To commemorate the re-opening of the National Tire Research Center, Southern Virginia Vehicle Motion Labs (SoVa Motion) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony. At the same time, it launched a website designed to promote the capabilities of the testing facility.
As part of the ceremony, a new Flat-Trac LTRe force and moment tire test machine was delivered to the research center, which is based in Alton, Va. On hand for the ribbon cutting were officials from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), General Motors Corp. and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The machine is designed for passenger car, light truck and race car tire projects. It’s ability to replicate a greater variety of operating conditions and driving events -- up to 200 mph -- enables vehicle OEMs and tire manufacturers to test a wider range of tire designs up to and beyond their physical limits. It will be operational in January 2013.
The new website enables visitors and potential customers to explore how SoVa Motion can meet all its testing challenges and deliver reliable results for the tire, automotive and motorsports industry.
Other elements of the site include:
* social media channels to follow and interact with facility;
* technical capability downloads;
* photos and video of testing equipment and capability.
“The time and effort we put into building SoVa Motion as the premier testing facility for automotive, tire and racing industries called for us to develop a strong web presence,” says Frank Della Pia, the company's executive director. “Our goal now is to bring on the most skilled staff and begin serving clients with our full capabilities in early 2013.”
SoVa Motion offers state-of-the-art equipment and expertise for shock and suspension testing, driver performance, virtual prototyping of vehicle components, and a broad range of on-vehicle sensing such as wheel force transducers. For more information, visit sovamotion.com.
