CSI Turns Silver!

Twenty-five years?!  Already?! “Can we really do this?” was the question on my mind in 1988 as Compliance Services International (CSI) began to take shape. The answer was and continues to be “Yes, we can, as long as we continue to keep our clients’ needs first.”

Through this process we have not been afraid to step out in faith to strengthen the services, experience and talents we have to offer to chemical and affiliated industries. In doing so, I am so proud to see the CSI team in action – helpful to each other, loyal to client needs and always endeavoring to do the best they can to put forth the finest possible results within the timelines and budgets allotted.

From CSI’s humble beginnings in Washington State, we now find ourselves a player on the world stage and a leading voice in many important issues facing sustainable agriculture, chemical production and use. We have enlarged our footprint by hiring experienced professionals and expanding our staff in the U.S. and Europe. Realizing that we live in a rapidly changing world, we have endeavored to change ourselves as the business of the clients we represent also changes.

We approach the regulatory process for our clients with an international perspective, as together we introduce new products into a global marketplace or support and defend existing products that are still so valuable to the end users and consumers who depend upon them.

The regulatory landscape is changing in an accelerated way as our new millennium unfolds. There is less certainty in the predictability of outcomes and technical and regulatory success requires everyone to think strategically. However, at CSI, strategic thinking has always been a part of our culture. Our strength has come not only from being able to change with these developments, but also being able to anticipate regulatory developments and apply to them new strategies to achieve the goals of our clients.

Our diverse staff of regulatory and scientific experts focuses on cost effective approaches to meet specific, often unique, project needs. CSI proactively invests itself in the issues and developments that affect our clients, anticipating their needs, and staying in front of strategies necessary for regulatory success. We invest ourselves, through monetary contributions and donated time, in trade and scientific organizations to support their valuable contribution to the business and scientific community of which we are a part.

Our first 25 years have been marked with milestones and turning points, and we have celebrated many project successes, such as having the first success in US registration of a treated article under new regulations, stewarding the first Annex I listing for biocides under the European Directive and forging new strategies in data compensation and developing pathways for pesticide endangered species assessment. To sum it up, our culture has been and will continue to be one that expands our client base, extends our international outreach, and increases our visibility and depth.

Look at this team! I am so proud of them, and of what they mean to me not only professionally but also personally. This 25 year recognition is not only to commemorate how far we’ve come, but it is also to commend them for their part in it. Some have retired; some are young professionals learning from our seasoned staff. Together they are what CSI is all about.

I wish I could also insert here a photo of our many loyal clients and the support they have given CSI over the years. Many have been with us since our US or EU office opened and we are so appreciative of that.

Over the years, we have had several offers from larger companies to merge our efforts with theirs – that is, “sell out” – but we have decided that we can be more responsive, more centered on our regulatory niche, and more cost-effective by NOT changing this one thing: what Compliance Services is as a company. I’ll likely be elsewhere for the next 25 year interval that we celebrate, but I hope to leave a legacy for those who will be a part of CSI in 2038!