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 operation in Suzhou, China has been certified to test to the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) R117 standard by TÜV NORD. As the company's customer base in China continues to expand, adding testing capability for the ECE R117 standard is the latest success in Smithers Rapra’s growth strategy, to support international tire manufacturers with testing systems that ensure the highest product integrity.
“Our operations in Suzhou were established to better serve global corporations with Chinese operations and local Chinese clients with tire, rubber and polymer component testing,” said Jim Dowey, president of Smithers Rapra. “The ability to test to the ECE R117 standard was the product of a stringent qualification process to ensure that our operations were in compliance with the highest standards of independent testing accuracy and quality as established by the UNECE.”
Tires that meet the ECE R117 standard are clearly labelled to make consumers aware of their key performance characteristics so that they can make informed decisions on the tires they buy.
The Suzhou lab also conducts a wide variety of tire testing specifications including SAE, ASTM and ISO tests.
The following tire testing specifications are available in Suzhou:
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
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
ECE R117 – Tires - Rolling resistance
“This new testing capability further establishes Smithers Rapra as an accredited tire and wheel testing laboratory in China,” said Derek Read, general manager, Smithers Rapra (Suzhou) Testing Co., Ltd. “The independent testing experiences our customers depend on in other regions of the world can now be conducted 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