Austria's OETI celebrates 55 yrs of testing, certifying, accreditation

"As renowned flooring manufacturers founded the Austrian Carpet Institute on 25th of September 1967, no one could have imagined how successful the company would become. But even back then, one thing was clear to the experts: the need to establish a carpet research and testing centre in the form of an association. And its success proved them right. Today, over five decades later, OETI is a testing and certification services provider for OEKO-TEX certificates and labels, textiles, leather, due diligence along the textile and leather supply chain as well as for personal protective equipment (PPE), flooring technology, furnishings and indoor air quality," OETI said in a media release.

Innovation as well as high quality standards were also important criteria behind the institute’s continuous market development and constant competitiveness right from the start, explained managing director Robert Löcker. “We work together with our customers to bring new ideas for product developments to life and award products, services, production processes and production facilities the 'Inspected Quality' label. We also test and certify indoor air quality in line with the Cleanair standard, which is based on stringent national and international guidelines.”

In 1992, OETI was a founding member of the ‘International OEKO-TEX Association for Research and Testing in the Field of Textile and Leather Ecology’ with independent certifications and product labels. Ever since, OEKO-TEX has enabled companies along the textile and leather supply chain and every consumer to make responsible decisions for safe, environmentally friendly and fairly manufactured products.

Another pioneering step occurred in 1994: OETI was one of the first Austrian institutes to be accredited under the new Accreditation Act in accordance with EN 45001, a major and important milestone for future collaborations and the domestic market.

In line with its focus on sustainability, OETI and its Swiss parent company, Testex AG, wanted to build the new OETI headquarters using low energy construction techniques and ensure its carbon-neutral operation. To achieve these goals, the highest possible thermal insulation and energy optimisation standards were applied, while the carbon-neutral power supply is generated by its in-house photovoltaics system as well as domestic renewable energy, the release added.

The new headquarters, which the company moved into in 2021, provides space for 75 employees over 2,500 square metres. The laboratory areas, the analytical/chemical laboratory and the physical/fire laboratory were also designed based on the latest methods and technologies. This makes OETI, alongside its Swiss parent company Testex, the second fully fledged laboratory site in the entire, global Testex Group.

From 1967 through to the present, OETI has been constantly changing. An important cornerstone of this adaptability is the establishment of international subsidiaries and a consistent internationalisation strategy. This led to the foundation of subsidiaries in Egypt, the Czech Republic and Ukraine between 2007 and 2010. And further sales offices were regularly added from 2014: Turkey, Moldova, Italy, Iran, Morocco, Israel, North-Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“We know that the market for our services will change dramatically in the coming decades due to technological and social factors. In order to successfully celebrate our 100th anniversary as well, OETI will be very flexible with those services that will continue to help both consumers and industry in the future, locally and regionally, wherever they are needed.” Specific plans include a renewed focus on internationalisation and market expansion to the Indian subcontinent, with the addition of two new sites in India and Bangladesh in 2022. “We also want to extensively expand our portfolio and comprehensive consulting service, as well as accelerate our growth through corporate acquisitions in the future,” Löcker, added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)