalabs.com.