Introducing ABB's new testing centre of excellence for cable protection

31-10-2017

ABB invests in a new testing facility at the Coleshill, UK site for its global cable protection portfolio

The new 1,150sqft facility will work alongside other ABB test facilities and serve as a global ‘centre of excellence’ for IP (Ingress Protection) testing. It will enable ABB to bring its cable protection products to market faster and more efficiently given the new capacity to undertake the majority of its testing in-house.

The new facility will be aiming for ISO 17025 laboratory accreditation and will be able to offer a broad spectrum of testing capacity, from feasibility research to ingress protection, mechanical testing and the accelerated simulation of extreme working environments. The site includes new infrastructure and hi-end test equipment, most notably, an automated ingress protection water chamber capable of IP X5, X6, X9 testing in accordance with many globally recognised standards.

The new facility will play a fundamental role in ABB’s new product development function for its cable protection division, which encompasses metallic and non-metallic conduit and fittings, as well as cable glands. Martyn Bree, Product Testing and Process Engineer, at ABB, comments: “The opening of our new facility will give us greater control throughout both the new product development and post-manufacture testing phases. Greatly enhancing testing capabilities, this latest investment will reduce the need to involve third parties, and will greatly increase the pace at which we can bring the latest innovations in cable protection to market.

“We supply diverse markets – from food and beverage processing plants to automotive harness manufacturers and highly volatile off-shore extraction operations. The facility will also enable us to design and test products in line with industry-specific performance standards, to deliver high-performance tailored solutions for a variety of challenging operating conditions.

“From the perspective of innovation and product development, the new facility gives us the freedom to trial any number of ideas, new materials and designs to arrive at the most effective cable protection system for any given market.”

Martyn Bree concludes: “Ultimately, the ability to combine our R&D operations and testing processes at one location will make a noticeable difference to the speed at which we can deliver our market-leading cable protection solutions to customers around the world.”­­