LGC Standards opens new state-of-the-art facility in Bury

31-03-2011

New building officially opened by Dawn Copley on behalf of Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police

LGC Standards welcomed guests to the official opening of its new building on 31 March 2011. The new facility, at Chamberhall Green, Bury, houses over 19,500 sq ft of purpose built office, laboratory and warehouse space, to provide a global centre of excellence for the operation of the company’s proficiency testing business.

The new, purpose-built site is situated adjacent to the new Greater Manchester Police divisional headquarters. Guest of honour was Dawn Copley, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, who conducted the official opening on behalf of Peter Fahy QPM MA, the Chief Constable. Ms Copley and other guests were also given a tour of the new building by LGC Standards staff.

LGC Standards is a major international provider of proficiency testing services, providing over 35 schemes to over 7,000 laboratories worldwide. Proficiency testing schemes are designed to improve the quality of analysis by enabling laboratories to confirm their ability to perform tests competently, and are an essential element of quality assurance.

Dawn Copley, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said; “I am delighted to open this impressive new facility for LGC Standards at the new Chamberhall Green location. Today I have learnt about a very important service that I previously knew little about - proficiency testing.”

Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, commenting on the event said: “It is reassuring to know that such a service exists to ensure that forensic testing laboratories supplying Greater Manchester Police can regularly monitor the quality of their results.”

Brian Brookman, General Manager, LGC Standards Proficiency Testing, said: “This move to much larger, modern premises, housing our laboratory, despatch and administrative functions, is a key milestone in the development of our business. It will allow us to continue our growth plans, adding new schemes to our portfolio, and will give us the opportunity to further improve the service we offer to our customers.”

Further information on LGC Standards proficiency testing services can be found at www.lgcpt.com.

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Notes to editors
About LGC Standards
LGC Standards (www.lgcstandards.com) provides products and services to improve measurement and quality control within the laboratory, and is part of LGC, whose LGC Science & Technology Division acts as the UK National Measurement Institute for chemical and bioanalytical measurements. LGC Standards supplies over 100,000 products, including reference materials, pharmaceutical impurity reference standards (produced under ISO Guide 34 accreditation), biological standards and reagents, and proficiency testing. LGC Standards is headquartered in Teddington, Middlesex, UK. Its global centre for excellence in proficiency testing is located in Bury (Greater Manchester). LGC Standards has offices in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, China, Russia, United Arab Emirates and the UK, a joint venture presence in India, and representatives in Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Romania, Turkey and the US.

About LGC
LGC (www.lgc.co.uk) is an international science-based company and market leader in analytical, forensic and diagnostic services and reference standards. LGC operates in a variety of markets which underpin the safety, health and security of the public and the regulation of industry, for both public and private sector clients.

LGC operates internationally through four divisions - LGC Forensics, LGC Genomics, LGC Standards and LGC Science & Technology. The latter includes specialist laboratories delivering contracts for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and supports LGC's designated role as the UK's National Measurement Institute for chemical and bioanalytical measurement.

Our operations are extensively accredited to international quality standards such as ISO 17025. With headquarters in Teddington, South West London, the LGC Group employs ca 1,400 staff in 29 laboratories and centres globally. Privatised in 1996 and now majority-owned by funds managed by Bridgepoint, LGC was founded almost 170 years ago as the Laboratory of the Government Chemist - a statutory function maintained by LGC today.