Thule Group swung open the doors of its expanded global testing lab at its headquarters in Hillerstorp, Småland Sweden Thursday to emphasize it commitment to becoming the global leader in the design and manufacture of  racks, strollers, packs and cases people use to carry their outdoor recreation gear, children, camping supplies and electronics.

Thule Group said it has invested SEK20 million in equipment and doubled the size of the test center to 1,200 square meters since 2008 to keep up with its expanding product line, expand the types of tests it can do. For instance, the center has test equipment that can simulate a year of use or driving in a single day and two years of sunlight exposure in two months.

“With the expansion of the new global Thule Test Center we increase the technical competence, the capacity and ability to test products  with a range that covers both traditional products, our newly launched categories such as strollers and mobile shells, but also future products,”  said Magnus Welander, CEO of Thule Group.

Thule has developed its own “Thule Test Program” with over 25 custom Thule standards that significantly exceed ISO and national product safety standards. The lab is capable of running fall-, impact, shock and strength tests and simulating a wide range of climactic conditions such as  the intense heat of Australia, the cold of Siberia and the sunshine of Arizona. These are complemented with real environmental tests where the products are tested again and again in their authentic environment.

Thule posted short movies documenting testing of its products for active parents, cycling, backpacks and mobile shells at the Thule Test Center on its YouTube channel.

Short facts about Thule Test Center

  • Size: 1,200 sq. Equivalent to about 5 tennis courts
  • Number of employees: 55
  • Tests conducted: Everything from fall, impact, shock and strength tests to that the products are subjected to the corresponding to Australian heat, the ice cold of Siberia and the sunshine of Arizona. These are complemented with product tests in their real environment.
  • Products tested: equipment for cycling, water and winter sports, roof boxes, bicycle carts, buggies, laptop and camera bags, backpacks and cases for mobile phones, etc.
  • Number of possible tests: 500 different standards can be verified
  • Number of tests / year: approximately 1,000
  • Climate-testing lab: Every year Thule Group simulates 5.6 million kilometers of driving in tests of various products. The climate impact caused by these laboratory tests are only a fraction of the comparable impact from the real car testing.
  • The consumption of electricity in 2014 was approximately 287,000 kWh. which means that less than 3 kilograms of carbon dioxide provides carbon footprint. To test drive 5.6 million kilometers by car would emit 750 tons of carbon dioxide.