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 Atlas Weathering Services Group, a division
of Atlas Material Testing Technology, US, has announced the
official opening of its first outdoor exposure site in India.
The new facility is located at Uthiramerur, 70 km from Chennai,
and was inaugurated by Russell Lane, president, Atlas MTT LLC,
US, on Friday, August 31, 2007. This is the first independent
commercial outdoor exposure site in India, which is
characterised by a tropical climate with high levels of
sunlight, humidity and temperature.
Giorgio Chiandetti, GM-Sales Division, Atlas
MTT BV, Switzerland, said Chennai was chosen primarily on two
important factors – the climatic condition matches Florida
climate and Chennai is the automotive hub of Asia. So far
companies sent their end-products for testing to US from India -
now they have the same facility available in India.
He added that Atlas is the preferred partner
to multi-billion dollar companies around the world to provide
laboratory accelerated weathering equipment. Atlas has the
equipment solutions to fit any test programme and budget
parameters.
Initially, the site provides 25 racks,
available with a variety of exposure angles from 5º to 90º (all
South facing) that simulate end-use conditions, Giorgio said,
adding that the site complies to ISO, ASTM and
manufacturer-specific test requirements.
In addition to standard exposures on the
racks, customer-specific installations including entire vehicles
and test houses can be tested. A modern weather station will
record the total solar irradiance, UV radiation, ambient
temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction.
This ensures that those important parameter measurements are
taken exactly the same way as on the other Atlas outdoor sites
in Florida, Arizona, Sanary-sur-Mer, and Hoek van Holland.
The on site state of the art laboratory
guarantees optimum sample preparation, handling and measurement
(colour, gloss, etc). “It is our near future goal to gain
accreditation according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025,” says Jack
Martin, Chief Operating Officer - Services. “This guarantees
that our customers can rely upon our high material testing
standards, whatever location they choose to test their
products.”
C S Ravi, GM, Atlas Material Testing
Technology (India) Pvt Ltd, said, "All services will ensure that
the site will provide valuable test data for many industries,
such as automotive exterior and interior (paint, polymer,
textile, leather) parts or components; architectural and
building products; consumer durable goods."
The site will become a new benchmark climate
for the Indian market. However, the harsh climate with long
periods of hot, humid weather and an average temperature of 29°
C, will also be a tremendous value for manufacturers of
materials and products around the world, he added.
R Rangaraj
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