QualMark and Trialon Corp. Announce ARTC Alliance
2 August 1999
QualMark and Trialon Corp. Announce ARTC AllianceCompanies to Target Auto Industry with Detroit-Area Accelerated Testing Facility DENVER, Aug. 2 -- QualMark Corporation , a leading provider of accelerated life testing services and equipment primarily for electronics manufacturers, today announced it has formed an alliance with Trialon Corporation to establish an ARTC Alliance near Detroit. Trialon is a leading provider of engineering and test services to manufacturing companies in the automotive, aerospace, military, consumer products and telecommunications industries. With customers in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia, Trialon is one of the largest and most diversified full-service labs in the world. The companies will build upon the complementary strengths of QualMark's highly accelerated testing methods and Trialon's wide range of services to offer a comprehensive testing facility to automotive manufacturers in the Detroit area. Preston Wilson, president and CEO of QualMark, said, "With QualMark's Farmington Hills, Michigan, ARTC facility already operating at peak capacity, we needed to take steps to address increased demand expected in the Detroit area from our new QHT Automotive certification program. With Trialon's well-deserved reputation and exceptional contacts in the American auto industry, QualMark gains a partner that not only can help create demand for QHT Automotive but can also bring in significant additional business to the new facility." "Trialon continually seeks opportunities to provide services and technologies that enhance our customer's ability to improve the reliability of their products, reduce development time and improve speed to market," said Patricia L. Crowder, president and CEO of Trialon Corporation. "We are pleased and excited to partner with QualMark today. The combination of QualMark's excellent technology and Trialon's superior expertise and commitment to quality will allow us to provide yet another value-added service to our customers world-wide." Wilson added, "This alliance is based upon QualMark's successful international ARTC alliance model, by which we target specific overseas manufacturing markets by partnering with a company that has already established a strong presence. With Trialon, we are targeting a specific industry rather than a geographic area. This model has allowed QualMark to penetrate foreign markets very quickly and cost-effectively, and we anticipate similar results from our new alliance." The QHT Automotive certification program utilizes QualMark's Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) and accelerated humidity test procedures to provide the automotive industry with a recognizable standard of quality and reliability. A major U.S. automotive manufacturer has recently adopted QHT Automotive as a supplier qualification program to ensure assemblies used in its final product meet strict reliability requirements. QualMark Corporation develops, manufactures and markets accelerated life testing systems that provide manufacturers with the necessary information to improve product reliability by rapidly exposing design and manufacturing- related flaws. QualMark has installed more than 280 OVS(TM) Physical Stress Systems in 10 countries, operates seven Accelerated Reliability Test Centers (ARTC) throughout the United States, and has formed international ARTC alliances in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. Some statements contained herein are forward-looking statements. The Company's actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking statements made above due to important factors including, but not limited to, the risk that QualMark could lose the SSI patent infringement lawsuit, variability of order flow, future economic conditions, competitive products and pricing, new product development, the delivery of product under existing contracts and other factors. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward- looking statements made above is contained in the following documents on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: the Company's Registration Statement on Form SB-3, filed August 25, 1997; its Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 1998; and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-QSB.