The strategic quality test lab at Crown.

Elkhart, IN - Dec 18, 2006 - Crown International established a Strategic Quality Team earlier this year and recently upgraded its factory to include a reliability test lab. Crown has operated its own testing equipment for some time, but as the manufacturer has made its testing criteria more stringent it needed to send items to an outside laboratory for evaluation. The new in-house lab accelerates testing during the early phases of product development, and also allows the company to conduct quality audits on lines already in production.

Heading the Strategic Quality Team is Crown Senior Director of Engineering Bob Chadderdon. The equipment in the test lab exposes units to simulated environmental stress in extreme conditions. Some of the conditions include a thermal/humidity chamber that allows for accelerated life testing in environments ranging from -95 to +355 degrees Fahrenheit at 95 percent humidity, a shaker table that can generate 100G of acceleration, and a drop-test for impact testing.