Southern Research Institute Establishes New Automotive Research Division

Provides R&D and Testing Support to the Automotive Manufacturing Industry

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 4 -- Southern Research Institute today announced that it has created a new research division to provide research and testing engineering support to the U.S. automotive manufacturing industry, taking advantage of its central location in the growing Southeastern U.S. automotive manufacturing market.

The engineering support provided to automotive manufacturers by the Southern Research Automotive Division has been well received.

"This new capacity at Southern Research not only serves as a critical resource in support of automotive manufacturing, but given the organization's track record in composite materials and aerospace engineering, I also see them helping to develop new advanced technologies," says Bernard J. Schroer, Ph.D., executive director of the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association, and associate vice president for research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. "This creates an opportunity for the South to not only expand its manufacturing base, but to extend its contributions into automotive research and development as well."

With the expansion of automotive manufacturing in the region, Southern Research engineers have increasingly been called upon to provide consulting and quick response testing services.

"Sixty years ago, Southern Research Institute was founded by industry to help industry," says Michael D. Johns, director of the Southern Research Automotive Division. "Today we are carrying on with that same tradition by providing research, testing, and problem solving support to the region's rapidly expanding automotive industry. Our goal is simple, to provide the best people, equipment, and facilities as a technology resource for OEMs and suppliers right in their own back yard."

Johns says the Southern Research Automotive Division is initially providing services such as failure analysis, product quality assurance and environmental testing to the automotive industry. Capabilities also include management of larger, complex R&D projects, complete program management, and research and testing for the heavy truck and racing industries.

About the Southern Research Automotive Division

The Automotive Division is the newest research group of Southern Research Institute. Southern Research is a contract research and development services provider, with significant expertise in engineering, pharmaceutical sciences and chemical and biological defense. Southern Research Institute is an affiliate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB.) For more information, visit www.southernresearch.org or call 1-205-581-2000.