Atlas to open outdoor exposure site in TN capital

Chennai, Aug 30 (UNI) Atlas Weathering Services Group, a division of the Chicago-based Atlas Material Testing Technology, will open its first outdoor exposure site in India, tomorrow.

Located at Uttiramerur, about 70 km from here, the new facility will be inaugurated by Atlas MTT President Russell Lane.

It would be the first independent commercial outdoor exposure site in India characterised by tropical climate with high levels of sunlight, humidity and temperature.

The facility provided tropical climate testing environment and would be a boon to automotive, paint, polymer, textile and leather industries. It would also be the hub for South East Asia.

Atlas Sales Division General Manager Giorgio Chiandetti told reporters here today Chennai was primarily chosen as the climatic condition matched with that in Florida and it was the automotive hub of Asia.

''So far companies sent their end products for testing to USA from India. Now they have it in India,'' he added.

Initially the site would provide 25 racks, available with a variety of exposure angles from 5 Deg to 90 Deg (all South facing) that simulate end-use conditions.

The site complies to ISO, ASTM and manufacturer-specific test requirements.

In addition to standard exposures on the racks, customer-specific installations including entire vehicles and test houses can be tested.

A modern weather station will record the total solar irradiance, UV radiation, ambient temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction.

The on-site state-of-the-art laboratory guaranteed optimum sample preparation, handling and measurement (colour, gloss etc).

Atlas Material Testing Technology (India) Pvt Ltd General Manager C S Ravi said all the services would ensure the site provided valuable test data for many industries such as automotive exterior and interior (paint, polymer, textile, leather) parts or components; architectural and building products and consumer durable goods among others.

UNI