Over the next few months we’ll be gearing up for the 2012 trade show season, and we’re already getting excited to participate in this year’s list of great events.

Beginning in April, 2012, Sheldon will be an exhibitor at several premier industry trade shows, including the well-known analytica Trade Fair in Munich, Germany as well as events in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland.

Here is a list of events we will be exhibitors at this year:

• analytica 23rd International Trade Fair for Laboratory Technology, Analysis, Biotechnology and analytica Conference April 17-20, 2012, Munich, Germany
• ASM 112th General Meeting June 16-19, 2012, San Francisco, California
• Clinical Lab Expo, July 15-19, 2012, Los Angeles, California
• World Brewing Congress, July 28-August 1, 2012, Portland, Oregon

These shows are a wonderful way to get out and meet members of the industry and to share news and updates about our SHEL LAB anaerobic and CO2 incubators, vacuum ovens and other laboratory equipment. Stay tuned! We will update with new show information, just visit our SHEL LAB events page for more information and updates.

SHEL LAB Anaerobic Chamber

We’re proud to introduce the newest member of the Sheldon Manufacturing team, Engineering Manager Jeremy McDonald.

Jeremy began working with us in early November and we’re thrilled to have him join the Sheldon Manufacturing family; no surprise, really, given his impressive background in the microbiology industry. Jeremy comes to us after thirteen years as Manager of Research and Development for Anaerobe Systems, a Bay Area company providing PRAS plated and tubed culture media for use in clinical research.

As our new Engineering Manager, Jeremy will focus his considerable talents toward SHEL LAB development of new products for the clinical microbiology market—projects like the BACTROX hypoxic chamber (hypoxic chambers create an environment with controlled levels of oxygen for advanced cell culture and bacteriology research as opposed to anaerobic chambers which remove oxygen completely) as well as development of a full line of SHEL LAB anaerobic chambers. Some of the new products are slated for release as early as spring of 2012.

SHEL LAB Anaerobic Chamber

“As a scientist, I’m interested not only in the results of clinical research but also in the tools needed to conduct the testing,” says Jeremy. “At Sheldon, making sure the testing environment is reliable and cultures are protected is a huge priority. Coming from my background in microbiology research and development, a partnership with Sheldon is a great fit.”

Jeremy completed Microbiology and Biotechnology studies at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.

We’ve been hard at work planning for 2012 but that doesn’t mean we’re ready to say goodbye to 2011 just yet! In fact, 2011 was a great year for the company, from new products that deliver energy and cost savings to our customers to updates to current product features that make existing products safer and better than ever before.

We came up with a list of some of our favorites from 2011. As we get ready to head into the new year we can only hope (and plan!) for another twelve months as good as the last have been. Here is a small sample of what 2011 had to offer. Enjoy!

• Sheldon introduced the new LI20P BOD Incubator in spring of 2011. The first widely available, environmentally friendly thermoelectric cooled incubators designed for low temperature applications are so environmentally friendly they use up to 78% less power than conventional models. Sheldon customers save up to $450 a year in energy costs!

• Our ovens improved, too! In Fall of 2011, Sheldon announced new features on the SHEL LAB vacuum ovens–including fully-programmable Watlow temperature controllers, RS-485 communication capabilities and digital vacuum gauges–making our vacuum ovens easier to operate and improving durability and dependability.

• In answer to rising concern over sample contamination, we made copper shelving available on many of our laboratory incubators. Use of copper has been shown to reduce bacterial contamination of cells, achieving up to 99.9% reduction within two hours of exposure to the copper. 99.9% in two hours? Now that’s something to be excited about.

And product changes were just the beginning. We renewed our commitment to science education and research again in 2011 with the creation of a brand-new educational tool for both students and clinicians called the SHEL LAB Anaerobic Education Tool. This interactive tool offers a five-section course on all things Anaerobe—from an overview of common pathogens to proper culture techniques and identification protocol. Learn new skills or just brush up on old techniques!

We rounded out the year with a feature article in Lab Outlook Magazine and a new product video demonstrating SHEL LAB general purpose laboratory incubators. The video is another great tool for use in choosing a laboratory incubator. See the video at Sheldon Manufacturing’s YouTube page.

