ISQ Group opens centre of excellence for mobility in northern Portugal

The ISQ Group recently inaugurated a new Monsoon Laboratory that "wants to be recognized as the largest laboratory of environmental testing of automotive components in Europe," says Pedro Matias, President of the ISQ Group. The Secretary of State for The Economy, João Correia Neves, and the Mayor of Monção, António Barbosa, were present. The implementation of ISQ in Monção stems from isq's strategic commitment in the area of mobility, particularly in the automotive sector and has as strategic objective the approach to the automotive industry of The North and Galicia and the positioning with emerging markets. "This Laboratory will validate components that integrate into the next generations of vehicles: smarter, more efficient, sustainable and autonomous," says Pedro Matias. As cars become more complex and integrate more electronic and technological components, the more complex is the battery of tests they have to perform to allow everything to go properly. In the age of industry 4.0 and where the concept of "automobile" / "mobility" is also being redefined the industry that works for this sector upstream and downstream has to adjust and rise in the value chain. "The areas of expertise of this Laboratory will be reliability tests; corrosion tests and protection index; automotive component testing in the area of Physical Chemistry and Materials; electromagnetic compatibility simulation; process engineering," adds the President of ISQ. ISQ will thus make it available to Car Manufacturers, such as the PSA Group, which brings together brands such as Peugeot, Citroen and Opel; the Renault Group; the Volkswagen Group, which brings together brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche; or the FIAT Group, first-rate testing in several areas. On the other hand, several automotive component manufacturers, such as Bosch, Yazaki, Borgwarner, Valeo, ZF or Magna, also have at their disposal a Laboratory of Excellence for testing automotive components and the whole aspect of mobility. For Pedro Matias, "the creation of entities and infrastructures of this type in Portugal and designed from the beginning with an international vocation, are crucial for attracting foreign direct investment to Portugal because they offer integrated solutions with added value for those who want to settle in Portugal". The ISQ Group is still working very closely with the Galician Technological Center (CTAG) which aims to enhance the capacity installed in the Iberian peninsula in the area of car and automotive component testing. ISQ is studying with CTAG a strategic approach for the Iberian Peninsula to offer automotive manufacturers and manufacturers an integrated offer of testing and validation solutions.