We are pleased to announce Kathleen (Kat) Langford has joined the Client Services team as an additional Project Manager at WETLAB.  Kat has worked as a Wet Chemistry and Geochemistry Laboratory Technician with WETLAB and a Laboratory and Logistic Coordinator at Desert Research Institute.

As a project manager, Kat will be another point of contact at WETLAB to help coordinate projects, provide quotes, send reports, prepare invoices, provide job status information, and assist with general questions.

Kat studied nutrition/ dietetics and public health at the University of Nevada, Reno.  She also has volunteered with the Veterans Guest House, assisting with special events and fundraising.

Please help us welcome her to the team.  She can be reached via email at katl@wetlaboratory.com.

Rob is the team lead for the Geochemistry lab at WETLAB.  He joined the WETLAB team two years ago, after he moved to Reno from New Jersey.  Rob holds a B.A. in Chemistry from Rutgers University, and has a myriad of technical lab expertise.

Rob came to WETLAB with several years of lab experience under his belt.  He previously worked in research at Church and Dwight (the Arm & Hammer company), where a project that he helped work on eventually made it to market.  After, he worked for third party pharmaceutical company, called DPT, working in a clean room (which is why he sometimes drops things on the floor and doesn’t pick them up).  After that, he worked at American Assay doing acid digestions and quality assurance.

The Geochemistry department at WETLAB runs many different EPA methods, including MWMP (Meteoric Water Mobility Profile), Flashpoint, Cyanide Extraction, and HCT (Humidity Cell Test).  The HCT lab consumes much of his time, as it includes several different tests for each cell, each week.  Since beginning his tenure at WETLAB, Rob has made several improvements to the functioning of the geochemistry department, including completely changing how ABA (Acid-Base Accounting) is preformed, so that WETLAB will better comply with NDEP rules and regulations.

At WETLAB, we specialize in finding innovative and unique solutions to client needs.  This holds especially true in the Geochemistry department with Rob at the helm.  For example, non-percolating HCT’s have been moved to paint trays to ensure both timely and accurate analysis.  Per client request, Rob preformed several consecutive MWMPs (which is a procedure usually only preformed once), resulting in the generation of 25 samples from 5 samples of rock.  Several other requests have been heeded, including making special standards for corrosion tests, and preforming net carbon and percent organic and inorganic carbon value analysis.  Client satisfaction is one of our highest priorities at WETLAB, and we provide inventive solutions while maintaining our standard level of precision and accuracy.

Rob prepping the LECO for analysis.

Western Environmental Testing Laboratory – WETLAB would like to introduce our newest employee.  Bruce Trotter has joined WETLAB as our new Laboratory Manager.  Bruce has over 23 years of experience in increasing roles within the laboratory at several companies.  His experience is enhanced by his Bachelor’s degree in Biological Conservation and his Master’s in Biology.

As Laboratory Manager, Bruce is responsible for the overall leadership of the laboratory department and the laboratory staff.  Bruce will lead our efforts in these areas:

• Plan and implement the overall policies, procedures and services for the laboratory department.
• Ensure effective and efficient departmental operations, including quality control and compliance adherence.
• Organize and direct daily activities of the laboratory and is responsible for supervising the laboratory personnel.
• Work with product development teams to manage new product development.

WETLAB is excited about Bruce’s arrival and look forward to developing a stronger laboratory product.  If you have any questions or comments for Bruce you may stop by the Sparks location at 475 E. Greg St., Suite 119 Sparks, NV 89431, call him directly at (775) 200-9884 or email to brucet@wetlaboratory.com.

Michelle Sherven is the owner/operator of WETLAB – Western Environmental Testing Laboratory.

WETLAB is a company that has shown tremendous growth over the past year. Michelle took this company from a small start-up to a well established business with overflowing clientele and an increase in revenue and hiring. WETLAB’s revenue increased 29% over the past year, showing enough promise for Michelle to add 4 new full time employees and 7 part time employees. WETLAB started with a total of seven employees. As any entrepreneur knows, creating jobs in a “down” economy is a feat in itself, yet Michelle comfortably made the decision to add to her team because she not only could, but had to. In addition to adding team members, WETLAB was able to expand their working space and equipment list.

