ASTM Board of Directors to hold April meeting in Stockholm.

Press Release Summary:



The ASTM board meetings, as well as other events, will take place in Sweden during the week of April 21, 2008. Stockholm was selected as host city at the invitation of Lars Flink, CEO of the Swedish Standards Institute, who recently completed a 3 yr term as a member of the ASTM board. The meeting will include the seminar USA & Sweden: Similarities, Challenges, and Opportunities, presentations, and speakers from Swedish and U.S. government and industry.



Original Press Release:



ASTM International Board of Directors to Hold April Meeting in Stockholm



Stockholm will be the location of the 2008 spring meeting of the ASTM International board of directors. The ASTM board meetings, as well as other events, will take place in Sweden during the week of April 21, 2008.

The selection of Stockholm as host city for the ASTM leadership team came at the invitation of Lars Flink, CEO of the Swedish Standards Institute (SIS), which is headquartered in Stockholm. Mr. Flink recently completed a three-year term as a member of the ASTM board. SIS is the national standards body of Sweden.

The 24-member ASTM International board of directors is comprised of industry and government executives with responsibilities in standardization, including: the director of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory; the director general of the Brazilian national standards body, ABNT; the director of Mattel worldwide product safety; the standards executive for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and others.

A highlight for ASTM's governance body is attending and participating in this year's SIS seminar, titled, "USA & Sweden: Similarities, Challenges and Opportunities." The seminar is an annual feature of SIS board meetings, which will be taking place at SIS headquarters the same week. The seminar, to be held at the Hotel Rival in downtown Stockholm, will be attended by the board and staff of SIS and ASTM International.

Presentations will address standards as they relate to corporate growth, sustainability and product safety in our changing world. Other subjects in the lineup cover corporate philosophies, business cultures and national positions on standardization. Speakers include representatives from Swedish and U.S. government and industry. Swedish journalist and TV anchor, Pelle Thornberg, will moderate the all-English seminar, which will conclude with a panel discussion.

"The board and staff of ASTM International are very pleased to accept the SIS invitation to come to this world-class city," says ASTM International President James A. Thomas. "This meeting presents an opportunity for an exchange regarding our mutual interests and common challenges in standardization. The seminar, in particular, will allow us to share views on the relevance of standards to the environment, consumer safety and global competitiveness."

In addition to the formal board sessions, which begin on April 22, ASTM board members and staff will visit Swedish trade associations and ministries representing various industry sectors in which ASTM standards are globally influential: steel, building construction, cement and concrete, sustainability and transportation.

The Swedish capital represents a return to Europe by the ASTM board, with the first European destination having been Berlin in 2003. Previous meeting locations outside of the USA also include Beijing, Toronto and Mexico City.

For more information on the ASTM board of directors meeting in Stockholm, contact Jim Olshefsky, ASTM International (phone: +1 610/832-9714; fax: +1 610/834-7084; jolshefs@astm.org). Visit www.sis.se for more on the seminar program.

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