History of Amstel Testing Ltd
Andrew Martin the founder of our company worked in Research & Development for Judge, Swan Housewares which was later taken over by Moulinex. During his 15 years in the laboratory, he became an expert on vitreous enamel coatings, and later non-stick coatings in addition to the many different aspects of research and development. In his role as Laboratory Manager he trained many apprentices.
Andrew left the company in 1992 and set up Amstel Testing, establishing good business relationships with many of his first customers who are still with us today. He also built up a good service for Trading Standards Departments around the country and joined the British Standards Institute committee.
Although Andrew sadly passed away in 2008, it is testimony to his training skills and expertise that the company has continued to thrive in his absence, with Alan Homer his assistant for 12 years becoming Laboratory Manager.
Continued development has lead to the company gaining UKAS accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 as a testing laboratory. Amstel is the only UK lab certified by UKAS for the main cookware testing clauses (BS EN 12983-1:2000+A1:2004), and the only UKAS-accredited lab worldwide covering standards for: non-stick endurance/hob suitability (DD CEN/TS 12983:2005 Part 2); ovenware (BS EN 13834:2007+A1:2009); stove-top kettles (BS EN 13750:2002); and glass lid thermal shock (BS 3193:2008).
It is also one of only three UKAS-approved UK labs for microwave heating resistance (BS EN 15284:2007).
Amstel's QA Manager, Tim Robbins has been appointed to the BSI Technical Committee for reviewing and developing European standards for cookware and related items. Working on a BSI committee is the only gateway for UK input to the various European and International Standards bodies, so our involvement is crucial in making sure that relevant stakeholders' best interests are represented both at home and abroad.
Testing of cookware and ovenware is an essential element of product development for cookware manufacturers and distributors. Our UKAS accreditation reinforces the valuable assurance that our services are technically competent and our organisation has been assessed to an internationally recognised standard. This ensures that distributors, retailers and ultimately consumers can be certain
that the products they purchase have been tested to the highest standard.
As Amstel uniquely specialises in testing of cookware and related items, we have an unrivalled level of expertise to help customers with product development, safety assessments and investigation of consumer complaints.
