Clark Testing Puts Pittsburgh Manufacturing to the Test

From rail cars and nuclear power plants to spacecraft headed for the Moon, some of the world’s most important equipment must first survive a trip to Jefferson Hills.

That is where Clark Testing helps manufacturers answer a crucial question: Will their products perform when the real world starts shaking, vibrating, slamming and pushing back?

Paul Heffernan of Clark Testing joins AMP’d: Advanced Manufacturing Pittsburgh for the debut episode of a new video podcast series exploring the companies, technologies and people powering manufacturing across the Pittsburgh region.

Clark Testing serves as an extension of its customers’ research and development teams, providing testing and validation services that help companies move products from prototypes to the marketplace. Its engineers and technicians recreate the demanding environments products will face in the field, from earthquakes and punishing road conditions to the vibration of rail travel and the extreme requirements of aerospace and defense.

“We’re pretty excited about the role we play regionally, nationally and internationally in helping companies innovate and bring products to market,” Heffernan says.

One of the company’s newest capabilities is among the largest vibration shake tables in the eastern United States. The massive system can test equipment for rail transportation, defense, power generation and space exploration. Clark also operates one of the country’s largest seismic shake tables, allowing manufacturers to validate equipment that must continue operating during an earthquake.

That work is particularly important for the nuclear power industry. Building on the site’s history as a former Westinghouse testing facility, Clark maintains the quality programs needed to qualify valves, electrical components, actuators and other equipment used inside nuclear power plants.

Clark’s reach extends well beyond the energy industry. The company supported NASA’s Artemis program by testing an umbilical arm used to provide power, oxygen and other services to a rocket before launch. Months of planning and the construction of a three-story test structure culminated in a test lasting just seconds as the arm disconnected and swung safely away.

The company is also a global hub for lubricant testing. Clark prepares and analyzes samples of engine oil, hydraulic fluid, diesel fuel, gasoline and jet fuel used by laboratories around the world to confirm that their testing meets ASTM standards.

Despite the scale of its equipment, Heffernan says Clark’s most valuable asset is its workforce.

“You could have all of the test equipment in the world,” he says. “The most important part of that test equipment is the people behind it.”

Today, approximately 75 engineers, technicians, analysts and other professionals work at the family-owned company. Clark continues to grow as customers in rail transportation, nuclear energy and defense ask the company to expand its testing capacity.

That growth demonstrates why advanced manufacturing remains such an important piece of Pittsburgh’s economy. Clark Testing supports manufacturers throughout the region while attracting customers from across the country and around the world.

They may arrive in Pittsburgh with a new product and plenty of questions. Clark Testing makes sure they leave knowing whether it is ready for the real world.

Transcript: 

Coming at you from the Huntington Bank Studios, this is Advanced Manufacturing Pittsburgh, turning up the volume on manufacturing and technology with me, Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and TechVibe. And today we're getting amped up with Paul Heffernan of Clark Testing. So let's plug in and have some serious fun

It's Jonathan Kersting here with the Pittsburgh Tech Council and TechVibe, bringing you AMP'D Pittsburgh. I'm talking about advanced manufacturing Pittsburgh, and with the Tech Council, manufacturing and technology are like peanut butter and jelly, and we're the bread here to put this all together to make a delicious sandwich about- Awesome

all the great stuff happening here within manufacturing. And I was just at Clark Testing not, probably about a month or so ago. Ran into one Paul Heffernan here. Paul, and when I went to your facilities, it just blew my mind what you guys are doing there, and how you're doing things there that aren't being done anyplace else.

Thank you, Jonathan. Yeah. Anywhere [00:01:00] nearby, right? It's exciting, isn't it? It's... Yeah. Yeah. And so I'm like, "You gotta be my first guest on AMP'd," because these are the types of companies like yours that just make Pittsburgh magical. We are this resource. People just from around the world are coming here- to see you- Right ... you and what you do, Paul. Right. So what do you do again? Yeah. You got a half a day? I do. Well, we're pretty excited about the role we play regionally, nationally, and internationally- Yes ... in helping companies innovate and bring products to market. So we do testing and validation.

We support engineering companies manufacturing companies- ... in support of the product development and product development cycles that they're doing. So we're sort of an extension of the research and development team- Right. Yeah ... at these companies. You're like the fifth Beatle of these places, man.

Right. You're like in the background, ready to go, yeah. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. I'm- Yeah ... so we, And what we try to do is we team with and collaborate with our customers. Of course. Because sometimes you have engineers that come in, they may have not been experienced in doing this testing before, or maybe they are trying to get a new product [00:02:00] through the cycle to get it to market.

