2020 will see Keighley Laboratories Limited celebrating 100 years of service in metallurgical analysis, testing and heat treatment and investing in new testing technology.
The company says that, not only does this accolade come with assured confidence of the company’s continuous growth and longevity, but its approvals and accreditations make this a milestone year for the company; in particular, its long-standing UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service) accreditation.
First issued in 1982 under the original NATLAS name, Keighley Labs has held the accreditation for Laboratory Services for over 35 years; being one of the first companies in history to achieve this accreditation, as shown in the Testing Laboratory Number 0034 on the official certificate. It is currently accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017.
The company acquired customer approvals in its early days from Westland Helicopters and the MOD during wartime efforts, to more recently acquiring larger aerospace approvals from Magellan and Collins Aerospace.
Although Keighley Laboratories is celebrating its historic centenary year, it is also looking to the future. Its newly acquired Leco ONH836 Gas Analyser, which is capable of wide-range measurements of oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen levels in both ferrous and non-ferrous materials, will be added to the lab’s UKAS 17025 scope for titanium based alloys; specifically those used in aerospace.
This allows Keighley Labs to identify particular properties of materials, relaying any oxide, nitride and hydride based defects to the customer; whether this is ductility, brittleness or even cracking issues within the processing phase.
Debbie Mellor, Managing Director at Keighley Labs, commented: “As part of our business development, particularly in respect to aerospace, we identified a gap in the UK market to provide this service. Following the addition to our already extensive scope on UKAS, we will be adding this process to our Nadcap MTL accreditation in late spring.
“The business has significantly transformed over the last 100 years, and we continually strive to provide a comprehensive and technically relevant service to all our customers.”