Smithers Leatherhead packaging testing laboratory
Smithers MSELeatherhead, Surrey
Smithers MSE’s Cleeve Road laboratory in Leatherhead is identified by current UKAS register result 0112 and a schedule restricted to that address. This guide covers scheduled physical packaging-material and seal tests, environmental conditioning and label performance, distribution vibration/shock and dangerous-goods packaging tests. The wider schedule also contains chemical and document/card methods, which are outside these four focused groups.
Reviewed by Arc · About this review
Key facts
- Exact Leatherhead laboratory
- Smithers MSE, Cleeve Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7SA. Current register result 0112 and the schedule identify this address, with testing at the above/main address only.
- Current exact schedule
- UKAS 0112, ISO/IEC 17025:2017, issue 074 dated 3 August 2026. This is Leatherhead scope, with exact method editions, selected paragraphs and configuration-specific limits.
- Published enquiry details
- Current register phone +44 1372 802000. The schedule dated 3 August 2026 lists Mr G Collis and gcollis@smithers.com, without independent present-role verification.
Testing capabilities
Scheduled packaging-material and seal tests
Paper/board/tissue rows cover strength, stiffness, thickness, absorbency and optical properties. Film/sheet rows cover friction, density, dimensions, impact, puncture, tear and material-specific tensile properties. Barrier transmission includes ASTM F1249-20, D3985-17, F1927-20 and F1307-20. Seal rows include ASTM F88/F88M-23/-21, porous F1929-23 Method A, non-porous F3039-23, F2096-11 internal-pressure bubbles and D3078-02(2013) automated vacuum. Selected sterile-barrier paragraphs use the scheduled tests without blanket device-compliance claims.
Scheduled conditioning and label performance
Packaging materials and packagings have high/low-temperature methods under BS EN 60068-2-1/-2:2007 and ASTM F2825-18, with distinct published chamber configurations. Auto-transfer thermal shock uses BS EN 60068-2-14:2009. Humidity uses -2-30:2005, -2-38:2009 and -2-78:2013 at the stated conditions. Marine label performance under BS 5609:2024 and superseded 1986 covers salt-water immersion, adhesion, weathering, cycling, legibility and abrasion. Complete filled-package conditioning has its own separate chamber and methods.
Scheduled distribution, vibration and shock tests
Complete filled-package rows include static stacking, vertical drop, inclined-plane impact, low-frequency vibration, compression, rolling/toppling, vacuum and sequential procedures. Other packaged-item/equipment rows cover ambient vertical sine, random and mixed-mode vibration with electromagnetic and separate servo-hydraulic configurations. Ambient vertical classical shock uses half-sine or trapezoidal pulses. Exact ASTM, ISTA and legacy/withdrawn standard editions remain as printed, with method-specific limits and no assumed simultaneous maximum performance.
Scheduled dangerous-goods packaging performance
UN Chapters 6.1 and 6.3 Division 6.2 cover listed drums, jerricans, boxes, bags and composite packagings with drop, stack, leakproofness, hydraulic-pressure and steel-rod impact tests as applicable. Chapter 6.5 IBC rows include drop/stack, leakproofness, pressure, lift, tear, topple and righting. Chapter 6.6 large packagings list drop/stack and lift tests. The schedule distinguishes VCA/DfT operational instructions from the UN 19th Edition and states material-specific preconditioning.
