Business View - February 2016 69
any PMN-related challenge. It allows companies to avoid
much higher fees they would have to pay a law firm to do
the same work.
Association Management Services (AMS) has been un-
der the SOCMA umbrella since the early 1970s. AMS
manages separately funded, affiliated associations and
consortia related to the chemical industry that do not re-
quire full-time support. AMS adds about $1 million to the
SOCMA budget, bringing the total revenue stream to ap-
proximately $6.5 million.
Face-to-face events throughout the year offer essential
networking environments for SOCMA members. One of
key importance to the industry is “InformEx” – a trade
show averaging 2,800 attendees that focuses on build-
ing partnerships among buyers and sellers of fine and
specialty chemicals, particularly those who provide out-
sourced contract manufacturing services. SOCMA cre-
ated the show in 1984 and sold it 10 years later, but re-
mains its prime sponsor.
“On the advocacy front, SOCMA focuses on high-level
issues impacting the majority of our members,” says
Sloan. “That covers macro issues like Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA) reform, plant security legislation, and
tax-related issues, among others, that are of common in-
terest to the broad swath of our membership.”
Sloan anticipates a great deal of work with the EPA in
the future. “Once TSCA reform becomes law and the EPA
modifies the regulatory framework, we want to get the
word out to our members and ask them to comment on
various provisions. We are pleased that regulatory agen-
cies are responsive to the concerns of our membership.”
ChemStewards, SOCMA’s environmental, health, safety
and security management program, just launched a new
web portal to help members comply more readily with
regulation changes. An exciting side initiative, Chem-
Stewards for Labs, will provide lab environments a similar
framework to enhance safety and security. Chemistry lab
safety is a high priority issue for academia and industry
alike, as underscored by too many accidents that have
resulted in loss of life over the years. By 2020, Sloan
envisions this program will be in use by university and
chemical company labs across the country.
Moving forward, SOCMA plans to continue its mission to
enable safe, sustainable and environmentally respon-
sible operations that are internationally competitive and
contribute to a healthy, productive economy.
As Sloan notes, “We are a trade association where all
members are equal stakeholders. No one company
dominates the agenda. With so many complicated regu-
lations and laws that govern our industry, we are a re-
source our members can turn to for guidance. We are
their voice on Capitol Hill; we continue to advocate fer-
vently for laws and regulations based on sound science,
where our members can continue to operate their facili-
ties, be good corporate citizens, and remain innovation
leaders of the world.”
MANUFACTURING
