250814
Stephanie and Rob –
The work I am currently doing is not for you. It’s for me. Our discussions have opened a number of doors and I’m walking through them, some in preparation for our discussion Tuesday. Some of what I’ve seen applies to you and I passed it on.
In a wild moment this morning I discovered that a peripheral character and potential co-defendant in the Excel Dryer false advertising case who has made the falsest of false statements in a certified document I’ve known about for months and that is cited all over the Excel website is not a small local company but is is a $15B multinational. That changes things.
I have respected your request to stop making contact with anyone else who could be involved in your case until our relationship is defined and you give me instructions on how to help you, should we get to that.
With that in mind, I got a call this morning from the Director of Business Development from Eurofins, Tina Shaffer, following up after my visit. She and I spoke for half an hour with my clear insistence that our task was to protect the integrity of their future work with you from my influence. She understood and was meticulous about it from the first part of the conversation.
When I went to the Eurofins lab I thought it was going to be a small shop like Steve’s. The web page I saw listed a couple testing groups but it did not seem to be impressive. I knew the company was nationwide but I knew little else about them. I had a faint glimmer I’d heard the name before but I could not place it.
I drove in to one of the most impressive complexes I’ve ever seen. There are hundreds of thousands of square feet of lab space across multiple buildings dead in the heart of PA Amish country. I often go to Lancaster, PA but had never been that far out of town. All around the facility are farms. This odd, high-tech factory in the middle of nowhere.
Everything about all of it has been deeply impressive. It’s the largest single testing facility in the US for this kind of work and it’s part of the largest microbial testing group in the country. Every person I spoke to was high-functioning, alert, fast, and thorough.
Tina told me that their division in New Berlin, WI is exclusively dedicated to perform the testing you need and they specialize in acting as experts in court. Oddly, it’s a couple miles from the house my first wife grew up in. Milwaukee is the perfect place to replicate the testing and I could not be more impressed with what I’ve seen.
5 hours after we spoke on the phone she sent the following, understanding that her testing team cannot know who I am and having protected that boundary. There is a clear break between her and them and they will deal with you exclusively, or as you decide to engage me, if you decide to build that connection.
Eurofins can validate the testing work I’ve done if given the proper protocols. They cannot do the glove juice testing, something I still believe is worth doing.
Shortly after leaving the Eurofins campus I realized where I had known the name previously. One of my former yoga teachers when I owned the yoga studio is a long time sales person for one of their California labs. She still lives in PA but runs sales for them and has for years. She is an elite distance athlete and a superstar business person. She could be a better yoga teacher if she could slow down a little bit but I’m guessing Eurofins does not hire slow. I like her. Good human. Another good sign regarding the company.
I thought about waiting until Tuesday to show you this but I don’t know if you are actively looking and you should know it exists now. I told them you could reach out as soon as tomorrow or possibly in a few weeks. They expect to hear from you directly when you re ready. From Tina:
Hello Ron,
My team just confirmed they are open to discussing this project with your legal team.. please pass along this information to the appropriate contact with the subject line as I have it listed above.
If you need anything in the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Thank you,
Tina
Thank you for contacting Eurofins SF Analytical (ESFA). Our scientists are skilled, adept and experienced at challenging, non-routine investigative analysis using state of the art instruments and techniques with thousands of successful investigations and a track record of success dating back to 1900 including microbiology testing on articles (hand dryers). We are ISO-17025 accredited, DEA- and USDA-Licensed, registered with US FDA, ACIL and offer GXP compliant testing, studies and methods upon request .
Before we can discuss your Confidential requirements in detail, since there may be LEGAL or Insurance Claims associated with the outputs of this investigation we must perform a Conflict-of-Interest Check. All information will be held in confidence regardless of outcome. Please advise with:
- Plaintiff
- Counsel for Plaintiff
- Defendant including any co-defendants if known (product manufacturer, distributors, retailers)
- Lead Counsel for defense
- Case Number if Assigned
- Court Venue if Assigned
1 or 2 sentences explaining why Eurofins testing, investigation, expert opinion or testimony on microbiology on hand dryers is required for this case.
Pending successful outcome of our conflict check, we can schedule a conference call or web-based (TEAMs) meeting to discuss the best path forward. We typically require a $7,500 minimum retainer at engagement and can provide CV’s for Experts upon request.
Respectfully submitted – Dave
David W. Riggs, B.S., PE
Business Cluster President – Eurofins, SF Analytical Laboratories Inc. (Includes Horsham, PA GMP Microbiology; Craft Technologies in Wilson, NC; Animal Health Testing Greenfield, IN, SN Special Analysis West, Santa Ana, CA) 0
2345 South 170th Street (Flagship Lab Location)
New Berlin, WI 53151-2701 (USA)
Tel: +1 (262) 754-5300 Mobile: +1 (262) 202-6993 Fax: +1 (262) 754-5310
ESFA_Project@FT.eurofinsus.com
4344 Frank Price Church Road (Craft Technologies)
Wilson, NC 27893 (Office = 252-206-7071)
215 Witmer Road (GMP Microbiology)
Horsham, PA 19044 (Office = 215-355-3900) /
9550 Zionsville Road, Suite 220, (Animal Health Testing)
Indianapolis, IN 46268
2841 Dow Ave, Suite 200 1st Floor (SN Special Analysis West)
Tustin, CA 92780 (Office = 714-543-2211)
Email: DavidRiggs@FT.EurofinsUS.com
Website: http://www.eurofinsus.com/food-testing/laboratories/eurofins-sfa-laboratories
Tina Shaffer
Tina Shaffer
Business Development Manager
P: (443) 727-9144
M: (717) 719-4070
Tina.Shaffer@ft.eurofinsus.com
Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories, Inc.
2430 New Holland Pike
Suite D-215
Lancaster, PA 17601
250813
Can we please meet Tuesday 8/19 at 10 am? My schedule is clear and I’m available for the duration.
250812
Trying to see if I can do this on my phone using one of my WordPress websites. HTML is simple but clunky to update.
Thank you for the meeting yesterday. You are as serious about this as I am. Let’s keep going.
I have seen the early stages of a path that gets you what you need and respects costs. I need a couple days to put the parts together.
I just drove to one of the largest microbiological and environmental testing labs in the US and walked in cold. I got 15 minutes with the manager of the microbiology lab. She saw a paper version of the study. She was meticulous, as was I, about ensuring we said and did nothing that could interfere with their ability to work you. No names were mentioned. She had to turf this to her superiors. Said likely early next week as everyone is on vacation.
If you have the capacity to get someone from Cmbio or Zymo to call me and talk about shotgun metagenomics testing that would speed things up.
More later. Please let me know if you were able to read this.