IEM Qualifies for CSA SMTC Program, Accelerating New Product Time-to-Market

Industrial Electric Mfg. (IEM) has earned acceptance for its Power Lab in Tualatin, Oregon into CSA Group's Supervised Manufacturer's Testing for Certification (SMTC) program, a qualification that allows the company to conduct regulatory testing in-house and submit the results directly to CSA for certification, without a CSA engineer on-site.

The result is a shorter, more self-directed certification cycle that helps accelerate overall time-to-market for new or enhanced products requiring a CSA listing, a frequent need based on IEM’s portfolio of scalable custom configured power distribution equipment rather than fixed catalog models. By moving certification testing onto its own timeline, IEM removes an external hand-off from projects that previously had to wait for a witness to travel to the lab.

"Speed matters to the customers we serve as they’re building the data centers, hospitals, and grid infrastructure the world is counting on, and every week we take out of the certification cycle is a week sooner their power systems come online," said Aaron Gibbs, Chief Technology Officer at IEM. "Qualifying our Power Lab for SMTC is one of the steps we’re taking to accelerate innovation. We now control more of the path from engineering to a certified product while adhering to rigorous CSA demands."

Products that carry a CSA Listing have generally required a certification representative to witness testing before the data can support a mark, a step that ties a manufacturer's schedule to the availability of an outside engineer. Under SMTC, that witness requirement is removed: a qualified facility generates its own test and evaluation data and provides it to CSA for third-party review and certification.

SMTC acceptance is not automatic; a facility's testing processes and procedures are audited against CSA's requirements before it is admitted. Earning a place in the program followed months of work by the Power Lab team to bring its documentation and operations into full compliance with those requirements.

The achievement builds on the Power Lab's in-house testing and R&D capabilities, established when the facility opened in the Portland, Oregon, metro area in late 2024. Those capabilities include continuous current testing up to 6,000 A, lightning impulse testing up to 300 kV and dielectric withstand testing up to 200 kV, along with partial discharge testing to IEC 60270, mechanical endurance testing and environmental exposure testing for outdoor equipment.