GFS Takes a Holistic Approach to Chemistry

Even a small business has a responsibility to conduct itself with integrity and foresight in areas such as community involvement, environmental responsibility, and resource stewardship. The three Smith brothers were sensitive to these needs well before many of them became government mandates.

GFS Chemicals is a proud member of The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates. Socma has three daily directives:

• To increase public confidence in the chemical industry.
• To influence the passage of rational laws and regulations that allow members to operate in a productive manner as good corporate citizens.
• To accelerate members’ growth by maximizing commercial and networking opportunities.

GFS Chemicals Donor Advised Fund for Education and The Arts Furthers Education and Science

Upon the death of its founder, control of business operations at the G. Frederick Smith Chemical Company was assumed by Darrell and Fran (Smith) Hutchinson. Professor Smith's legacy has been ensured through the GFS Chemicals Donor Advised Fund for Education and the Arts, administered through the Community Foundation of Delaware County. One of the purposes of the fund has been to act on Smith's lifelong desire to further the advancement of analytical chemistry and to encourage sound academic science.

MUACC - Midwestern Universities Analytical Chemistry Conference

Toward the end, and shortly after World War II, Prof. Smith began to underwrite the annual MUACC meetings — the Midwestern University Analytical Chemistry Conference series that strove to maintain the basic, personal, and unsophisticated levels of communication among analytical faculties in middle America. That the MUACC meetings continue today is a testimony to the positive influence that "the Professor" had on a vitally important chemical discipline.

G. Frederick Smith Memorial Lecture Series

Another more recent action of the Fund has been the creation of the G. Frederick Smith Memorial Lecture Series at Smith's sole professional tenure, the University of Illinois. Begun in 1998, the series has attracted world-class speakers covering a broad range of analytical disciplines, including bio-analytical expression on a cellular level, the electro-optics of metal-ligand complexes, current topics in systems biology, genomics and proteomics, and catalytic mechanisms associated with the complex chemistries of solid surfaces.

GFS Chemicals, a member company of the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council (OCTC):

Sponsors teachers annually for the OCTC’s TIE conference. Teachers, Industry and Environment (TIE) pull together to provide learning opportunities for elementary & middle school teachers. The conference assists teachers in bringing practical science into the classroom.

SOCMA Chemstewards Program 

The program fosters continuous improvement in EHS&S (Environmental, Health, Safety & Security) performance to support overall operational excellence. Participation leads to improved business practices relating to EHS&S performance, enhanced interactions with employees and the community, and heightened efficiency of plant processes and personnel. GFS is committed to enhancing site security, implementing a third-party verified management system, and tracking and reporting on EHS&S metrics.

As part of the central Ohio business network,

GFS has provided regular support to the Franklinton community - the locale of the original 18th-century settlement at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, at the heart of what is now the city of Columbus. GFS also provided workspace for the creation of the bronze statue of Lucas Sullivant, a founding father of the original settlement, that currently graces the entryway of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in downtown Columbus.