Facility will primarily serve the apparel, textile, and leather industries; lab to offer 48-hour turnaround on sample testing

Enfield, CT, March 20, 2008 – Specialized Technology Resources, Inc. (STR) of Enfield, Connecticut, a leading global consumer product testing and quality assurance company, today announced the opening of a 16,500 square foot, state-of-the-art testing laboratory in Manesar, India (Greater New Delhi). STR invested $2 million to develop the new facility which will offer a broad range of testing and quality assurance services for retailers, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of apparel, textile, and leather products, with capabilities to test products for flammability, fiber content, colorfastness, dimensional stability, strength, performance, construction, aging, and chemical analysis to major American, European, and international standards. This expansion will enable STR to serve as a full-service quality assurance partner with major softlines brands and retailers, as well as their regional supply chain partners.

STR has served its global client base in India since 2004, with product quality inspections, social responsibility services, supply chain security services, and technical consultations throughout India. The new Manesar facility will serve as STR’s regional headquarters for the Indian Subcontinent, with oversight of staff located throughout Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

STR will differentiate itself from the competition by providing clients with a 48-hour turnaround on laboratory sample testing, from receipt of a sample to generation of a final report. STR will also offer free sample collection services to pick up samples throughout India to route to the Manesar Laboratory.

"We are very excited to be opening a full-service laboratory in India," said Varchala Abrol, General Manager of STR’s India operations. "Many companies are expanding their operations in India and we can now offer clients more services, more resources, and more on-the-ground access where and when they need it. Our clients expect us to be on the cutting edge of every technological development in the industry, and our new facilities will help us to continue to meet their high expectations."

The India laboratory is a reflection of STR’s recent expansion within its core industries: hardgoods, textiles, toy, food, and over the counter consumables. Since 1998, STR has established new or expanded laboratories in China (Shenzhen and Shanghai), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom (Reading and Ambergate) and the United States (Canton, MA, and Enfield, CT), as well as partner laboratories in France, Israel, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Peru, and Korea, and field inspectors and auditors located in over 70 countries.

Enfield, CT-based Specialized Technology Resources, Inc. (STR) is a privately held U.S. owned company that provides testing, audit, inspection, and responsible sourcing services to help clients have the highest level of confidence in the quality, safety, and social standards of their products and systems. With sophisticated laboratories and inspectors/auditors in over 70 countries, STR has been providing services to major manufacturers, importers, and retailers of garments/textiles, toys/toy premiums, electronics/electrical equipment, and general merchandise around the world for over 60 years.

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