Intertek,  a leading international provider of testing, inspection and certification services, is expanding and upgrading its Center of Excellence (COE) specializing in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Cortland, NY.


The expansion supports Intertek’s objective of meeting the growing demands for a faster testing and certification process. Key features of this new Center of Excellence include new chemical lab, eyewear lab and expansion of the existing helmet lab. All three labs, along with the current physical clothing lab on site, will all be getting state of the art equipment.

The expansion of this new COE will not only allow for safety products to be tested faster, but this lab also will increase the amount of certifications that can be achieved for the Safety Equipment Institute – a private, non-profit organization that administers a non-governmental, third-party certification program and tests and certifies a broad range of safety and protective products used occupationally and recreationally.


For the last several years, Intertek has remained the laboratory of choice for all third party certifications for the SEI. The expansion of facilities and equipment upgrades in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Center of Excellence offer a much more diverse and specialized level of testing and certification that will further shape this market and increased customer service, collectively.

“SEI continues to experience growth in the variety of products and range of certification services we are providing to manufacturers. We recognize Intertek’s unique testing expertise, and see this expansion as a commitment to the industry and a reinforcement of the need to provide outstanding customer service,” said Patricia A. Gleason, President, Safety Equipment Institute.


The overall expansion project for the Personal Protective Equipment Center of Excellence will not interfere with current testing. The project is currently scheduled to be completed in fourth quarter of 2011.


“Organic industry growth combined with our commitment to helping manufacturers achieve an even faster market drives increased demand for our testing and SEI certification services and is necessary to the success of this expansion,” said Thomas Connaughton, Intertek’s Global Director of Life Safety and Security Services.