OYSTER POINTER is a monthly publication about business in the Oyster Pointer area of Newport News, VA.

Return to Home Page

More About the Oyster Pointer Publication

Message from the Editor

Advertising Opportunities

Subscription Opportunities

Submit Your Ideas and Thoughts

Readership Survey

Contact Oyster Pointer

Map of Oyster Point

“Oyster Pointer Salutes:” Archives

Kidsville News

Search Oyster Pointer

Request a copy of the Oyster Pointer Publication
Request a copy of the Oyster Point Business Directory

Oyster Pointer Salutes: Marine Chemist Services, Inc.: Striving to exceed expectations
BY Allan C. Hanrahan

In between recent business trips to Japan, Robbie Walker, president of Marine Chemist Services, Inc. (MCS), took time to discuss the family firm, an expanding company that engages in many areas of chemical analysis—and more.

The scope of work the company performs is daunting, but Walker answered the question of its organization by simply stating, “Two areas: environmental and safety. Everything that we do comes under those.”

“We are on call 24/7 and 365 days a year,” he says, when customers have a substance situation that is an immediate threat to the environment or the safety of the facility—or ship, thus the “Marine” in the name.

Originally begun because there was a need for shipboard chemical analysis for such things as asbestos and lead, the company will take samples for analysis, “from the tip of the mast to the lower bowels and belly of a ship, and everything in between,” says Walker, “from fore to aft and port to starboard,” necessitating confined space entry. Not a task for someone with claustrophobia.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary last year, the business was founded in 1966 by Walker’s parents, now retired and living locally, making it a true mom-and-pop enterprise that has flourished. And this year it celebrates its silver anniversary in Oyster Point at the corner of Tug Boat Lane and Middle Ground Boulevard, a relocation that no doubt aided its growth. Now there’s a second location near Old Dominion University in Norfolk, with 30 employees, including chemists and field and lab technicians.

Bharati Lakshmi, Ph.D. is laboratory supervisor. A tour of the testing facilities introduces the three branches of the company’s main testing efforts: asbestos, metals and molds.

A visit to the web site, www.marinechemist.com, will reveal a shopping list of services and products ranging from asbestos sampling, analysis and surveys to water purification systems as well as sampling and analysis of hazardous waste, lead, mold, paint and soil.
Marine Chemist is affiliated with both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Walker says, “We are certified by the EPA and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. We have significant credentials.” He added that the company is also certified by both state and federal OSHA. Walker is presently a member of the Federal OSHA Marine Chemist Qualification Board.

Walker emphasized that a large portion of the business involves training courses. According to Dr. Lakshmi, as many as 33 courses are available in such areas as environmental improvement, industrial hygiene projects and indoor air quality.

MCS customers are located locally, statewide, nationally and abroad. They include other companies; federal, state and local governments; colleges and universities; and “walk-in” individuals who may be interested in having their tap water tested for a particular contaminant.

Walker is especially proud of his workforce. He says everyone at Marine Chemist Service is more than a worker. They are also friends who have bonded with fellow workers and clients alike. Each is known by the quality of his work, as well as his hobbies, interests and families. “Our folks are very conscientious about their roles, and often give ‘110 percent.’ They are our greatest asset. It is because of their presence, talents and amazing attitudes that Marine Chemist Services is successful.”