The joint venture between EADS Qatar and the French Welding Institute, based at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) in Doha, said it has received a key accreditation for material testing laboratory in Doha.

The company said the lab accreditation, in compliance with the ISO/IEC 17025:2005 international testing standard, has successfully brought its materials testing laboratory into line with the latest international standards.

This standard is essential to meet internal quality standards and consists of two parts, it stated.

The first covers the administrative quality management system (QMS), while the second part contains requirements concerning the technical organisation of the laboratory (including personnel, installation and ambient conditions, testing and calibration methods, traceability, sampling and reports.), it added.

This accreditation was carried out by the Governmental Dubai Accreditation Centre (DAC), a full member and MRA signatory of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

Bertrand Deyzac, chairman of EADS Qatar, said the accreditation allows an international strategic reference and shows the expertise of the EADS/Welding Institute staff as well of the quality of the services delivered by the laboratory.

'The establishment of such a laboratory with first class methodologies and technologies as well as the most experienced experts in their fields of expertise is another milestone in the long lasting and trustful cooperation existing between EADS and the State of Qatar,” added Deyzac.

To ensure the success of this project, the co-operative approach adopted by EADS and the French Welding Institute was crucial, said a top official.

“I am particularly proud of the certification we received today. We have put a lot of resources into our materials testing laboratory as we consider the Middle East region to be very strategic for the activities of our Institute,” said Alain Houdard, chairman and CEO of the French Welding Institute.

The laboratory can provide essential services to various local and regional industries, such as materials characterisation, materials qualification, welding procedures qualification, welder qualification, on all types of materials, plus specialist contacts in the field of welding, he added.

To meet the wide-ranging needs of its customers, the laboratory works in close collaboration with the other accredited laboratories of the French Welding Institute, notably in the fields of chemistry and corrosion.

‘This accreditation is definitely a guarantee of quality that is well illustrated by the commitment and the expertise of the team involved, stated Anthony Protin, IS Industrie - QSTP -B general manager.

'In that respect, I wish to underline the great achievement of Benoit Mouquet, our laboratory Technical Manager. Thanks to his professional competencies as well as his personal commitment, we have made this happen successfully,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service