Global Material Durability Testing Product Provider || Q-Lab (2024)

About Us

Q-Lab Corporation is a global provider of material durability testing products since 1956. We design and manufacture standard test substrates as well as weathering, light stability, and corrosion testers. In addition, contract test services which include accelerated laboratory testing are available at Q-Lab Florida, Q-Lab Arizona, and Q-Lab Deutschland. Outdoor exposure testing for weathering, lightfastness and corrosion are available at Q-Lab Florida and Q-Lab Arizona.

Our weathering products and services are used by material scientists and technicians in numerous industries including: additives and colorants, adhesive and sealants, automotive, building materials (such as roofing and siding), fabrics/textiles, food and beverages, graphic arts/inks, paints and coatings, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, plastics and packaging, and renewable energy (such as solar).

Our modern corporate headquarters, R&D, and manufacturing facilities are located in Westlake, a beautiful suburb of Cleveland, Ohio USA. Q-Lab sales and distribution facilities are located in Manchester, England, Saarbrucken, Germany, and Shanghai, China. Q-Lab's A2LA accredited laboratory and outdoor testing facilities are located in Homestead, Florida (Certificate Number 0859-01) and Buckeye, Arizona (Certificate Number 0859-02). We've also just opened a new accelerated testing lab at our Saarbrücken, Germany location (Certificate Number 0859-03).

Watch our corporate video here .

The Q-Lab Name & History

George Grossman, Founder

A young pilot in the US Air Corps returned to civilian life after serving his country. His name was George Grossman, and he began a new career selling supplies and equipment to paint labs in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Wherever he went, George made it a practice to ask his customers, "What do you need that you can't get from your current suppliers?" Many customers told George that they needed a consistent, reproducible test surface. They wanted to make sure that if a coating failed during testing, it was because of a bad paint and not because of a contaminated substrate.

George founded Q-Panel Lab Products in 1956 to fulfill this industry need. When designing the first test panels, George was looking for a way to place a logo on his product that would not be obscured when the lab technicians sprayed the panels with paint. He decided that a "Q" shaped hole would do the trick. Plus, it would represent the quality and quick delivery that George wanted for his panels.

50 years later, Q-Lab Corporation has established the global standard for affordable, reliable, and easy to use weathering, lightfastness, and corrosion test equipment and test services. This philosophy and customer-first approach has made us "the most trusted name in weathering".

Read more about the entire history of Q-Lab in pictures below.

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  1956 – Q-Panel Co. is founded in Cleveland, USA to fill a need for standard test panels for paint research. The company name is eventually changed to Q-Lab in 2006.

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  1960 – Q-Lab's first new factory is built in Cleveland, Ohio.

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  1965 – QCT “Cleveland Condensation Tester” introduced by Q-Lab. This precursor to the QUV provides condensation only, but no UV.

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  1970 – QUV Accelerated Weathering Tester introduced. This revolutionary design by Q-Lab combines condensation and fluorescent UV. Today, the distinctive shape is recognized throughout the world.

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  1977 – Publication of the first of many ASTM and international specifications that reference the QUV tester.

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  1980 – European sales office and warehouse opened in the United Kingdom, near Manchester.

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  1981 – Q-Lab moves to a new, larger factory in Westlake, Ohio.

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  1983 – QUV becomes world’s most widely used weathering tester, based on number of units in use.

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  1984 – UVB-313 lamp introduced.This Q-Lab design is the first lamp specifically designed for a fluorescent weathering testers.

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  1987 – UVA-340 lamp introduced.This Q-Lab innovation is still the best available simulation of short wavelength sunlight UV.

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  1989 – QUV Spray Option introduced to supplement the QUV tester’s condensation system. Spray produces mechanical erosion on wood coatings, and thermal shock on plastics.

  See Also

  Global Material Durability Testing Product Provider || Q-LabVeel Gestelde Vragen | Q-LabThe QLab 5 Manual | QLab 5 DocumentationRocket Lab Reschedules First U.S. Launch for January 2023, Provides Update on Effect to Prior Q4 Guidance

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  1992 – SOLAR EYE irradiance control introduced to completely stabilize UV irradiance. Q-Lab’s proprietary power supply produces 75% higher UV output and longer lamp life.

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  1992 – Q-Lab receives patents for unique AUTOCAL system for UV calibration. Q-Lab also offers radiometers of its own design and manufacture.

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  1992 – Q-Panel introduced the Q-FOG cyclic corrosion tester to its portfolio, giving customers a more realistic way to perform salt spray tests than traditional, steady state exposures.

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  1994 – Q-Lab develops proprietary embedded microprocessor controller – the first of its kind in a weathering tester.

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  1995 – New Q-Lab Weathering Research division in Miami, Florida offers contract testing services for QUV testers.

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  1996 – Q-Lab Arizona site is built near Phoenix, offering natural desert exposure testing.

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  1997 – Q-TRAC natural sunlight concentrator testing is offered at Q-Lab Arizona for accelerated outdoor testing.

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  1998 – Q-Lab introduces the Q-SUN Xe-3 flat-array lightfastness and weathering tester, a breakthrough in price/ performance ratio for xenon arc testers.

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  1998 – The Q-SUN Xe-1 is launched. It provides the same state-of-the-art xenon technology as the Xe-3 tester, but in a compact, table-top model.

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  1999 – Q-Lab Florida moves to a new 120,000 m2 site, with 1,000 m2 hurricane-proof building.

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  2005 – Next generation proprietary embedded controller introduced. Virtual Strip Chart allows logging of test data via Ethernet.

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  2005 – Q-Lab calibration service for radiometers is awarded ISO 17025 Accreditation.

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  2005 – Q-Lab opens an office in Shanghai for technical support in China.

