Intertek Expands Building Products Capabilities and Capacity in U.S.

16 Mar 2015

New Facilities and First-of-Its-Kind Fire Testing Apparatus Underscore Ongoing Dedication to Industry

Chicago - Intertek (LSE: ITRK), a leading provider of quality and safety services to a wide range of industries around the world, has announced its investment in expanded facilities and new testing devices to enhance its industry-leading breadth of services in support of building products manufacturers. With these expanded capabilities, Intertek offers customers unprecedented access to both experts and testing solutions, as well as international markets.

“Intertek remains committed to expanding our North American service offerings to better help customers bring products to market and respond to relevant regulations and requirements,” said Gregg Tiemann, Chief Executive of Products at Intertek. “We see robust growth over the next three years in the Building Products sector and these investments are just a few of the latest that illustrate our continued commitment to the building products industry in the United States.”

A new facility in Plano, Texas allows for expanded mock-up testing with more space, updated equipment, new services and room for future expansion. Mock-up testing allows architects, designers, and contractors to confirm curtain walls are properly designed and will function as required, thus ensuring the integrity of a building. The new facility allows for exterior mock-up testing of up to 50 feet wide by 40 feet tall, with 100 feet of total linear chamber space. Additionally, interior mock-up space will give 30 feel of overhead clearance and full dynamic capabilities. The company has also doubled the size of its mock-up facility in West Palm Beach, Florida and added four new regional offices in Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver and Los Angeles to accommodate the growth of the business and be closer to its customer base.

The existing fire-testing facility in Elmendorf, Texas has also expanded to provide verification and certification to Canada’s CAN/ULC S134 standard, the counterpart to the U.S.’s NFPA 285. These regulations require wall assemblies incorporating combustible components that are intended for use in non-combustible construction. With the new testing apparatus, Intertek’s first in the U.S. and only the second one in the industry, the company can now conduct the outdoor evaluations for both standards year-round and in one location, as opposed to subcontracting the service, which required more time.

“The expansion of the Plano and West Palm Beach facilities, new regional offices, and CAN/ULC testing capabilities are just some of the latest advancements we’ve made since the acquisition of Architectural Testing,” said Gavin Campbell, Senior Global Vice President for Intertek's Building Products Business Line. “These recent developments are part of the ‘Building Better Together’ mantra we’ve adopted in order to provide more viable solutions to the market through testing innovations, greater flexibility, and a customer-focused staff dedicated to meet and exceed the high standards expected of us as a leader in building performance testing.”

Intertek-ATI, the building products industry leader in testing, inspection, and certification, offers the one solution needed for evaluating products or facilities to meet industry requirements or for research and development purposes. Our complete line up of fire, thermal, acoustical, air/water/structural, and large scale mock-up testing, combined with a total suite of certification services, including product listings through the ETL and Warnock Hersey Marks, code compliance verification through Code Compliance Research Reports (CCRRs), and engineering services. Intertek’s Building Sciences Group offers building commissioning services, from whole building air leakage testing to on-site forensics evaluations. With over 20 laboratory locations throughout North America, local service is provided to ensure customers get products to market efficiently and effectively. For more information, visit https://www.intertek.com/buildingsciences

About Intertek

Intertek is a leading quality solutions provider to industries worldwide. From auditing and inspection, to testing, training, advisory, quality assurance and certification, Intertek adds value for its customers by helping improve the quality and safety of their products, assets and processes. With a network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 38,000 people in more than 100 countries, Intertek supports companies’ success in the global marketplace, by helping customers to meet end users’ expectations for safety, sustainability, performance, integrity and desirability in virtually any market worldwide. Visit www.intertek.com.

Contacts:

Michael Kremer
Global Marketing Manager
847-871-1027
michael.kremer@intertek.com;sandra.gavina@intertek.com

Cheryl Prejsnar
Public Relations Manager
630-481-3185
cheryl.prejsnar@intertek.com