SLAS Expands Global Operations with New Office in Europe

The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) is proud to announce the opening of the Society’s European office in Brussels, Belgium. The SLAS Europe office becomes the Society’s third on three different continents, joining operations in Shanghai, China, and SLAS Global Headquarters in suburban Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The opening of the Europe office is a product of the SLAS Strategic Plan. Currently, approximately 20 percent of SLAS’s global membership is based in Europe. To better serve these constituents, SLAS commissioned an extensive market research study in 2012 that indicated its European members held the Society in positive regard and were interested in taking advantage of SLAS product and services offerings, especially if they were customized to European audiences and priority needs. The opening of the European office is an initial, albeit critical, step to better serving current members based in Europe, with a goal to grow membership and engagement levels in the future.

“This is another exciting moment in SLAS history,” said Jeff Paslay, SLAS President. “As we open the doors of our third regional office, we take another major step toward fulfilling our commitment to enabling laboratory science and technology professionals around the globe to enjoy increased access to our full menu of programs, products, services and events. Our new SLAS Europe office is an essential first step in amplifying European participation to the 360-degrees of benefits available to SLAS members everywhere.”

Staffed by a team of three professionals, the short-term objectives for the SLAS European team include the establishment of a Europe volunteer leadership team. Another priority is building alliances with complementary, mission-driven organizations that also serve the scientific technology professional community. Towards that end, SLAS is partnering closely with ELRIG, the European Laboratory Robotics Interest Group (ELRIG), on their 2013 conference (September 3-4 in Manchester, England), as well as with the MipTec 2013 Conference and Exhibition (September 24-26 in Basel, Switzerland).