CERLABS - The European Network of National Ceramic Laboratories

CERLABS is a recently created (1990) international association that groups the most authorative and representative laboratories in the ceramic field within each member country.

CERLABS is a non-profit-making organisation that aims:

• to foster scientific and technological cooperation in ceramics and especially in regard to quality control, standardization, dissemination of knowledge and transfer of technology, etc; and
• to accomplish a more effective coordination at an international level between industry and research/control laboratories.

While the Member laboratories are both public and privately owned, they must be independent, i.e., having an autonomous legal status and not emanating directly or indirectly from any single manufacturing company. CERLABS' aims are carried out by means of:

• research carried out jointly by two or more Member laboratories;
• training organised jointly and intended for third parties and/or Member laboratories'personnel;
• auditing of Member laboratories' capacity to carry out certification and quality control work in the ceramic sector;
• publications on topics of interest to the ceramic sector;
• contracts and cooperation with national and international organizations whose purposes are of interest to, or are shared by CERLABS;
• production of prototypes of ceramic materials and/or products.

Within each country, the laboratory member of CERLABS is intended to be the reference point for any scientific-technical demand that may come from the national or international ceramic sector.