AKRON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Smithers Rapra, a world leader in tire, rubber, plastics and composites expertise and a Smithers Group company, announced today that its operations in Suzhou, China have achieved ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation through A2LA. As the company's customer base in China has expanded, implementing a comprehensive, internationally recognized quality system to meet and exceed customer expectations became a key piece of the strategy for growth.
“We established our China operations in Suzhou to better serve our existing global clients as well as serve a growing market in China for tire, rubber and polymer component testing,” said Jim Dowey, president of Smithers Rapra. “This accreditation requires rigorous processes and procedures that ensure that our operations meet the highest standards for independent testing accuracy and quality.”
The Smithers Rapra Suzhou, China lab joins the Smithers Tire & Wheel Test Center in Ravenna, Ohio in being an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited supplier of dynamic tire testing. Both labs conduct a wide variety of tire testing specifications including SAE, GMW, ASTM and ISO tests.
The Suzhou laboratory has also received significant automotive OEM approvals to provide critical third party independent testing to the global automotive industry and its tire and wheel supply chain. High speed testing, endurance, plunger, beat unseating, wheel cornering fatigue and radial fatigue testing will become available in the next several months as capacity is expanded to meet customer demand.
The following tire testing specifications can currently be conducted:
SAE J1269 – Rolling Resistance Measurement Procedure for Passenger Car, Light Truck, and Highway Truck and Bus Tires
SAE J2452 – Stepwise Coastdown Methodology for Measuring Tire Rolling Resistance
GMW 14996 – Tire Rolling Resistance Test
ISO 18164 – Rolling Resistance Measurement Procedure for Passenger Car, Truck, Bus and Motorcycle Tires
ISO 28580 – Passenger car, truck and bus tires -- Methods of measuring rolling resistance -- Single point test and correlation of measurement results
“Smithers Rapra has been dedicated to establishing an accredited tire and wheel testing laboratory in China that builds on our years of industry expertise in the North American and European markets,” said Derek Read, general manager, Smithers Rapra (Suzhou) Testing Co., Ltd. “With the milestones that we reached in 2013, we can now assure our customers that the independent testing experiences they value in other regions of the world can be provided in China as well.”
Smithers Rapra provides a wide range of testing services to its customers in the automotive industry. From tires and wheels to polymer based components, to automotive components, and the effects of winter conditions on tire traction and vehicle safety systems, Smithers Rapra’s standard and custom testing capabilities are designed to help companies go to market quicker and with higher success rates.
About Smithers Rapra
Smithers Rapra has been a trusted partner of the plastics and rubber industries for over 90 years. Our business is built around delivering a complete portfolio of rubber and plastic testing services to support a wide range of industry sectors including tire, automotive, polymer products, oil and gas, medical device, pharmaceutical, transport, packaging, industrial, and consumer products. By integrating science, technology and business expertise, Smithers goal is to add value throughout the life cycle of our clients’ products. Please visit www.smithersrapra.com.
You can reach the Smithers Rapra office at:
425 West Market Street
Akron, Ohio 44303
Telephone: +1-330-762-7441
www.smithersrapra.com
You can reach the Suzhou, China office at:
Building #6A, 668 Fengting Road, Weiting, Suzhou Industrial Park,
Jiangsu, Peoples Republic of China
Tel: 0086 512 6253 5569