Excellent supplier service for laboratories at Herøya

Laboratory Services, a specialised service provider that provides all equipment for laboratories in the Research Park and other customers at Herøya.

four persons sitting on a table in a laboratory

Laboratory Services: From left, Anita Langerød, Allan Lauritzen, Tiril Stamland and Anna-Lydia Johannessen.

During the last three years, there have been major changes in the service business Laboratory Services. Three out of four employees are new, but the service business still delivers equipment and services to the laboratories at Herøya.

"Even though we are new employees, we operate Laboratory Services the way we have always done," Anita Langerød explains. She is the leader of the unit, which is located in Herøya Research Park. "We may have increased our waste treatment service, but we are still a service company for the companies located in the Research Park. That is, some of the companies in Herøya Industrial Park are also customers, and we serve businesses outside the industry area.

Provides "everything"

The business is part of Bilfinger Nordic's service offering in the industrial park.

"We provide most of the services to the laboratory business here," Langerød explains. "The offer ranges from deliveries of various gases in the Research Park to the sale of office supplies. We provide most of what the laboratories need and are a complete supplier of operating materials and supplies to our customers."

woman sitting by the desk in an office — Anita Langerød leader of Laboratory Services, located in the Research Park.

Laboratory services is a kind of shop in the Research Park. The four employees stock most of the material the laboratories in the center need and procure everything that is not on the shelves.

Tiril Stamland is responsible for laboratory supplies and works mostly in the shop. Anna-Lydia Johannessen is a laboratory technician and is responsible for the chemicals that customers demand. Allan Lauritzen has a background in the waste industry. He handles hazardous waste and is responsible for the various gases that customers use. And Anita Langerød manages the business.

A "shop" in the Research Park

"We provide most of the laboratory supplies," promises "shop manager" Tiril Stamland. "We can order everything our customers need - also office desks, but mostly consumables for the laboratories.

young woman standing in an archive — Tiril Stamland is responsible for laboratory supplies and works mostly in the shop.

Laboratory services have a floor-stock with the goods that are most in demand. Other supplies are provided in a short time. "It makes everyday life easier for our customers. They can relate to us as their supplier - whatever they may need."

The Reagent Laboratory

The laboratory technician has the job of making reagents for many of the companies in the Research Park and for external customers. Companies use reagents in their chemical analyzes. "We have a stock of different solutions with exact concentration (set molar solutions), salts, acids, lye and various solvents," explains Anna-Lydia Johannessen. "Some arrive ready mixed from the supplier, other reagents we make here in our own lab."

young woman doing work at a lab table — Anna-Lydia Johannessen is a laboratory technician and is responsible for the chemicals that customers demand.

The services also include picking up empty chemical containers from customers in the industrial park, filling them up with the right content and delivering them to the factories. Three days a week Johannesen does rounds and makes sure that the factories always have the reagents they need in their laboratories.

Operates gas deliveries to the labs

In the Research Park, there is an extensive pipeline network with various gases to the laboratories. Allan Lauritzen makes sure that the grid works and that right gases are available at all times. "We operate a central. This is where the gas cylinders are kept, and we make sure that everything is in order, and that the cylinders are changed when necessary. That service also includes the responsibility of making sure everything is in order. We take care of periodic inspections and meet inspectors from external companies who check that everything is done in accordance with the regulations."

The most used gases go in the pipeline network in the building, but Lauritzen also orders special gases, which are delivered in cylinders to customers. An example is Yara. They use special gases to calibrate instruments. And Laboratory Services is responsible for the safety and paperwork related to the handling of the various gases.

man wearing complete personal safety equipment and operating gas containers — Allan Lauritzen handles hazardous waste and is responsible for the various gases that customers use.

Waste for destruction

"My job also includes handling hazardous waste from the Research Park," Lauritzen says. "We collect the waste, pack it in accordance with regulations, declare and send it on for destruction. It can be quite complicated, because there are strict rules associated with this type of waste."

Administration

"We help the building owner, for instance Herøya Industripark AS, to take care of its follow-up responsibility to ensure that the activities in the buildings are in accordance with law and regulations. It is a prerequisite for being able to distribute gases such as propane and hydrogen in the pipeline network in the building," Langerød explains. "We are "subject responsible gas" on behalf of Herøya Industripark AS. We manage storage permits for e.g. gas and flammable goods and participate in technical inspections and interdisciplinary final inspections."

Important supplier at the Research Park

– Lab Services are an important supplier for us in the Research Park," says manager of Research Park Tove Kilen, Herøya Industripark AS. "We are very satisfied with the service they provide, and for both us and our tenants it is a great advantage that they are located in the building."