Accelerated Weathering Laboratory

The Accelerated Weathering Laboratory (AWL) Ltd, based in Calne, Wiltshire, UK, is a UKAS-accredited materials testing laboratory that validates the performance properties of a vast range of materials and coatings, including paints, powder coatings, plated parts, polymers, adhesives, inks, textiles, number plates, signage, floor coverings, roofing materials, cladding, electronic components and thin films.

AWL specialises in accelerated weathering testing together with cyclic corrosion and salt-spray testing, controlled temperature and humidity exposure, Taber abrasion (wear resistance), UV weathering and paint-performance testing, and number-plate testing to BS AU 145. Its corrosion facilities include cyclic-corrosion, neutral and acidified salt-spray chambers and climatic chambers for filiform corrosion, with standards such as ISO 12944-6 and ISO 12944-9 in constant demand.

The laboratory works across the aerospace, medical, automotive and non-automotive sectors and serves an extensive client base of exclusive brands — including Aston Martin Lagonda, Lotus Cars, Jaguar/Land Rover, Honda, Ford, Toyota, Volvo, the Volkswagen Group, the MOD and British Aerospace — as well as UK universities, and exports its services to companies in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the Far East.