NSF Expands Plastic Pipe Testing Capabilities With Acquisition of Jana Laboratories’ Testing Assets

Sep 29, 2014

Acquisition meets increasing demand for expedited plastic pipe performance and custom R&D testing

NSF International has acquired the laboratory portion of Jana Laboratories Inc., an engineering consulting and laboratory testing firm that serves the global water and plastic pipe industries. Jana Laboratories’ 14-person laboratory staff and 20,000-square-foot laboratory in Aurora, Ontario will be renamed NSF Janalab and become part of NSF’s global network of ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratories throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia.

The acquisition expands NSF’s pipe testing capabilities, making them the largest provider of oxidative resistance stress testing in the world and the largest provider of hydrostatic performance stress testing in North America. NSF Janalab includes a 4,000-square-foot Advanced Pipe Test Facility II, which has the largest oxidative resistance stress testing capacity in the world, as well as significant hydrostatic performance stress testing capacity. These capabilities, along with NSF International’s existing global laboratory capabilities, combine to make NSF one of the leading providers of performance and health effects testing and certification for the global plastic pipe industry.

Jana will retain the consulting and training portion of its business under the name Jana.

"The increased demand for plastic pipe has led to a greater need for state-of-the-art testing capabilities and technical expertise to protect public health," said Kevan P. Lawlor, President and Chief Executive Officer of NSF International. "Both NSF International and Jana customers will benefit from more cost efficient and streamlined health effects and performance testing services for plastic pipe, including highly specialized tests for oxidative resistance, hydrostatic design stress testing and large diameter pipe testing. The acquisition also provides clients additional R&D capability and independent consulting resources through Jana."

Plastic piping plays an essential role in the distribution of gas, drinking and wastewater worldwide. In fact, global demand for plastic pipe is projected to rise 8.5 percent annually through 2017 to 11.2 billion meters.1 Testing and certification to internationally-recognized standards verifies plastic piping products have met the required durability, performance and safety criteria for use in commercial and residential applications.

NSF International has served as a global provider of testing and certification for the plastic pipe industry for nearly 50 years. NSF developed the American national standards for pipes and other products that treat or come into contact with drinking water and certified more than 60,000 products to these standards. In 1990, the U.S. EPA replaced its own drinking water product advisory program with these NSF standards.

NSF’s expanded capabilities include:
  • Oxidative Resistance Testing: NSF Janalab’s Advanced Pipe Test Facility is one of the largest in the world, capable of accelerated testing of the long-term impact of disinfectants such as chlorine, chlorine dioxide and chloramines on plastic material performance. Plumbing codes and product standards require oxidative resistance testing for products such as PPR (Polypropylene Random Copolymer), PEX and PE-RT (polyethylene of raised temperature resistance) pipes.
  • Hydrostatic Design Stress (HDS) Testing: NSF Janalab’s HDS testing facility is the largest in North America. This testing establishes the long-term pressure/stress capabilities of the pipe per procedures such as PPI-TR3, ASTM D2837 and ISO 9080.
  • Slow Crack Growth (SCG) Validation / Rapid Crack Propagation (RCP) Testing: With the acquisition, NSF gains RCP capabilities and increases its SCG capabilities. SCG is an essential capability because a majority of polyethylene (PE) pipe failures in the field are attributable to brittle slow crack growth fractures. RCP is imperative for gas piping systems and there is limited testing capacity in North America.
  • Testing for Large Diameter Plastic Pipe: NSF can now test plastic piping up to 24 inches in diameter at elevated temperatures.

To ensure plastic pipe companies have the strongest combination of consulting and laboratory technical expertise, NSF International has developed an agreement with Jana that will benefit both organizations’ clients. Through the agreement, Jana will be able to provide independent consulting services to NSF clients and NSF will be able to provide testing services to Jana’s clients. The two organizations also will work together in the development of new standards.

"Jana has experienced significant growth in our consulting business over the past few years. The sale of our laboratory assets will enable us to focus our efforts on our consulting and training business to provide even greater service to our clients across the value chain from manufacturer to pipeline owner. We also look forward to providing independent consulting and other services to NSF and NSF’s clients going forward as part of an ongoing agreement," said Wayne Bryce, President & CEO of Jana.

"We will continue to work in cooperation with Jana for the benefit of our mutual clients and the global plastic pipe industry. Together, NSF and Jana will continue to focus on assisting companies worldwide in developing and bringing new, high quality products to market quickly and cost effectively," added Lawlor.

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