Equipment and published limits
| Specification | Published value | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| High/low-temperature configurations | −20°C to +60°C at 2 × 2 × 2 m, −20°C to +100°C at 0.66 × 0.74 × 0.62 m, −40°C to +100°C at 0.56 × 0.55 × 0.53 m | Three separately published range/max-chamber-size pairings for packaging-material temperature methods. The values do not establish a chamber count or the widest range in the largest chamber. |
| Thermal shock and humidity conditions | Thermal shock −35°C to +80°C at 0.45 × 0.40 × 0.60 m, humidity 20–95% RH between 20°C and 55°C | Separate thermal-shock and humidity method conditions. Humidity limits are not combined with the separate extreme-temperature ranges. |
| Complete filled-package conditioning | −40°C to +60°C, 90% RH at 38°C, maximum chamber 4.0 × 2.5 × 3.0 m high | Exact separate package-conditioning row under BS EN ISO 2233:2001, ASTM D4332-22, ASTM F2825-18(2026) and BS EN ISO 187:2022. Laboratory conditions are 23°C/50% RH. No 90% RH capability across the entire temperature range is inferred. |
| Electromagnetic vibration configuration | 5–2000 Hz, maximum sine thrust 21 kN, maximum random thrust 18 kN | Published ambient vertical sine/random/mixed-mode row. Sine and random thrust limits remain distinct and do not establish performance at every frequency or a machine count. |
| Servo-hydraulic vibration configurations | 1–300 Hz with 10 kN peak/1.5 tonne/100 mm peak-to-peak, separately 1–300 Hz with 40 kN peak/1.5 tonne/150 mm peak-to-peak | Two separately published configurations with their respective peak thrust, payload and displacement. No apparatus count or simultaneous maximum across the entire band is inferred. |
| Classical shock row | Maximum item mass 1000 kg, footprint 1 × 1 m, severity up to 500 g, duration 3–20 ms | Ambient vertical half-sine/trapezoidal methods with the exact scheduled legacy editions. These are published row limits and do not promise every maximum simultaneously. |
| Separate package handling and loading limits | Static stack 5500 kg, drop 4.5 m/2250 kg, inclined impact 2000 kg/4.7 m/s, compression 22000 kgf | Distinct method rows. Static-stack standards are marked withdrawn, drop/inclined-plane and compression editions are separately listed. Loads, masses, velocity, height and compression force are not interchanged or combined. |
| Fixed low-frequency package vibration | 1–6 Hz, maximum amplitude 25.4 mm, maximum mass 1000 kg | Exact fixed low-frequency package row under withdrawn ISO 2247:1985 and ASTM D999-08(2023). This is separate from electromagnetic and servo-hydraulic configurations. |
Access and contact
Use the current UKAS register’s Leatherhead phone +44 1372 802000. The 3 August 2026 schedule lists Mr G Collis and gcollis@smithers.com, without independent present-role verification. Agree the exact material/package, method edition or selected paragraph, sample preparation, configuration, monitoring and reporting requirements. The owner website is linked by UKAS, but its checked pages were inaccessible, so no current owner booking form, old named-contact role or access arrangement was verified.
Facility contact
- Address
- Cleeve Road
Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7SA
United Kingdom - gcollis@smithers.com
- Telephone
- +44 1372 802000
- Website
- Official test house website
Standards and accreditation
- UKAS 0112, ISO/IEC 17025:2017
- Issue 074 dated 3 August 2026 covers the Cleeve Road Leatherhead address only. Each method and edition must match its scheduled row. Other Smithers locations and wider operator claims are not used to allocate local scope.
- Material, seal and sterile-barrier method restrictions
- Examples include ASTM D882-18 and BS EN ISO 527-3:2018 for films, BS EN ISO 535:2023 for Cobb absorption, F88/F88M-23/-21 for seal strength and F1929-23 Method A for porous seal integrity. BS EN ISO 11607-1:2020+A11 2022 uses scheduled tests as appropriate, while BS EN 868 parts retain selected paragraphs. Flat-crush 3035:2011 and density 1183-1:2019 are marked withdrawn alongside their 2025 editions. No blanket current-edition or medical-device compliance follows.
- Exact distribution and vibration/shock editions
- Sequential tests list TM 001 issue 4 January 2023, ASTM D4169 editions 05/08/09/14/16/22/23/23e1, D7386-08/-12/-16/-25 and D6179-20(2025). ISTA includes 3A:2018, 3B:2017, 3E:2017, 3F:2017, 3L:2023, 4AB:2009 and 2018 Amazon SIOC/OverBoxing among the exact listed procedures. Vibration lists BS EN 60068-2-6:2008 and -2-64:1995. Shock retains withdrawn -2-27:1993, DEF STAN 00-35:1997 M3 and MIL-STD 810F:2001 516.5 procedures ii/iii, plus MIL-STD 202:1995 method 213. No scheme certification or later edition is inferred.
