Some time around 2010 Bill Kalb of Tradet Laboratories informed Troy Stallard, a long time ACIL friend, to disclose that El Wagner, a former SGS manager in Clarksburg, WV, had approached him about providing a marketing service for lab services in northern West Virginia. Bill knew that Std Labs had two labs in the area (Belington and Morgantown) and believed that a joint venture between Tradet and Std Labs with Wagner as a sales agent would be a very powerful entity for that market.
After multiple talks with Wagner an informal arrangement was developed to give him a change to prove that he could bring the kind of business he purported to have.
This effort was continued for about 12 months when Kalb and Stallard decided that Wagner was unable to deliver what he had promised and the idea was abandoned.
Fortunately, the relationship between Tradet and Std Labs was actually strengthened and led to a trial merger with Std Labs supplying Brenda Briley as manager for the Tradet lab. This attempt did not survive as Brenda was seen by Kalb as technically insufficient.
However, with good relationships remaining in place Std Labs acquired Tradet in 2019 after Kalb’s death. See Tradet in the “Acquisitions” section.