It is with much sadness that we are writing about Matthew Keesing, a member of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry.
Matthew entered the world of chemistry during his secondary education at St Kentigern College in Auckland and then completed his science degree majoring in chemistry at the University of Auckland. For his entire working career, he remained within the science fraternity.
Matthew first joined the team at Bureau Veritas, a global leader in testing, inspection and certification services, who were operating a commercial laboratory in Penrose, Auckland. Matthew worked in the special project team, establishing a new business unit to expand the capabilities of the chemistry operations already within the local BV business. This was an amazing opportunity for a new science graduate.
After 2.5 years, Matthew moved on to work with Bill Grayson in his science consulting business. Bill had taken over the T. J. Sprott Laboratories in 1985 and moved on to form W. Grayson & Associates (WGA) which in the mid 1990s became the largest private analytical consulting laboratory in NZ. Bill Grayson formed Grayson Wagner Co. Ltd in 2001 after the sale of WGA. He continued to provide private consulting services to the New Zealand science sector in contrast to the public science institutes and the commercial laboratories, presenting new opportunities for New Zealand chemists like Matthew.
Matthew knew he had found his niche and preferred role in the science consulting environment. In 2016 Matthew became the Managing Director of Grayson Wagner Consulting – his role for the past 10 years.
Matthew worked with many businesses and developed long lasting professional relationships with many people in the various sectors the business supported. Matthew’s team provided a wide range of services including materials analytics for the commercial construction industry, marine industry and the manufacturing and packaging industries. Much of this work required working with clients, consultants, legal teams and the courts to support litigation in the many technical cases. The business also provided product development and product testing capabilities utilising their in-house development laboratory. Matthew was very much at home working at the bench and utilising those basic chemistry principles developed during his tertiary studies.
It is with much sadness that Matthew is now no longer a part of the chemistry sector in New Zealand but his tireless efforts during his 15 years of commitment to the sector will not be forgotten by his past and present colleagues and business contacts.
