By David Reed, UT EditorTroy, Michigan-An open house to introduce Reliable Analysis (Shanghai) Inc. is to be held 27 July 2005, announced Ken-Jen Lang, president of US-based Reliable Analysis, Inc. (RA). The new office and laboratory, claimed to be the first automotive material testing laboratory in China, is between Pudong airport and downtown Shanghai at No.12A, Lane 1365, Kang Qiao Road East, Shanghai, China 201319. It is also RA's first international facility.RA claims to be a leading automotive testing, engineering and fixturing firm with a diverse customer base including most of the leading OEMs, Tier Ones, and numerous smaller suppliers to the automotive industry. The new RA Shanghai laboratory, with over 2750 m2 of testing space dedicated to the automotive sector, includes two state-of-the-art, walk-in environmental chambers as well as several reach-in environmental chambers, as needed to meet the wide range of automotive testing conditions. They offer controlled temperature and humidity conditions, as needed for this rapidly growing automotive area.Lang stated that RA Shanghai has been equipped with a full range of mechanical testing equipment to support and coordinate between the firm's global and Asian automotive customers. "We have the capability of performing all types of materials testing such as plastic resins, fabrics, foams, paints, adhesives, rubbers and leather," his prepared statement said. All Reliable Analysis laboratories are fully A2LA accredited, and RA Shanghai is scheduled to receive full A2LA accreditation in accordance with ISO 17025 by September 2005. Currently, the laboratory is already providing testing support for some of the larger global automotive OEMs in China, the statement added.This fourth location marks RA's first international expansion as the firm continues to grow to meet customers' needs. Currently, RA has two locations in the greater Detroit area and a satellite facility in Greenville, South Carolina, to support the US automotive business."RA has located in China to support its customers locally and in meeting the global automotive industry requirements," Lang's statement continued. The new unit means that RA can now provide faster service-no need to ship overseas for testing-as well as better communication, global resources, local currency transactions, and compatibility with global testing standards and approvals, the firm's statement concluded."