IAPMO Oceania has commenced construction on its Narre Warren-based Energy Efficiency and Appliance Safety Laboratory.
Funded by the Victorian government’s Industry R&D Infrastructure scheme, the laboratory will be dedicated to testing and certifying new renewable energy technologies to ensure they meet efficiency standards and are safe for installation across homes and businesses.
At a sod turning event held last month
, IAPMO said the lab represents a significant milestone in the organisation’s commitment to high-quality plumbing systems.
This crucial work will help to reduce emissions and ensure that the state’s transition to carbon neutral products is safe.
IAPMO Oceania managing director, Paul Bonsak OAM, said the new facility will have a positive impact on quality assurance across the entire industry.
“We need to make sure that by developing new technologies and ensuring their safety and viability, that we also do testing to ensure the safety of our community and the safety of our installers. This laboratory that we are constructing will do exactly that,” Bonsak said.
In May 2019, IAPMO moved to Narre Warren (35 kilometres, southeast of Melbourne) to purposely build, state-of-the-art gas laboratory, research centre and office facilities. The gas laboratory is the most advanced gas laboratory in the Southern Hemisphere.
IAPMO’s global CEO, Dave Viola, also emphasised the importance of the laboratory, describing it as unique. He said there is no place like it across the globe.
“Alongside one of its most important partners, the Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre (PICAC), IAPMO Oceania is going to make sure that products are not only safe, sustainable, and resilient, but also that practitioners are properly trained to install them in the best way possible,” Viola said.
“With this new facility, IAPMO Oceania will be equipped to expand on its crucial testing and certification work while contributing to a more sustainable future, securing its position as a trusted leader in the field of maintaining industry standards.”
IAPMO Oceania is a certification partner accredited by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JASANZ).
The organisation has an international reputation for excellence backed by almost a century of IAPMO experience certifying products.