Standardization News

When you walk into the home of one of the world’s leading standards organizations, what should you see? How should it feel? What resources should be available to you?

It is hard to believe that 24 years have passed since we moved into our new facility in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania (USA). A few years ago, it became clear that we needed to embark on a building renovation to reflect our new brand, to provide a comfortable environment for new ways of working, and to show our commitment to technology and innovation.

I’m pleased to say that we have accomplished significant building updates in the past 12-24 months.

When you walk into our lobby, you will enter an inviting space complete with three new glass-clad meeting rooms, modern furniture and lighting, new signage, and a strong brand presence. It sends a powerful message that you’re in a dynamic and progressive place.

Many of our members and other stakeholders use the fourth floor for technical meetings, trainings, and other activities. Here, you will step out of the elevator to experience a bold and informative timeline of ASTM International’s 120-year history as well as updated common areas where you can relax, grab coffee, check in with world news, network, duck into a “Skype” room, and/or catch up on work. Our meeting rooms are now more flexible and technologically up to date, and the board room is state-of-the-art. Our banquet lounge has been expanded to accommodate more people. As you walk around the floor, you are surrounded by plaques that honor members who have provided exemplary service and made outstanding contributions to ASTM International. It’s a wonderful space.

If you venture into some of our staff areas — including the already-completed first floor offices — you’ll see changes there too, with modern lighting, team meeting spaces, and more for our employees.

We still have some work to do, but I’m pleased with the progress we are making to create a dynamic environment that more effectively supports standards development, relationship-building, idea exchange, and much more.

Our staff looks forward to welcoming you to our global headquarters, as we have already done for thousands of members, customers, partners, delegation participants, and others over the years. And I hope you’ll agree that our facility – and the great team of people who work here – reflect the bright vision that we have for the future.

When we moved into this building in 1995, our then-chairman of the board George Moran said that our building was a “tangible indication of ASTM’s movement toward the future.” I’m proud to say that we’ve recommitted ourselves to those words in 2019.

Katharine E. Morgan
President, ASTM International