At Gage, we follow some straightforward ideals: quality, reliability, innovation, customer focus, and environmental stewardship. With the opening of our new Gage Innovation Center we have put all of these concepts into overdrive to strengthen our commitment to vehicle manufacturers and the automotive and industrial suppliers we serve.
Our commitment to advancing research and development efforts for new products and continued growth is evident in our new center. This multi-million dollar facility, located at our 12-acre Ferndale headquarters site, is important for many reasons: It lets us bring the Quality Control (QC) and Research & Development (R&D) departments together under the same roof for easier collaboration and in-house testing. We celebrated the official opening on Oct. 15th with community leaders, state and local officials, and, of course, all of our valued employees.
One of the most exciting aspects of this new center is the state-of-the-art laboratory outfitted with highly technical equipment. Our scientists now have access to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry equipment, both of which are critical to the multitude of tests we run. In the past, it was also time consuming to deliver reports and findings across departments — the new computerized, integrated information system allows technicians to share QC and R&D testing results much more quickly and efficiently.
This new facility also allows us to add new capabilities. We are now able to:
• Perform aromatic and detailed hydrocarbon analysis for fuels
• Determine compound identifications through use of a mass spectrometry upgrade
• Execute critical testing on up to 50 distinct fuel properties
• Increase storage capacity for customer-product test samples
As one of our missions is for continuous improvement, this new Innovation Center gives our QC technicians better control and focus on the 500+ tests that we run each week. Performing all the tests in our own laboratory, without needing to outsource, lets us deliver results in 1-2 days. If re-testing is necessary, it can begin right away. The benefit greatly enhances the service we provide for our customers.
This new Innovation Center is an investment in our future so that we can expand our capabilities and develop new products while continuing to offer outstanding customer service. Gage is certified for ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 and the new Gage Innovation Center laboratory is in the process of certifying to ISO 17025 standards.
To learn more about our expanded and upgraded facilities and capabilities, feel free to contact us. We’d love to share our new innovations with you!