Harting has held a ground breaking ceremony for its new Quality and Technology Centre (HQT centre) in Epelskamp, Germany. The site has historical significance for the Harting family since company founder Wilhelm Harting built the company’s first production hall in Epelskamp.
The HQT centre is to be used as a test laboratory in future and represents a further investment in the Espelkamp site. Harting says its decision to build the new facility was made in light of a further increase in headcount and the increasingly rigorous requirements made of the company’s own products.
Covering an area of 3,500 m2, the building will accommodate around 60 employees, as well as state-of-the-art inspection technology and equipment. The extensively equipped laboratory will have DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, ensuring the quality and independence of all test results. The Harting Quality and Technology Centre will enable the conducting of certified electrical, mechanical and climatic inspections, and environmental testing, such as resistance measurements, vibration inspections and harmful gas testing, and more.
The laboratory’s range of tests will be continually expanded and adapted to new technologies, markets and products. The testing capabilities for ultraviolet radiation, solar simulation and ozone tests have also been upgraded in line with more rigorous requirements for products deployed externally. The further development of test and inspection procedures will also be undertaken. Thanks to computer tomography, 3D measurements will be carried out at the laboratory as a further development of conventional optical 2D measurement. The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2012 with the level of investment totalling over 8 million Euros.
ECN Europe 