ILDA Spring Conference 2023
May 8, 2023
Between April 23 - 25, The Lab Depot’s CEO John Seelke, Marketing Manager Danielle Schmidt, and Digital Marketing Specialist Faith Daniels joined the Independent Laboratory Distributor’s Association (ILDA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for its Spring 2023 member gathering.
At its bi-annual conferences, ILDA consistently hosts unique, fun, and supportive events for members to network and discuss trends in the laboratory supply industry while also fostering collegial relationships between members and prospective members. Lab Depot CEO John Seelke currently serves as the ILDA Board Chair.
This spring, ILDA hosted several cornerstone events, including a vendor expo, industry panel discussions, a member and new member reception, and shared member dinners. The Spring Vendor Expo featured manufacturers such as Ricca Chemical, United Scientific, I.W. Tremont, Ecom Seating, Adam Equipment, and Thermo Fisher.
Members joined forces for a 5K walking tour around the city. Proceeds raised by participating in this activity were donated to a local, educational non-profit organization, The Stem Prep Academy. The money from ILDA will help add new playsets for the academy’s youngest students in pre-K and kindergarten.
Speaker sessions were hosted by Liz Geisleman, CEO of Rocky Mountain Reagents and featured Josh Edmond of Match SP delivering a presentation entitled “How to do the Impossible - The Power of Independence.” Josh emphasized the value of a company’s drive to “Take what you got and make it what you want.”
Other sessions included a speaker panel on the topic of “Supply Chain Volatility. Past, Present, Future,” including Derek Paulowski, Regional Sales Manager, Columbus Chemical Industries, Don Hobbs, Corporate Marketing and Business Development Director, GFS Chemicals, and Donny Williams, Director, Supply Chain, Greenfield Global. The insightful speakers on this panel delivered great information regarding recent supply chain management issues and global trends regarding changing regulations and taxes.
The second night’s reception and dinner took place at the compelling Philadelphia Science History Institute, a facility dedicated to “preserving and interpreting the history of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences.”
On the last day, ILDA members were treated to a tour of the J.G. Finneran manufacturing and production facility in Vineland, New Jersey. Members saw the process for the production of plastic and glass vials as well as the facility’s process for quality control and packing to ship.
ILDA events always deliver wonderful networking opportunities and a great time for old and new friends to connect and reconnect to share concerns and successes in support of one another. The next ILDA gathering will be the annual fall conference in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. We hope to see you there!
Author(s): Susan Csomor