Achieving global quality standards noted by Alan Duncan MP at 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.