Beyond the Bench

At Metrohm, going beyond is in our DNA. Every day, our team pushes boundaries to solve the toughest challenges for our customers and support our communities. We decided it was time to celebrate the people outside of our organization who are actively making a difference. 

The Beyond the Bench Challenge served as a perfect way to discover some of the incredible stories of how teams and individuals across the country have shown exceptional dedication to quality, sparked innovation, or made a meaningful impact in their communities.

One story that stood out to us came from Erik Parker, a chemist from Weyerhaeuser in Washington. When he's not busy in the lab developing chemical additives for wood products, Erik devotes over 200 hours of his time per year and donates funds to the Washington Marshallese Community Association (WMCA). 

Doing the work

The WMCA seeks to assist citizens from the Marshall Islands living in Washington to navigate life in the United States while maintaining their cultural identity. Their efforts range from assisting with job applications and paperwork for housing, to supporting mental health initiatives and hosting multicultural events. Their organization is currently working on their largest project, a canoe built by 17 of their youth members and master carvers that will be displayed at the Burke Museum on the University of Washington's campus. As challenging as it has been, Erik continues to support in every way he can by helping to purchase tools, providing transportation to members and getting the word out about their initiative. 

Erik's dedication to WMCA is truly astounding, which is why we were more than confident in selecting him as our winner for this challenge. To further support his efforts, the WMCA has received a donation from Metrohm USA to help support them in bringing their project to completion.