Material Testing in Michigan

The economy of Michigan ranks 13th out of the 50 states in the United States of America. Michigan is home to manufacturing plants as well as research and development facilities for the three large US automobile manufacturers: Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. The state has nine international crossings with Ontario (Canada), another area where the automobile and the office furniture industry are very present.

Cars are a complex amalgam of steel, aluminum and a wide range of composite materials including plastics, coatings and adhesives. These are all materials Micom Laboratories Inc. can test to insure proper performance levels. Furthermore, Micom offers the automotive industry many test services for car subassemblies to insure car safety and durability. These include fatigue testing, accelerated aging, data acquisition and control for performance monitoring as well as component cycling.

Among the many services that fall under Micom’s material testing is furniture testing. And the Grand Rapids, Michigan area is the “Silicon Valley” of the office furniture industry, hosting, among others, the world’s five largest office furniture manufacturers. This is also where BIFMA (Business Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association), an association writing test standards related to office furniture, has its headquarters. Micom has been a BIFMA member since 1999 and its staff actively participates in the standards writing activities of this organization. Micom has many customers in the Michigan area for BIFMA testing as well as for additional material testing services.