UKAS or equivalent accreditation outside of the UK is becoming an increasingly important requirement for companies that provide local test and calibration facilities.

Materials testing machine manufacturer Lloyd Instruments, an AMETEK company, announce that Jurgen Pletsch, Service Manager responsible for the UK and Germany, is the latest member of the group's large service team to become a UKAS accredited operator for the force calibration of universal materials testing machines to ISO 7500-1. UKAS (United Kingdom accreditation Service) is the UK's sole recognised body for the accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories, and organisations that provide certification in inspection services. UKAS or equivalent accreditation outside of the UK is becoming an increasingly important requirement for companies that provide local test and calibration facilities.

With an international network of distributors offering technical and service support, Lloyd Instruments continues to offer accredited facilities at locations throughout the world.

Lloyd Instruments has been a nationally recognised UKAS calibration laboratory (Accreditation No.

0251) for 15 years offering customers UKAS approved verification and calibration of the force measuring system in tension and compression.

These services are available to customers using Lloyd Instruments' test systems and to customers using other manufacturers' test machines (for verification only).

The laboratory complies with the requirements of international standard BS EN ISO/IEC 17025.

The dedicated team of field service engineers, are themselves fully UKAS accredited and frequently travel anywhere in the world to offer the same high standard of verification and calibration services.

In France, sister company AMETEK S.A.S.

holds COFRAC accreditation.

COFRAC (Comite Francais d'Accreditation) is the official French authorising body.

COFRAC certificates are equivalent to those issued by European and international bodies, and are therefore recognised by UKAS.

Calibration accreditation is not limited to Europe.

Lloyd Instruments' service partners in India, Hemshell Services, (a Calibration Division of Hemetek Techno Instruments Pvt) is accredited to ISO 17205 for site force calibration of universal materials testing machines.

ISO 17025 was written to incorporate all the ISO 9001 requirements that are relevant to the scope of testing and calibration services as well as specifying the technical requirements for technical competence.