RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
VLB TESTING LABORATORY FOR PACKAGING
“We cater to the entire beverage industry” VLB Berlin’s Testing Laboratory for Packaging has been testing all types of packaging for the beverage industry since 1972. The laboratory is unique, as it is the only facility in the world that offers all the different types of testing at a single, central location. This requires an experienced team and specialist equipment – the latter of which in particular has benefited from the move to the new building, where it now enjoys “much more space” than before. We spoke to Susan Dobrick, Head of the department, to find out what else has changed since the move, what a normal working day in the special laboratories looks like, and what the new CNC milling machine can do.
The VLB Testing Laboratory for Packaging was founded in 1972, and moved into the labs in the new VLB building three years ago. What has changed when you compare the new site to the old location? Dobrick: We have much more space here. The old lab was far too small. We were running out of options for places to carry out our tests and to store our test objects. In recent years, we have experienced an enormous increase in the number of bottle crate tests we have received. A full test encompasses 25 crates, and we were having to deal with several such orders from our clients at once. Accordingly, storage capacity was limited. As such
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we are really glad to have moved into the new building, where we have a small wing dedicated to our laboratory area. We now have several rooms for conducting all our various packaging tests. But our growth hasn’t been limited to the space available to us – we have also been able to expand our equipment pool and renew parts of it as well. The bottle crate test requires large pieces of equipment – a drop tester or a static materials testing machine. Devices like that take up more space than a caliper gauge. How many people work in the Testing Laboratory for Packaging? Dobrick: There are six people in the Testing Laboratory for Packaging in total: three of my staff work in the laboratory, while two others deal with special analysis, research and various projects. They also sometimes help me with admin work. One of these two employees works mainly with customers who place regular orders for large volumes. We also added another member to our team at the beginning of the year. He is intensively involved in the implementation of the accreditation work, but he also handles administrative and office tasks and is involved in a research project. However, there is a strict separation between research and accredited areas.
Brauerei Forum International – November 2020
What does a normal working day look like in the Testing Laboratory for Packaging? Dobrick: All the staff are focused on different areas, so each of us has a slightly different working day. We start every morning with a meeting. This is an opportunity for us to clarify who will be working on which orders and tests for the day. Each employee deals with the orders they’re assigned during the meeting. Every member of our team works very independently and is highly professional – the lab technicians in particular have a lot of experience, as some of them have 2
Photos: ew
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