A BRAND new state-of-the-art laboratory has been commissioned in Lautoka, supporting Fiji and surrounding islands with aviation fuel recertification.
Intertek Caleb Brett, a Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, has launched an aviation fuel recertification facility in Fiji. Previously, all fuel brought into the country took up to five days to get tested and with the Intertek Caleb Brett Lautoka lab, tests can be conducted within a 24-hour time frame — reducing cost, eliminating the need for foreign exchange payments to overseas laborotories and increasing efficiency.
The new lab further expands the company’s current inspection services of petroleum product imports coming into Fiji, Western and American Samoa, New Caledonia, and the Solomon Islands.
“Intertek Caleb Brett’s commitment was to ensure that Fiji and the surrounding islands’ growing international and domestic air travel market were well supported in terms of minimising cost and improving testing turnaround time for aviation fuel recertification,” said Intertek general manager Pacific Islands, Rey Machado.
“Currently, almost all aviation fuel samples are sent to New Zealand for recertification, resulting in increased freight costs and more importantly a slow testing time allowing for delivery of samples from Fiji to a laboratory two hours north of Auckland in New Zealand.”
The Intertek Caleb Brett Fiji laboratory is located in Lautoka, a 20-minute drive from the Vuda oil terminals, thereby reducing testing turnaround time to under 24 hours in comparison to the current time of approximately two-and-a-half to five days.
Since 2003, Intertek Caleb Brett has been the sole provider for inspection of petroleum products into the Pacific Islands as well as being the only provider of petroleum tanker shore officer training.
The laboratory is fully operational and strengthens Intertek Caleb Brett’s capabilities as a leading provider of third-party laboratory assessments, training, calibration and certification in Fiji and other Pacific Islands.
