Unirac demonstrates commitment to excellence with new Unirac Labs
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, July 15, 2008 — Unirac Inc., North America’s leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) mounting solutions, today announced the formation of “Unirac Labs,” an innovative and progressive approach to bringing PV mounting technology to market. Unirac Labs will be implemented in a phased approach, and phase one kicks off today with the launch of Unirac’s new on-site wind tunnel testing lab, the first of its kind introduced by a solar mounting company in North America. Phase 2 will be with the launch of Unirac’s new R&D and product testing facility.
Unirac’s new wind tunnel testing lab, will allow Unirac to perform in-house testing on their mounting solutions, resulting in lowered costs and faster time-to-market on new products. The wind tunnel is equipped with a variable speed drive enabling it to reach speeds of 130 mph and measure various wind loading conditions. This will allow Unirac to simulate PV installations for most of the United States and optimize strength and weight ratios to meet the multitude of mounting requirements.
“With the increasing sophistication of the solar industry and the vast amount of money being injected into the industry, our customers demand and expect precision from our solutions,” said Douglas May, Unirac CEO. “We believe our commitment to having a wind tunnel here at Unirac allows us to introduce greater innovation to the market, improve costs and time-to-market, and strengthen confidence our customers have in our technical and engineering expertise.”
Unirac Director of Engineering and Product Development Douglas King stated, “As part of our ongoing commitment to innovation, we believe that establishing Unirac Labs will provide us with timely engineering studies needed to verify our mounting solutions. The on-site wind tunnel demonstrates our willingness to invest in the equipment required that deliver peace of mind to our customers and allow us to meet their needs today and in the future.”
Unirac Labs is yet another initiative Unirac has delivered in recent months, that reflects their ongoing commitment to innovation, leadership and working closely with partners in the PV mounting industry. Unirac expects to leverage the wind tunnel to develop industry-leading mounting solutions in conjunction with their customers, not only allowing them to be more innovative within the PV mounting industry but provide even greater innovation within the solar industry, as a whole.
Unirac’s new wind tunnel testing lab, will allow Unirac to perform in-house testing on all of their mounting solutions, measured under various wind loading conditions. The wind tunnel is equipped with a variable speed drive enabling it to reach speeds of 130 mph.
The newly improved RapidRac G10 flat roof mounting solution was the first product to be tested at Unirac's onsite wind tunnel testing lab.