2014-2016 Exhibitions
US-based NSF International has acquired the laboratory portion of Jana Laboratories, an engineering consulting and laboratory testing firm that serves the global water and plastic pipe industries. Jana Laboratories’ 14-person laboratory staff and 20,000-sq ft laboratory in Aurora, Ontario, will be renamed NSF Janalab and become part of NSF’s global network of ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratories throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia.
The acquisition expands NSF’s pipe testing capabilities, making it the largest provider of oxidative resistance stress testing in the world and the largest provider of hydrostatic performance stress testing in North America. NSF Janalab includes a 4,000-sq ft Advanced Pipe Test Facility II, which has the largest oxidative resistance stress testing capacity in the world, as well as significant hydrostatic performance stress testing capacity. These capabilities, along with NSF International’s existing global laboratory capabilities, combine to make NSF one of the leading providers of performance and health effects testing and certification for the global plastic pipe industry.
Jana will retain the consulting and training portion of its business under the name Jana.
“The increased demand for plastic pipe has led to a greater need for state-of-the-art testing capabilities and technical expertise to protect public health,” said Kevan P. Lawlor, President/CEO of NSF International.
Plastic piping plays an essential role in the distribution of gas, drinking and wastewater worldwide. In fact, global demand for plastic pipe is projected to rise 8.5% annually through 2017 to 11.2 billion m.* Testing and certification to internationally-recognised standards verifies plastic piping products have met the required durability, performance and safety criteria for use in commercial and residential applications.
NSF International has served as a global provider of testing and certification for the plastic pipe industry for nearly 50 years. NSF developed the American national standards for pipes and other products that treat or come into contact with drinking water and certified more than 60,000 products to these standards. In 1990, the US EPA replaced its own drinking water product advisory programme with these NSF standards.
NSF’s expanded capabilities include:
- Oxidative Resistance Testing: NSF Janalab’s Advanced Pipe Test Facility is one of the largest in the world, capable of accelerated testing of the long-term impact of disinfectants such as chlorine, chlorine dioxide and chloramines on plastic material performance. Plumbing codes and product standards require oxidative resistance testing for products such as PPR (Polypropylene Random Copolymer), PEX and PE-RT (polyethylene of raised temperature resistance) pipes.
- Hydrostatic Design Stress (HDS) Testing: NSF Janalab’s HDS testing facility is the largest in North America. This testing establishes the long-term pressure/stress capabilities of the pipe per procedures such as PPI-TR3, ASTM D2837 and ISO 9080.
- Slow Crack Growth (SCG) Validation / Rapid Crack Propagation (RCP) Testing: With the acquisition, NSF gains RCP capabilities and increases its SCG capabilities. SCG is an essential capability because a majority of polyethylene (PE) pipe failures in the field are attributable to brittle slow crack growth fractures. RCP is imperative for gas piping systems and there is limited testing capacity in North America.
- Testing for Large Diameter Plastic Pipe: NSF can now test plastic piping up to 24 inches in diameter at elevated temperatures.
To ensure plastic pipe companies have the strongest combination of consulting and laboratory technical expertise, NSF International has developed an agreement with Jana that will benefit both organisations’ clients. Through the agreement, Jana will be able to provide independent consulting services to NSF clients and NSF will be able to provide testing services to Jana’s clients. The two organizations also will work together in the development of new standards.
* World Plastic Pipe Market. Freedonia Group.
(PRA)
