AFS Makes Strategic Change of Direction

11/24/2004

The Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Minneapolis-based American Filtration and Separations Society (AFS) have made significant changes in the society's focus. Following numerous requests from membership and others in the industry, AFS will now zero in on “specifiers, buyers and users of filters and filtration systems and the education of the industry,” according to Scott Yaeger, AFS chairman.

What this means in practical terms is the AFS will concentrate on those who buy and use filters and their needs, from training and education on technological advances to providing a venue -- through AFS Conferences and Expositions -- to meet suppliers of filtration media, filters, filtration systems and equipment.

Yaeger remarked, “In the past, we have served all parties in the industry, from the educator to the supplier of component parts and filter products, but have failed serve the most important people -- those who make the buying decisions and ultimately pay the bill.”

He noted that there has been no single event offering both filtration education and the opportunity to meet one another, in spite of the fact that each year, these individuals consume filtration products worth billions of dollars. Yeager added that other associations and organizations told AFS they were seeking to broaden their own scope and felt the new AFS strategy presented mutual opportunities. Thus, in 2005, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) will co-locate its annual spring Conference and Exposition with the AFS in Atlanta, Ga. In 2006, the AFS will be co-located with the Powder and Bulk Solids Show in Chicago.

The American Filtration and Separations Society is the principal developer of filtration and separation educational conferences in North America and the largest filtration society in the world. For more information, visit www.afssociety.org