Achieving global quality standards noted by Alan Duncan MP at SATRA
Press Release SATRA

The Shadow Secretary of State for Trade, Industry and Energy, Alan Duncan, officially opened and was given a tour of SATRA Technology Centre's new footwear and leather testing laboratory in Kettering on 20th April. 

SATRA's Wyndham Way site, in which the new 4,000 sq ft humidity and temperature-controlled laboratory resides, is the most comprehensive consumer products test facility of its type anywhere in the world. Providing services to footwear suppliers, manufacturers, brands and resourcers remains SATRA's core activity and in which its knowledge and expertise has made the SATRA name instantly recognised and respected throughout an increasingly globalised industry. 

In talking with staff, Mr Duncan said that SATRA expertise has an important effect on setting quality standards the world over. "When we buy something [wherever it has been made] we want to know that it meets quality standards." 

Despite the continuing growth in Far East production, requests for UK testing received by SATRA from all over the world, including China, continue to rise. Dr Ron Whittaker, chief executive at SATRA, commented that the new lab has been built to accommodate the expected expansion of testing services up to 2012. 

SATRA has recently introduced radical new methods for evaluating finished shoes for resistance to water, slip and comfort - tests which are not available anywhere else in the world. With the footwear industry now globalised, SATRA also uses its technical expertise and knowledge to assist many of the major international brands and sourcing companies to ensure quality and production efficiency are optimised throughout the supply chain. 

SATRA Technology Centre
Wyndham Way, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN16 8SD
SATRA House, Rockingham Road, Kettering

Northamptonshire, NN16 9JH, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1536 410000 Fax: +44 (0)1536 410626
E-mail: info@satra.co.uk
Website: www.satra.co.uk

Source: SATRA Website, © SATRA Technology Centre

SATRA was founded in 1919 by a visionary group of industrialists and continues to be a not-for-profit organisation - investing its trading surpluses in staff and facilities. 

SATRA operates from multi-million pound testing and research facilities on two sites in Kettering, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom. 

SATRA employs more than 180 staff, including the most eminent consumer product technologists and scientists. 

With more than 1,500 member companies in 70 countries, SATRA prides itself on modern service delivery, coupled with traditional customer care values. 

SATRA's laboratories are accredited for a wide range of tests and procedures. 

With 85 years of experience, SATRA stands head and shoulders above other commercial laboratories, particularly in its problem-solving abilities and specialist knowledge where the consumer product boundaries merge. 

SATRA is a non-bureaucratic and user-friendly establishment. We welcome many visitors from around the world every year, as well as travelling hundreds of thousands of miles to deliver SATRA's services.

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