Celestica and TUV Rheinland PTL have announced that TUV Rheinland PTL has audited and approved Celestica's solar lab in Toronto, Ontario, to accept testing data generated by Celestica in Toronto.

Celestica's solar lab is a state-of-the-art facility, with experience in product testing and analysis, and is capable of carrying out tests for a variety of PV standards, including UL-1703 / ULC-1703 and IEC-61215 /IEC-61730.

It operates independently within the Total Quality Management System at Celestica, ensuring the integrity of test procedures and results. The solar lab's testing capabilities and quality system, aligned with TUV Rheinland PTL's existing comprehensive regulatory compliance, testing and certification infrastructure, will decrease time-to-market for local solar customers.

"We are pleased to receive approval from TUV Rheinland PTL on our solar lab in Toronto, helping our customers differentiate and improve the efficiency of their solar modules in the highly competitive solar market," said John Nastasi, General Manager, Solar, Celestica.

"Our solar lab combined with our manufacturing and global supply chain expertise, establishes Celestica as a single source for our customers' solar module manufacturing and certification requirements."

Acceptance of data from Celestica's solar lab in Toronto helps TUV Rheinland PTL expand its North American laboratory footprint, providing an East Coast testing solution for the North American customers. In addition to its Tempe, Ariz., location, TUV Rheinland operates test laboratories in Bangalore, India; Gyeongsan, Korea; Cologne, Germany; Osaka and Yokohama, Japan; Shanghai, China; and Taichung, Taiwan.

"We are excited to work with Celestica, whose commitment to smart and effective solutions for its customers corresponds to TUV Rheinland's philosophy," said Bill Shisler, Solar and Fuel Cells Business Field Manager, TUV Rheinland North America.

"Together, we will provide solar testing services to manufacturers as part of a comprehensive development program - a convenient and efficient approach drawing on the strengths of Celestica and TUV Rheinland for the benefit of our customers."