The Houston laboratory operated by Element Materials Technology has recently been awarded the Nadcap Materials Testing Laboratory (MTL) accreditation following a recent audit.
This follows significant investment by Element aligned to the requirements of a number of high-profile aero sector clients, demonstrating Element’s ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer needs and consistently complying with important industry specifications. The approval signals the growing importance of the Houston belt for the aerospace testing industry and means that Element Houston is the leading Nadcap approved laboratory operating in the greater Houston area.
The Houston laboratory has been accredited under audit criteria AC7101 to carry out a wide range of chemical, metallography, mechanical and hardness tests. The scope of accreditation includes hydrogen analysis, micro and near surface examinations, impact and temperature tensile testing and standard specimen machining.
Colin Speedie, Element’s VP of US Operations, says: “The leading aerospace manufacturers have been using Houston as a location for their core operations for some time now, and are demanding facilities with the very highest levels of accreditation in order to continue on to the next stage of their research and development work. We have listened and worked side by side with them to significantly invest in providing the required capability and capacity at Element Houston, so we’re extremely proud to be one of the first partners to meet their needs.
He continues: “This is the twelfth US-based Element facility to receive a Nadcap accreditation, meaning that we can offer a complete suite of tests of the broadest range and approved to the very highest level of excellence to the leading companies in the aerospace sector nationwide. We believe that Element is the only independent testing company to hold as many Nadcap accreditations in the US.
“Element provides world-class, globally recognised testing services to more than 36,000 customers and encourages its quality managers and laboratories to share best practice with each other. The increasing number of Element facilities receiving a Nadcap accreditation and the rapid growth of our business is a positive and direct result of this approach”, he concludes.
Joe Pinto, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Performance Review Institute, says: “Achieving a Nadcap accreditation is not easy; it is one of the ways in which the aerospace industry identifies those who excel at manufacturing quality products through superior and specialized processes. Companies such as Element work hard to obtain this status and they should be justifiably proud of it.”
The Performance Review Institute (PRI) administers Nadcap, the industry-managed special process and product accreditation program for the aerospace industry. Nadcap was jointly developed by Government and industry to continually improve quality. A worldwide programme for assessing and promoting continuous improvement in aerospace suppliers, the Nadcap audit is designed to evaluate companies’ quality systems to ensure the highest possible standards are met throughout the sector.
The Houston lab joins Element’s facilities Cincinnati, Charlotte, Cleveland, Daleville, Glendale, Huntington Beach, Newtown, Rancho Dominguez, St Paul, Tulsa and Wixom in holding Nadcap accreditation. Between them, Element’s laboratories can offer the aviation industry accredited services covering the full range of testing methodology covered by Nadcap.
About Element
Element is a company with a global presence; its laboratories are staffed by experts specializing in materials testing, product qualification testing and failure analysis for the Aerospace & Defense, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, and Transportation sectors. Element’s team of 1,400 scientists, engineers and technicians work in 40 laboratories located throughout the U.S. and Europe.