Premier is excited to announce the unveiling of our new Research and Development (R&D) Lab. The new lab was a part of Premier’s 32,000 square foot expansion to the company’s global headquarters.   The significantly larger, state-of-the-art R&D lab will provide a space for the growing R&D team to continue to develop innovative formulas and new industrial-strength products.

This 2,880 square foot space provides ample storage, working space and offices for the R&D team – with ample space for the growing team. Having a separate entrance and facility from the main plant also gives the R&D team the opportunity to host customers and vendors.

Included in the lab is a 360 square foot climate control room that is consistently 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% humidity to ensure reproducible test results. Inside of the climate control room is an Instron machine that tests tensile strength, elongation and adhesion. Also included in the climate control room is a Labthink W3/031 Permeance Tester that is used for measuring water vapor transmission rates.

The improved lab also added ventilated rooms for QSUN and QUV accelerated weathering testing, and capabilities to run full ASTM C920 testing in-house.

Consuming the remaining 2880 square feet of the lab is a technical training classroom. This space was created as a product demonstration and customer/employee training room. The classroom includes a smartboard projector, individual desks with electrical ports and room for hands-on examples.

“My team and I are excited about all of the growth opportunities we have in this new lab,” said Debra Heeter, the R&D Lab manager, “With the additional space, we are able to grow our technical team, expand our testing capabilities, increase productivity, and provide superior technical support.”

 

Article written by Brooklyn Hellman