Over the past several years, MOCON has been actively pursuing strategic laboratory partnerships in key industrial regions around the world. Currently, the company has certified seven laboratories in North America, Europe and Asia. Its objective is to offer affordable permeation testing services around the world at laboratories which have been certified by the company.
The MOCON-certified laboratory network targets a broad range of companies ranging from multinational corporations, which would benefit from a local facility capable of duplicating gold standard testing protocols, to smaller firms which may only have need for a few validation tests per year.
Certification means that the state-of-the-art instrumentation has been installed, inspected and is maintained by a MOCON-factory authorized service technician and that the laboratory staff has been trained on MOCON corporate test lab methods/protocols and record keeping to ensure quality and equivalency.
"MOCON certification assures that companies using any one of these facilities will get the same level of service and quality they would find at any other MOCON-certified location anywhere in the world," said Alan Shema, product manager for consulting and testing services, MOCON. "This is ideal for multinational companies which can now be assured that their materials or packages are tested using identical standards and protocols on three different continents."
In conjunction with the certified laboratory network the company is also introducing the MOCON Data Check 4™ program which offers periodic permeation testing services for an annual flat rate.
"This program offers a third-party quality control measure ideal for either small or large companies. The Data Check 4™ provides a simple, affordable way for the material or package end user to verify supplier or internally-generated test data, as well as package performance parameters via an independent third party," Shema explained.
In addition to MOCON's laboratory at its United States headquarters, certified laboratories have been established in Germany, China, India, Canada, United Kingdom and Switzerland.
"The rapid turnaround capability that results from having this level of testing service available in closer proximity to manufacturing locations will also improve speed-to-market for both packagers and suppliers. The global testing network offers an ideal way to monitor quality, control variables and ensure consistency," Shema concluded.