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  2006 – Q-Panel Lab Products changed its name to Q-Lab Corporation to reflect the wide range of instruments and services it provides, and the industries it serves.

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  2007 – Q-Lab introduced the Q-SUN B02 xenon-arc test chamber, setting the new standard for affordability in rotating drum photostability testers.

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  2008 – Q-Lab opens a new German office, to help support its growing business in Europe.

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  2008 – Q-Lab's new headquarters was built in 2001 with a large addition completed in 2008 that houses R&D, manufacturing, calibration, and corporate administration.

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  2010 – Q-Lab celebrates the 40th anniversary of the QUV accelerated weathering tester. Read more here .

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  2012 - Q-Lab named one of Northeast Ohio's best places to work by The Cleveland Plain Dealer on its list of "2012 Top Workplaces." To view our profile, click here.

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  2012 – Q-Lab opens an accredited, fully equipped contract testing facility at its Saarbrücken, Germany location. The new laboratory provides accelerated weathering, lightfastness, and corrosion testing; as well as color, gloss and other visual evaluations.

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  2012 – The Q-PANEL Automotive Refinish Training System is introduced. It consists of a mounting cart and primed, contoured panels that simulate real automotive hoods and fenders.

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  2012 - The Q-SUN Xe-2 xenon test chamber is released. With a full range of optical filters, it meets all major weathering standards. It is the simplest, most reliable and easiest to use rotating rack xenon arc tester available.

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  2012 - Q-Lab introduces an advanced water repurification system for QUV and Q-SUN testers. The system doesn’t just recirculate water, it repurifies it. This can conserve up to 1,000 liters of expensive, purified water per day.

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  2013 – Q-Lab president Doug Grossman celebrates his 40th anniversary with the company. Under his leadership, Q-Lab has become the world leader in weathering test products and services.

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  2014 – The Q-FOG CRH cyclic corrosion tester is released. The new CRH tester features RH control, shower spray, and meets most major automotive and international corrosion test standards.

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  2014 – Q-Lab’s European office in Bolton, UK celebrated their grand re-opening. The renovated Q-Lab facility includes a brand new ISO 17025-accredited calibration lab and a fully-operational demo test showroom.

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  2016 – For the third time, Q-Lab is named one of Northeast Ohio's best places to work by The Cleveland Plain-Dealer on its list of "2016 Top Workplaces," To view our profile, click here.

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  2016-Corrosion Coupons are released. CX-series corrosion test coupons ensure repeatability and reproducibility when performing laboratory corrosion testing.

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  2017 – Q-Lab China moves to a new, state-of-the-art facility in Shanghai. The new office contains additional office space, room for training and seminars, a larger repair area, and a new research and showcase laboratory.

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  2018 – Q-Lab introduces the Universal Calibrator system, a revolutionary, handheld device for calibrating temperature and irradiance across all Q-Lab weathering chambers.

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  2018 – Q-Lab's outdoor testing facility in Buckeye, Arizona undergoes renovations, including updates to the office, lab, and shop areas.

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  2018 – Q-Lab completes a 13,000 ft² expansion project at their worldwide headquarters. The expansion adds warehousing and office space to the facility, as well as revamped shipping and receiving areas.

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  2020 – For the seventh time, Q-Lab is named one of Northeast Ohio's best places to work by The Cleveland Plain-Dealer on its list of "2020 Top Workplaces."

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  2020 – Celebrating the QUV's 50th Anniversary, Q-Lab introduced the QUV Accelerated Weathering Tester featuring the new Gen 4 main controller that features dual, full-color touchscreen displays.

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  2020 – Q-Lab introduced the "E" model Q-SUN Xenon Test Chamber. The "E" model features higher irradiance and/or longer lamp lifetimes, dual touch-screen displays, and new styling.

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  2020 – Q-FOG CRH Cyclic Corrosion Tester with Rapid Ramp Heater is introduced. This tester can perform all tests from major international standard bodies and OEM's, including test conditions calling for very fast temperature ramping.

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  2020 – Q-Lab launches the QUV/uvc Accelerated Weathering Tester. The QUV/uvc uses UVC lamps to deliver shortwave ultraviolet (UV) light to test for material durability against photo degradation effects resulting from exposure to UVC light.

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  2021 – For the eighth time, Q-Lab is named one of Northeast Ohio's best places to work by The Cleveland Plain Dealer on its list of "2021 Top Workplaces".

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  2022 – For the ninth time, Q-Lab is named one of Northeast Ohio's best places to work by The Cleveland Plain Dealer on its list of "2022 Top Workplaces".

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  2022 –Gen 4 main controller screens introduced for the Q-FOG Cyclic Corrosion Tester product line. These chambers can perform all tests from major international standard bodies and OEM's, now with the added convenience of dual, full-color touchscreen displays and 17 languages.

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  2022 – Q-FOG CRH cyclic corrosion chamber released with Top-Mounted Swaying Shower Bar (TSSB). The TSSB allows the tester to meet requirements of major automotive test standards, including Ford CETP 00.00-L-467 and Volvo VCS 1027,14 and 1027,149. The chamber also enables testing of large-form-factor components.

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  2023 – For the tenth time, Q-Lab is named one of Northeast Ohio's best places to work by The Cleveland Plain Dealer on its list of "2023 Top Workplaces".

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  2024 – Q-Lab announces an expansion of our outdoor testing footprint in Arizona with the acquisition of Arizona Desert Testing, LLC (AZTest). The new combined facility is now known as Q Lab Arizona Desert Testing

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  2024 – For the tenth straight year, Q-Lab is named one of Northeast Ohio's best places to work by The Cleveland Plain Dealer on its list of "Top Workplaces"