by Shane Henson — February 25, 2013—The Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) Seal of Approval (SOA) program has “gone international,” company officials announced, as the U.S.-based organization picked up its first non-U.S. program participant, Scandinavian manufacturer ngtvättbilen AB.
CRI’s rigorous Seal of Approval testing program is for carpet cleaning products and equipment. ngtvättbilen AB, a manufacturer of carpet extractors sold exclusively in Sweden and Norway, submitted one of their machines for SOA certification testing last fall, and it has earned Gold status, signifying superior performance in soil removal, water removal, and texture retention.
“This is the first foreign-based manufacturer to submit a product to be judged by CRI’s highly-regarded SOA program,” said Werner Braun, president of CRI. “As we are the only carpet trade association to have a testing program for carpet cleaning equipment, it is gratifying and exciting to now have international participation.”
In 2005, CRI began its testing program on carpet cleaning equipment, including carpet extractors, which are powerful machines that use cleaning solutions to deep clean carpets.
CRI says it sends numerous types of carpet-related products, such as vacuum cleaners and carpet extractors, to be evaluated for effectiveness by an independent testing facility. Those products that meet or exceed the stringent requirements can earn Bronze, Silver, Gold, or, in the case of systems or extractors, Platinum rating.
Testing is rigorous, Braun says, noting that in the case of ngtvättbilen AB, the testing laboratory had to purchase special equipment that could perform testing on the European company’s extractors, which operate on a different voltage system than those used in the United States.
