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By Nathan Peck | MiBiz
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Intertek recently invested $4.2 million into an EMC testing lab to test electronics for electromagnetic radiation interference. COURTESY PHOTO

GRAND RAPIDS — The testing areas of the Intertek Group PLC facility in Grand Rapids are a makeshift graveyard for many a consumer product.

The products die so your car’s radio doesn’t, say, interfere with your engine’s electronic throttle controls and so your children are safe on their bunk beds. Intertek, a testing company with 30,000 employees in more than 100 countries, employs 100 people in its Grand Rapids facility.

Nearly everywhere one turns, consumer products, automotive components, avionics and furniture are subjected to heat, sun and electromagnetic radiation to ensure consumers are safe when a product hits the shelves, roads or airways.

The multinational testing corporation invested $4.2 million into an EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) testing chamber that opened in September in West Michigan. The investment brings a lab close to a major client and places the testing lab in the position of being at the center of the automotive and battery industries as cars become increasingly electrified.

The local lab came about when a customer was mothballing its EMC lab but would still need daily access to a lab to test avionics and other electronic systems. Intertek saw an opportunity to serve one of its customers and capitalize on a growing market in the automotive industry, said Michael Koffink, EMC operations manager for North America.

“This was an opportunity to work with our client daily. We were already doing testing for them,” Koffink said. “For us to take the plunge to build another EMC lab, the business case with one client was enough to convince us that there is business to support the investment. That we already had a facility here allowed us to enter the market with minimal investment.”

While the testing is not as destructive, for example, as Intertek’s work testing furniture to the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association safety standards, the EMC lab ensures electronic components will not radiate interference affecting other systems, are immune to other interference, and can withstand electrostatic discharges. In the 3-meter and 10-meter anechoic chambers, which are insulated against outside electromagnetic interference, technicians can determine how electronics will be affected in a wide variety of situations.

The Grand Rapids facility is the ninth EMC testing facility Intertek operates in the United States. Its existence cuts down on the time parts are in transit for major customers in the state.

“This gives us the ability to serve the military, aerospace, vehicle and consumer electronics market,” Koffink said. “There are a number of companies that can benefit from this lab here, and it helps us service the Detroit logjam of OEMs with all of the Tier 1, 2, and 3 suppliers.”

The $2.2 billion company has been in growth mode, expanding at a 20-percent annual rate over the last five years. The EMC lab expands the company’s testing capability, which includes materials testing, failure analysis and environmental testing. The addition has helped Intertek target furniture, medical device, automotive and consumer products manufacturers in the region.

The local lab, once known as Entela Inc. before its sale to Intertek in 2004, has seen business rebound as the auto industry bounced back, said Ralph Buckingham, operations manager of the Grand Rapids facility.

“We have been in a fairly strong growth period for the last 10 years. We did see some slowdown in automotive, but there is a lot of automotive work out there now,” Buckingham said.

The company is expanding its sales force to grow its market penetration as the company expands into sustainability testing services, such as conducting LEED reviews and volatile organic compounds testing, as well as working with BIFMA’s “level” sustainable product certification project, said Dale Wine, account manager at Intertek Testing Services.

“We are growing our capabilities and sales force so we can become a single source for manufacturers’ testing needs,” Wine said.

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• intertek
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