Article
Sagentia Catella
This article has been taken from The Gen Newsletter - Summer 2007.
Click here to download the PDF
Stockholm based Sagentia Catella is one of the world’s leading independent battery testing laboratories, and also offers battery consultancy. The company, established in the 1950s, was originally part of the Swedish Defence Research Agency; it became a commercial company in the 1990s and is now part of Sagentia.
‘We are a bridge between battery developers, manufacturers and users’, says Managing Director Eva Fontes. ‘Our laboratory is accredited and we provide testing services for all batteries, from hearing aid to hybrid vehicle; we also use our extensive experience of battery technology and application to provide consultancy to clients in a wide variety of market sectors’.
Operating in a 15,000 square foot facility, the company tests over 15,000 batteries every year. ‘Battery testing is very equipment intensive’, explains Eva. ‘We can test more than 1,500 batteries simultaneously, and have environmental chambers large enough to house a small vehicle. As most tests are fully automated, we can run our facility with a team of only 15 people and still deliver a fast and efficient service’.
Sagentia Catella provides impartial and professional assessments of battery safety and reliability, and formally accredits battery performance. The team also helps resolve disputes between manufacturers and users, and tests third party batteries: ‘Increasingly, nonspecialist companies (such as supermarkets) want to sell own-label batteries. China is now the main supplier of extremely cheap batteries, but our clients need to check that these are safe and reliable; we do this for them, thereby ensuring that the battery chosen protects brand reputation’.
The Sagentia Catella team brings together experience of industrial and OEM manufacturing, battery development, and pure research, and this depth of understanding has led to a thriving consultancy business. And with growing demand for more wireless and fuel-efficient products, the consultancy stream is set to grow even faster. ‘Our testing work keeps us up to date with the latest technologies’, comments Eva, ‘so we are ideally placed to advise on possible applications for new product development’. An awareness of current and future legislation is also an important area of expertise. ‘Clients need to know if use of a certain battery technology may be restricted in the future, especially in terms of disposal and other environmental concerns’.
Already a leader in its field, Sagentia Catella now hopes to gain more business in the US, where major brands are already on the client list, and forge stronger links in China through SGAI. ‘Our connection with Sagentia has always been of great benefit, especially as we get involved with clients developing truly breakthrough products. We now plan to make the most of Sagentia’s presence in the US and China to grow our business even further’.
For further information contact
info@sagentiacatella.com