NEWS The autumn semester is in full swing. Just as students stock up on notebooks and literature, many researchers are restocking their labs. Located in the KBC building, Chem Store is perhaps the university’s most well-stocked store – but it’s no ordinary store. Here, researchers can quickly and easily get hold of pipettes, petri dishes, chemicals, and much more. Come along for a shopping trip in June, just before the summer break, and get inspired for your future shopping.
Jeanette Blomberg, researcher at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, gets help from Boris Jonsson to find everything she needs from the Chem Store.
ImageRebecca ForsbergJeanette Blomberg, researcher at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, visits the Chem Store before the staff go on summer holiday.
“It’s important to stock up on all the essentials that might be needed,” Jeanette explains, showing a small shopping list scribbled on a post-it note.
With the help of Boris Jonsson, who works at Chem Store, she fills her shopping cart with pipette tips, petri dishes, microtiter plates, and a yellow barrel for hazardous waste. Having lab equipment, chemicals, and solvents close at hand makes daily lab work much smoother. While only a few litres of solvents, such as ethanol or acetone, can be stored in the lab environment, the Chem Store keeps a steady large supply.
The Chem Store is allowed to store larger quantities of chemicals and solvents than the researchers can keep in their labs, making it conveniently accessible!
Image Rebecca Forsberg“I usually come here often – several times a month – and I always get great help from the staff in finding what I need,” says Jeanette.
Boris has worked at the Chem Store for 15 years and has a broad background in customer service and sales – from electronics to being a spare parts manager for Scania, VW, and Audi. But the Chem Store, he notes, is one of the most meaningful jobs he’s had, and he appreciates being able to help and contribute to the exciting and varied research taking place in KBC and across the university every day.
When Boris Jonsson isn’t helping staff and students at the Chem Store’s shelves, you’ll find him at his desk, answering questions by email and managing digital orders.
Image Rebecca Forsberg“It’s fun to work in such an international environment. Every day, we help postdocs and visiting professors from all over the world navigate the store or order special products,” says Boris.
The strangest order request Boris has ever received came from a researcher looking for needles small enough, and angled just right, to draw blood from white-tailed sea eagles.
“That really made me raise my eyebrows and scratch my head for a while, but I knew of a supplier so that we could have the needles custom-made,” Boris recalls.
We’re here for the whole university, taking care of the things researchers shouldn’t have to spend time on
Jeanette is nearly done with her shopping – everything on her list has been checked off and loaded onto the lab cart.
“Do you have enough gloves in the lab?” Boris asks.
“You can never have too many lab gloves,” Jeanette replies, picking up a few boxes in different sizes.
Gloves are one of many staple items at the Chem Store, used by everyone – from chemists, biologists, and physicists to students and researchers at the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts.
Boris Jonsson and Jeanette Blomberg in the Chem Store.
ImageRebecca ForsbergJeanette barely has time to wave goodbye with her full lab cart before the next researcher peeks into the store. On a typical day, around 25–30 researchers and students stop by, and Boris and his colleagues assist them all as smoothly as possible.
“We’re here for the whole university, taking care of the things researchers shouldn’t have to spend time on – finding suppliers, handling administration, managing procurement and contracts, updating the purchaser on delivery status, receiving packages, ensuring sensitive products are stored correctly – in short, everything from purchase to delivery,” Boris says proudly.
Check out the Chem Store webpage or feel free to contact Boris or one of his colleagues if you have questions!
Chem Store has been around for 50 years – read the celebratory piece and the interview with the man behind its success: A unique shop with a 50-year legacy.
