Testing labs in Shoreham by Sea

Young Calibration Ltd is a UKAS accredited calibration and testing laboratory headquartered at Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, United Kingdom. Founded in 1996 and now operating as part of the NMi Group—an internationally active measurement and certification organisation—following an acquisition in October 2021, the company has spent nearly three decades establishing itself as one of the UK's most respected providers of precision calibration, component cleanliness testing, and thermal fluid component testing services. The laboratory holds UKAS accreditation number 0604 under ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and serves a global customer base across more than 62 countries, having delivered over 120,000 individual calibrations to more than 2,000 customers worldwide. Calibration is the cornerstone of Young Calibration's offering and spans a broad range of physical and electrical measurement parameters, all delivered within the laboratory's ISO/IEC 17025-accredited quality framework. UKAS-accredited calibration disciplines include air velocity, gas flow, water flow, hydrocarbon and oil flow, pressure, temperature, humidity, electrical quantities, frequency, and temperature simulation via electrical means. The laboratory calibrates a comprehensive array of instruments: flowmeters (water, gas, air, oil, fuel, and mass flow), anemometers, pressure gauges, manometers, differential pressure transducers, thermometers, humidity sensors, and wind tunnel test rigs. Customers can choose between in-laboratory calibration and fully mobilised onsite calibration services, the latter available on a scheduled or emergency out-of-hours basis to minimise equipment downtime in production-critical environments. Component cleanliness testing represents a distinct and highly specialised capability at Young Calibration. The dedicated cleanliness laboratory operates within an ISO Class 6 cleanroom environment and conducts particle contamination analysis in accordance with ISO 16232, the standard governing the cleanliness of components in road vehicles and fluid power systems. The workflow encompasses component washing, flushing, flow bench extraction, and multi-technique quantitative particle analysis. Analytical methods deployed include online optical particle counting, microscopic particle analysis, Evaporative Light Scattering Detection (ELSP) for solvent-borne contamination, and UV Spectrometry. The laboratory is also equipped to perform cleanliness testing on oxygen-based systems and other mission-critical components where even trace particle contamination presents a safety risk. The Thermal Fluids Test Laboratory at Young Calibration houses two calorimetric heat exchanger wind tunnels and a wide range of purpose-built component test rigs. These facilities support comprehensive performance and durability evaluation of heat exchangers, radiators, chargecoolers, oil coolers, and Energy Recovery System (ERS) components used in motorsport and aviation applications. Test programmes that can be conducted include burst pressure testing, pulsation and pressure cycling, thermal cycling and thermal shock, hot soak and cold soak, altitude simulation, ageing, acid resistance, corrosion and erosion testing, Sea Water Acetic Acid Test (SWAAT), vibration and bump endurance, leak testing, and flow versus differential pressure characterisation. This breadth of environmental, mechanical, and thermal testing in a single facility enables customers to execute entire component qualification and validation programmes without the need for multiple suppliers. Young Calibration's customer base spans some of the most technically exacting industries globally. Aerospace and defence organisations rely on the laboratory for traceable calibration of precision measurement equipment and for component cleanliness validation where contamination specifications are critical to safety and regulatory compliance. The automotive sector—including Formula 1 and motorsport teams based in the UK's Motorsport Valley—regularly uses the laboratory for heat exchanger performance testing and for onsite calibration of anemometers, wind tunnel instrumentation, and flow measurement systems. Biomedical and precision engineering clients benefit from accredited calibrations that support instrument certification and compliance with international quality standards across global supply chains. Membership in the NMi Group significantly enhances Young Calibration's technical capabilities and market reach. NMi is a globally recognised measurement and verification organisation with operations across Europe and internationally, and its acquisition of Young Calibration in October 2021 was explicitly positioned as the foundation of a buy-and-build strategy in the precision measurement sector. This affiliation gives Young Calibration access to a broad network of metrological expertise, advanced testing resources, and cross-border laboratory partnerships, enabling the company to offer bespoke measurement solutions tailored to complex, multi-disciplinary projects that demand both technical excellence and international traceability. With decades of practical expertise, a rigorously maintained UKAS accreditation, ISO Class 6 cleanroom infrastructure, dual calorimetric wind tunnel facilities, and the global backing of the NMi Group, Young Calibration offers a uniquely integrated combination of calibration, contamination testing, and thermal-fluid component testing under one roof. The laboratory's flexible service model—covering one-off calibration jobs through to long-term service agreements and complex bespoke testing campaigns, both in-lab and onsite—makes it a trusted and highly capable partner for organisations in aerospace, defence, automotive, motorsport, and precision engineering that demand consistently accurate, traceable, and dependable results.