ASTM International Committee F11 on Vacuum Cleaners has presented its John N. Balough Distinguished Service Award to Ronald Battema of Compliance Consulting Inc. in Bristol, Tennessee.

The committee noted Battema’s “many years of contributions, untiring commitment and valuable leadership and guidance in the development of ASTM standards for the floor care industry.” An active F11 member since 1997, Battema is membership secretary of the main committee, chairs Subcommittee F11.21.03 on Cleaning Ability, and is secretary for the groups on XRF Technology and System Filtration Efficiency. He was named an ASTM fellow and received the Award of Merit, ASTM’s highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities, in 2009, and was given the F11 Outstanding Leadership Award in 2006. Battema is also a member of Committee F40 on Declarable Substances in Materials.

Battema was a project engineer at Sensor Engineering Co., Hamden, Connecticut, and an engineering laboratory supervisor at Electrolux Corp., Old Greenwich, Connecticut, before taking on the role of chief certification engineer at Electrolux’s plant in Bristol, Virginia, in 1986. He left Electrolux in 2003 after 20 years of service and started his consulting firm, which assists clients in meeting the requirements of domestic and international product safety standards.

A graduate of the University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut, Battema has served on several standards technical panels and advisory groups at the International Electrotechnical Commission and Underwriters Laboratories and is the current chair of the Bi-National Task Group for UL 1017/CSA C22.2 No. 243 (vacuum cleaner and floor finishing machines).

ASTM PR Contact: Erin K. Brennan, Phone: 610-832-9602; ebrennan@astm.org

Release #9652