WETLAB purchased a new building to conduct business in, adding 11,000 sq ft to their offices and labs. WETLAB also added additional office spaces outside the Reno/Sparks area, purchasing a location in Elko. Along with the extra space, WETLAB’s finances were so stable that Michelle added several new pieces of cutting edge technology testing equipment to the labs, making WETLAB one of the most innovative businesses in their field today. WETLAB solidified that reputation for being on top of their industry by certifying four new test methods to properly provide the scientific data in their water quality tests that governments, mines, environmental restoration organizations and more use on a regular basis to make important development decisions.

Want to talk expansion? WETLAB’s services, sales, and marketing went from being a one state gig to covering a majority of the West Coast in 2010, expanding to California, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. Michelle now has the team, locations, and resources to provide the most innovative water quality testing to whoever her clients may be and wherever those clients are located.

Michelle’s focus on community well being also contributes to her professional notoriety, both for her and WETLAB as a company. Michelle successfully implemented a paperless billing system for in house client reports, receivables and payables systems. Being in the field she is, environmental standards rate high on Michelle’s priority list, and she’s striving to switch as much of her business as possible to a paperless system. She also strives to keep her lab under a full, 100% recycling program, not letting anything go to waste, from tools and toss away equipment to her team’s lunch leftovers.

WETLAB also gives back to the community by volunteering at the Northern Nevada Food Bank, packaging food to go out to needy families. As a dedicated volunteer group, WETLAB was nominated as one of the top companies that volunteer at the food bank.

As a business and community leader, Michelle takes pride in the fact that she puts the well being of her employees, partners, surroundings, and company first. Her top notch standards ensure that her practices are going to stick around for decades to come. And her revenue figures are impressive for a female in a typically male dominated industry.

High standards go hand-in-hand with owning and operating an Environmental Testing Laboratory. Michelle’s ability to maintain her high standards are reflected in the growth and popularity of her lab. WETLAB is known for their precise analytics and high standard of customer service.  This offering a uniquely client-oriented lab environment.

Michelle is a type of person that knows immediately  what attribute is the most influential in regard to the success of WETLAB.  Based on her several years as a business owner and entrepreneur, Michelle has discovered that at the very top of the list is the distinguishing quality of integrity. Michelle believes that integrity is at the helm of her company. Michelle keeps integrity present throughout the deepest layers of her company and not just at its surface.  She wants integrity to be the heart and soul of the company’s culture in order to run a company that succeeds, and not company that falters.

As a wife and mother of two, Michelle’s continued commitment to her family and company has always amazed me.  She has very strong determination to be successful as she have proven this determination through her ability to maintain harmony through her personal and business life.  Without this ability I am not sure any entrepreneur would survive.

Michelle is not only committed to her friends, family and company but she has created a new standard for how companies should represent themselves throughout the community.

A great example that comes to mind is WETLAB’s ongoing volunteering efforts at the Food Bank of Northern Nevada (FBNN).  The WETLAB staff volunteers their entire evening once a month to the FBNN packaging food.

One of the qualities we pride ourselves on here at WETLAB are the relationships that we’ve built with our clients over the years and, at least in our opinion, you can’t build relationships if you don’t know anything about us so we’ve decided to start profiling our staff so our readers can get to know a little more about our past, present and future…

Name: Andy Smith
Position: QA/Technical Director

Andy is originally from Phoenix, AZ. He attended Adams State College in Alamosa, CO where he graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry in May 1996. During college he spent time in two different jobs. One was as a lab assistant for organic chemistry and general chemistry labs for about 3 years. The other position, for about a year, was in a BOR lab off-campus as a lab technician and sampler. After graduation, while still in Phoenix, he worked for Rosarita Mexican Foods as a QA technician checking food and can quality for 1 year. Next, he began working for Aqualab (later Acculabs) in the wetchemistry department. He later moved into metals. A few years later, he moved to Reno, NV to work for Acculabs with Michelle Sherven (formerly Kramer).

Since working for WETLAB (formerly Acculabs) he has done pretty much everything. He has been a wetchemistry analyst, a metals analyst, supervisor, laboratory manager, and now QA/Technical director. His training spans everything our lab currently offers, as well as in-depth training by the manufacturers for our IC, ICPMS and Lachet equipment. Also, he had a one day stint as a fish fossil digger in Kemmerer, WY!

Andy fills his time outside work being an avid fan of ice hockey (and even playing some when he gets the chance) and skateboarding. He has also recently started taking boxing classes at TMCC and his favorite author is Michael Crichton.

Feel free to contact Andy at andy@wetlaboratory.com