Satra’s new automotive facility has directly benefited after the UK Accreditation Service confirmed accreditation for hundreds of tests at the UK technology centre. These cover most of Satra’s consumer product sectors. However, many are specific to the automotive industry and, in conforming to ISO 17025, reach an enviable standard.
They include specific leather tests involving:
* Evaluation of seats, floor coverings, interior linings, dashboards, airbags, number plates, spoilers and soft tops
* Climatic, atmospheric, UV, ozone and ageing testing of leathers, textiles, coated fabrics, plastics and rubber components
* Flammability of materials and components
* Advice on stitching and lamination
* Tensile, compression, adhesion, flexing, and abrasion of components
* Measurement of colour change and other surface properties.
Satra’s specialist activities now also include ozone exposure and salt spray, interior and exterior weathering, climatic testing from 180°C to 40°C and microscopic examinations using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Satra’s chemists can readily identify restricted substances in materials and components, identify polymers, plasticisers or fibre types, and assess microbiological inhibition.
‘Satra tests have always conformed to the highest quality standards. Now they have been given the seal of approval by the highest authority in the UK – a standard which is recognised throughout the world’, says Satra automotive specialist Steve Ferry.
