Charles Homestead: General Manager SGS North America-Alaska.

• Author: Stomierowski, Peg
• Position: View from the Top - Interview

SGS North America in Anchorage provides services in support of public environmental programs in the state. Parent firm SGS, a global inspection, verification, testing and certification company employing 64,000 in 1,250 facilities, purchased the Anchorage lab in 1990. It assists labs in South Korea, Italy, Germany and Africa.

Charles Homestead joined the Anchorage operation in 1980 as a young man during a summer trip to Alaska from New York. Back then, he recalls, the facility was known as Chemical and Geological Laboratories of Alaska; at times it still is remembered as Chem-Lab. What started out for him as a summer adventure turned into a part-time job, then an enduring career in the 49th state.

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GROWTH INDUSTRY

SGS North America-Alaska, in Anchorage, with a service office in Fairbanks, supports the cleanup of long-standing military sites. The lab, started more than 45 years ago in support of wildcat development of the Swanson River gas fields, today employs 60 scientists and administrative personnel in three buildings totaling 22,000 square feet.

TESTING

We focus on the cleanup of Department of Defense (DoD) contamination, on water quality programs--both drinking and wastewater--and on studies to establish environmental baseline standards. We check for heavy metals, organic compounds and microbioiogical contaminants, and focus heavily on water-quality standards. Since our findings for agencies and individuals are used in making vital decisions, the data must be defensible in court. Our quality systems are monitored through public certifications, including DoD and ISO 17025 accreditations.

ONSITE SERVICE

When results are needed quickly, we can provide a field lab to do analyses on site, which may range from offshore drilling platforms in Cook Inlet to Beaufort Sea islands, providing opportunities to do fascinating work in remote environments.

INNOVATION

We are proud of the aggressive Lean program SGS has developed. This tale begins in...