Agr International has invested more than 1 million EUR in the establishment of an American Glass Research Testing Laboratory in Delft, The Netherlands. The lab has completed its first full year of operations and AGR CEO Henry Dimmick declared it has more than met its first year objectives.
“Our goals were to create and staff a state of the art testing laboratory for glass containers and be able to offer all of the same core glass testing services American Glass Research is known for, including: Fracture Diagnosis, Proof of Design Testing, Filling line and Glass Manufacturing line audits, Container Design Study, as well as Label, Decoration and Closure Analysis”, said Dimmick.
The lab features industry-standard testing equipment produced by Agr International including a Ramp Pressure Tester 2X, Vertical Load Tester and Pendulum Impact Tester for comprehensive, performance testing of glass containers. Additionally complementary AGR equipment housed at the laboratory includes a Line Simulator, Hot End Coating and Finish Coating Measurement Systems, Tilt Table, Polarimeter and MBTxt thickness measurement gauges. Along with the Agr equipment, the lab also has a range of state of the art optical and polarizing microscopes along with an array of metrology devices to round out the capabilities of the facility.
The lab in Delft has a highly trained and experienced staff that fully understands the issues associated with the design and production of glass containers. “We have continually expanded our staff to meet our growing needs,” said Peter de Haan, Senior Scientist and Manager of the Delft lab. “In support of this, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Clarissa Justino de Lima has joined the AGR Testing Laboratory team as a Research Scientist,. Clarissa’s main areas of responsibility will include fracture analysis, container testing as well as seminar instruction.”
She will also have considerable involvement with the internal research projects and technical papers as they relate to glass as a material for use in the container industry. Clarissa received her PhD in Civil Engineering from Technische University Delft. She also holds a Master’s degree in Science & Engineering of Materials from Federal University Alfenas in Brazil.
New offerings at the Delft lab include an expansion of American Glass Research’ renowned Training Program with the addition of open enrollment seminars for the first time in Moscow, Russia in addition to expanded offerings in Krakow, Poland, Lake Ammersee, Germany and Montecchio, Italy.
American Glass Research, a leader in consulting, training and analytical services for the glass packaging industry since 1927, operates laboratories located in Butler, PA and Maumee, OH in the USA and Delft, the Netherlands. American Glass Research is a division of AGR International Inc.
For more information on American Glass Research and the Delft testing laboratory, visit the American Glass Research website at www.americanglassresearch.com or contact Mr. Peter de Haan directly at: pdhaan@agrintl.com.