RESTON, VA -- The Hardwood Plywood & Veneer Assn. is pleased to announce the addition of two new employees to HPVA Laboratories. "We are really pleased with the caliber and professional strengths our new additions bring to our laboratory," notes Brian Sause, director of Testing, Certification and Standards.

Josh Hosen will be HPVA Laboratories’ new Manager of Certification Services. Hosen joins HPVA Laboratories with prior experience in product certification programs. He has both a M.S. and B.S. in Wood Science and Forest Products from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. His thesis project was investigating molecular mechanisms of wood adhesion primers. He lives in Fairfax, VA.

Mike Axton joins HPVA Laboratories as the new Laboratory Technologist and Analytical Chemist. He is an ACS Certified Chemistry graduate from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. He resides in Great Falls, VA.

Gordon Wiggs, who was HPVA’s Analytical Chemist since 1999, joined a pharmaceutical laboratory in Maryland as their laboratory manager.

"We wish Gordon all the best in his new job and are excited to have Josh and Mike maintain our core strengths in wood science and chemistry," said Kip Howlett, president, HPVA.

Source: The Hardwood Plywood & Vneer Assn.