- Environmental and dangerous-goods conditions
- Environmental methods retain the exact BS EN 60068 and ASTM editions and chamber conditions, with BS 5609:2024 and superseded 1986 for marine labels. UN 6.1/6.5 refer to VCA/DfT operational instructions, while 6.3 Division 6.2 and 6.6 refer to the UN 19th Edition. Drop preconditioning includes −18°C for plastics and 23°C/50% RH for fibreboard as required. These physical test rows do not establish blanket dangerous-goods approval or an updated UN edition.
What to confirm with the facility
- Confirm the exact method edition, selected paragraph and required reporting status. The schedule retains withdrawn/superseded editions alongside newer rows. Physical packaging tests do not establish blanket structural-material, medical-device, ISTA scheme or dangerous-goods certification.
- Confirm the exact chamber or vibration configuration and required specimen performance. Range-size pairings, sine/random thrusts, two servo-hydraulic configurations and separate shock/handling limits cannot be combined into a general simultaneous maximum.
- The wider schedule contains food/water chemistry and passport/card tests outside these four packaging-focused groups. Passport and 2020-card X-ray rows explicitly say subcontracted, while the 2006+A1 card row has different wording. No in-house X-ray capability is presented here.
- Provide package/material type, filled mass, dimensions, preparation and conditioning needs, requested procedure and edition, monitoring, acceptance criteria, reporting and preferred dates. Agree delivery, access, programme, costs and any subcontracting with the laboratory.
Before requesting a test
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Frequently asked questions
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Related testing facilities
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Further reading
Public information not available. Contact test facility provider for more information.
Sources and review
Reviewed by Arc on 1 October 2026 in Europe/London using the current official UKAS Leatherhead result and downloaded 18-page schedule. Issue 074 dated 3 August 2026 identifies Smithers MSE at Cleeve Road, Leatherhead only, and all 18 complete PDF pages were visually inspected. Four focused packaging groups retain exact material/seal, environmental/label, distribution vibration/shock and dangerous-goods methods. Food/water chemistry and passport/card rows remain inspected context, with precise subcontracted X-ray distinctions and no in-house X-ray claim. Chamber range-size pairs, separate electromagnetic/servo-hydraulic configurations, shock and individual handling limits remain distinct, without counts or simultaneous maxima. Exact editions, selected paragraphs, withdrawn/superseded labels and UN/VCA distinctions are retained. Current register phone 01372 802000 is separate from dated schedule-listed Mr G Collis/gcollis, without a present-role claim. The owner Leatherhead seed and register-linked operator homepage returned 403, with originals, headers, titles, canonical/date absence and inspection preserved as failed attempts. Access failure does not establish closure. Original PDF creation/modification timestamps are 18 August 2026, while register-template/news dates are separate from review. Bodies, metadata, extraction, all complete-page images, font configuration, stderr and provenance are retained. Imported operator wording, old named contacts, generic accreditation and postcode coordinates are replaced by the exact source-qualified Leatherhead information and empty locations.
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Search UKAS accredited organisations
Exact Testing Laboratories result 0112 names Smithers MSE at Cleeve Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7SA with phone 01372 802000, owner website and exact schedule link. Protected register email is not decoded. The returned operator/site and current single-address schedule replace imported generic identity and unverified named contacts.
Current UKAS 0112 ISO/IEC 17025:2017 issue 074 dated 3 August 2026, all 18 complete pages visually inspected. Above/main address is Cleeve Road Leatherhead only, despite a discovery copy of this schedule also appearing under the separate Shawbury entry. This guide focuses on four exact physical packaging groups. Food/water chemistry and passport/card rows remain inspected schedule context outside the focused capabilities. Passport and 2020-card X-ray rows explicitly say subcontracted, while the 2006+A1 card row does not, so neither wording is transferred into an in-house guide claim. Exact range-size and vibration configurations remain paired, no count or combined maxima. Mr G Collis/gcollis are schedule-listed dated details without independently verified present role.