As we reflect on all that’s happened in 2011, we also look to 2012 with renewed inspiration, continuing our 40 year tradition of providing the industry’s leading laboratory equipment.

Happy New Year From All of us at Sheldon Manufacturing!

SHEL LAB Vacuum Oven

Protect your cells!  Minimize the threat of surface contamination with copper’s natural bactericidal and fungicidal properties: SHEL LAB now offers copper shelves for use in our CO2 incubators.

Laboratory testing has shown that when cleaned regularly, Antimicrobial Copper surfaces:

1. Continuously reduce bacterial* contamination, achieving 99.9% reduction within two hours of exposure;
2. Kill greater than 99.9% of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria* within two hours of exposure;
3. Deliver continuous and ongoing antibacterial* action, remaining effective in killing greater than 99.9% of bacteria* within two hours;
4. Kill greater than 99.9% of bacteria* within two hours, and continue to kill 99% of bacteria* even after repeated contamination; and
5. Help inhibit the buildup and growth of bacteria* within two hours of exposure between routine cleaning and sanitizing steps.”**”

*Testing demonstrates effective antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

**The use of an Antimicrobial Copper surface is a supplement to and not a substitute for standard infection control practices; users must continue to follow all current infection control practices, including those practices related to cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces. The Antimicrobial Copper surface material has been shown to reduce microbial contamination, but it does not necessarily prevent cross contamination.

Copper shelves are now available on SHEL LAB incubator models:  3503, 3517, 3524, 3552, 2406, 2406/2, and 5215

We are committed to keeping everyone healthy and in tip top shape to keep production running at full steam and customer support at the high level our customers have come to expect. Therefore, as advised by our Center for Disease Control (CDC) friends,  the Sheldon Manufacturing family is taking pre-emptive action against any potential H1N1 flu outbreak this Fall.  The CDC recommends to have contingency plans for such an outbreak as ideal conditions resurface with the Fall season.  As it never hurts to share, we wanted to let you know what we are doing here at Sheldon to help prevent this from affecting our work place.

Employee Education Campaign:

• Letters home for the families
• Weekly newsletters
• PA updates and announcements
• Weekly meetings amongst supervisors

Preparation Steps and Action:

Flu prevention kit for each employee to take home that included:

• Hand sanitizer for whole family

• Digital thermometer

• Brochures and pamphlets

• Antiviral spray & Alcohol wipes

• Tissues for the family

• Hand sanitizer stations all through the shop

• Tool and surface disinfecting protocol for all tools daily

In addition to these important steps, tools, and procedures, we are also monitoring websites and staying up on the latest news.  For the benefit of all employees, all information and everything sent out has been bi-lingual in Spanish and English.  In case you missed it, check out how SHEL LAB  incubators are helping fight the H1N1 Flu on the scientific and medical level.

Amid the thousands of researchers, doctors, clinics, and laboratories working daily to develop vaccines for diseases and viruses, like the recent H1N1 virus (Swine Flu), it’s easy to forget how greatly the success of this process depends on having consistent, reliable, and innovative equipment.

An abnormally large request for our laboratory incubators recently came in due to the outbreak of the H1N1 virus. “When I heard of the H1N1 virus crisis in Mexico, I e-mailed my distributors there to let them know that we had units available for immediate delivery.  One of my top dealers, Labtech, has placed an order for all of our on-hand laboratory incubators – over 23 units to be shipped directly to Mexico City at the center of the crisis.” says Rudy Navarro, Latin American Sales Manager.

The incubators, which control environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, are used for the culture of viruses, bacteria, and tissue. This equipment is vital for researching the virus strains, sensitivity to anti-viral compounds, and development of vaccines.  The urgency placed on a vaccine development for the H1N1virus is in large part due to the upcoming Fall flu season, when “the second wave is very likely.” According to Christian E. Sandrock, MD, MPH, deputy health officer of Yolo County in Sacramento, CA, speaking at the American Thoracic Society International Conference (ATS 2009).

Check out all of our SHEL LAB General Purpose or Laboratory Incubators here