SUZHOU, China—Smithers continues to add value to its Suzhou facility, saying Sept. 16 it will add tire dynamic ozone aging and cold temperature durability testing to its services there.
Based in Akron, Smithers is a testing, consulting and compliance firm for a range of industries, from rubber products and plastics to medical and tire.
To offer this type of durability testing, gauging the stresses of UV light, temperature, viscoelasticity and friction on tires, Smithers installed a new machine at its tire and wheel testing lab in Suzhou. All of the unsaturated compounds in tires "are prone to chemical reactions when exposed to light, heat, oxides and other factors," according to Smithers.
"At Smithers, our top priority is to meet our clients' needs and deliver accurate testing data on time with excellent service," said Henry He, general manager of the Tire and Wheel Testing Center Asia Pacific, materials science and engineering division. "We invested in ozone resistance and low-temperature durability testing to our tire laboratory in Suzhou to help our clients evaluate the durability performance of whole tires in a controlled, indoor environment. This will shorten the development cycle for our clients and lower their R&D costs."
Much of the composition and chemistry of tires depends on ozone resistance, Smithers said, and sidewall cracking often is evidence of poor ozone resistance. Smithers identified low-temperature endurance testing as another important industry issue, and the company is able to conduct much of that type of testing indoors.
The new machine can maintain temperatures as low as -40°C for low-temperature durability testing.
"Smithers is committed to fulfilling our promise of providing our clients with key testing capabilities to meet their changing research and development needs," said Derek Read, Asia region vice president of global development, materials science and engineering division. "We chose to add this specific capability to support industry development in Asia and help our clients continue to improve their products for the global marketplace."
Smithers moved into Suzhou in 2011, and into a new facility there in 2020.