One year ago eighteen people founded EGNATON – the “European Association for Sustainable Laboratory Technologies“. In the meantime we have been growing to more than 40 members from seven countries. We succeeded in getting very active members who are working in the most versatile fields of the laboratory industry – architects, laboratory planners, users, professors or laboratory manufacturers – who are enriching the discussions of the individual working groups.

For the time being there are nine working groups to which our international experts are contributing. They are primarily dealing with subjects like Future Lab Architecture, Laboratory Ventilation, Energy Consumption of Laboratory, Simulations of Laboratory Buildings or Lab Working Solution of Laboratories Research Buildings.

Our first international congress with 120 participants was held in Darmstadt and was a great success. This response showed us that we are on the right track. The European laboratory industry is in the need of such an independent institution like EGNATON which enables an exchange of knowledge and expert discussions on neutral ground.

In the forthcoming year we would like to extend our working groups by the subjects of “Industrial safety“ and “Laboratory utilizations“. Together with the University of Leuven we will organize an international congress in Belgium. And last but not least, we are striving for agreements on, among other things, the exchange among experts or the foundation of mutual work groups with Labs21 in the USA and MAITE in Spain.

After just one year we can already say that we got a big step closer to our objectives: EGNATON will become the European answer to Labs 21 and SEFA. With our still young association we are gradually building a pan-European network of experts that is related to the laboratory field.

However, in order to gain even more importance on an international level we are, of course, in need of much more committed members who would like to actively contribute to EGNATON. First and foremost it is our members who are able to turn EGNATON into the kind of association we are having in mind: a lively institution with a highly respected expertise.

Konrad Kreuzer
President