Right. So we've been doing it, and we've been testing for over 34 years now. That's amazing. Yeah, 1992 was our first- Yeah ... acquisition. And when you say testing, you test everything and anything. I'm talking massive things, small things- Right ... if they need to be shaken, stirred. Yeah. Yeah. It's- whatever that may be

it- You can find out what kind of punishment that they can take before they're put into actual use. Right. Well- Yeah ... to your point, . when we first met at our test laboratory in the South Hills here in Pittsburgh we installed one of the largest shake tables in the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

I know. Yeah. And so, we're excited about how that's gonna help companies, like in the rail industry, in the defense industry, power generation, and even space exploration. Because having that resource for the largest shake table in the US, we can simulate the vibration- any of our customers see when they're putting their equipment in the field That is just so important because you can have , the best product or- Yeah

piece of machinery, but if it doesn't survive a harsh environment- Right ... then there's no point, and [00:03:00] you can validate that way before it becomes too late. Sure. So obviously, this is probably one of the most crucial steps. But a customer's very nervous probably when they step into your facilities- Oh, yeah

'cause they're like, "Oh, God. Let's make sure our engineering- Absolutely. Yeah ... actually holds up," right? Yeah, and, and the relief they have when they leave the lab and they're done- Yes ... it's like phew, absolutely. So the thing is what, what we do is we simulate the environment that their product is going to see- Okay

once they get it to market. So they go... It begins with sort of a, a plan, then a prototype, then development, manufacturing the prototype, and then they come to us. And a lot of times they'll do some engineering like the finite element analysis or modeling- ... and then they'll bring it to the actual lab to have it tested, and that's where we put it through the rigors of different test specifications.

We deal with many different test standards like ASTM, which is the- ... American Society of Test and Measurement, and then there's other standards which are international, IEC standards- ... and MIL standards as well. And we can basically support [00:04:00] a variety of customers through various industries in all of those test specifications.

It's amazing 'cause I think about you... When you just mentioned some of the key industries that you work with, I mean, literally I don't think there's an industry out there- ... that probably hasn't come through your doors. And I'm not just talking about local companies in Pittsburgh- Right. Yeah ... area. I'm...

We're, we're talking literally... And this is the thing that really stuck with me when you were making this ribbon cutting of the giant shake table- Uh-huh. Right ... was you're basically saying that literally people from around the world, you're talking folks from Korea- Yeah. ... are driving down our humble little Route 51- Yes

to get to your, your testing facilities. Right. And I just think that's amazing because they're literally they have to come to Pittsburgh to have this- Sure ... type of work done. Yeah. We- Yeah ... because we, we touch so many industries- ... and particularly say the nuclear power industry. Yes. And the legacy that we have as a former Westinghouse facility, and we acquired it in 1992- Okay

We have carried that nuclear power legacy all the way through. So we have this quality assurance program in place that we have continued over the years, and that enables us to qualify customers of equipment to go into a nuclear power plant- Phew. Yeah ... [00:05:00] so it shuts... the power plant shuts down- Wow

in a calculated manner in the event- ... that there's an earthquake or something that happens. Oh, wow. So we have valve companies and actuator companies and companies manufacturing electrical breakers and switches flying into, like you said, Pittsburgh International, driving down the gauntlet of traffic lights on Route 51- Yeah

and parking at our at our test campus in Jefferson Hills- Yeah ... formerly Large, Pennsylvania. Yeah. I... First off, I have a soft spot 'cause I ride my bike through there all the time- Yeah ... when I'm on the Montour Trail. Uh-huh. And so many times I've ridden my bike past there. I knew that you guys were testing stuff, but I said- Uh-huh

it really opened my eyes when I went there to actually see your facilities and also to see your team of people there. Yeah. You have to have some of the most amazing employees- these. I mean, they're doing a tough job down there. Me too. I mean, they're rigging stuff up. Yeah. I mean, they're like... You got the, those look like they're mechanics that are being...

But they're engineers. Uh-huh. And there's just so much going on there. I can see the excitement 'cause they're testing such a variety of different things. Right. And to know that the things that they're doing are really important, like you said, [00:06:00] you're qualifying things for nuclear level stuff.

Right. You can't think of anything that's to have a more stringent set of standards- right ... than something like that, and it's happening in your shop, right? Yeah, yeah. Oh, cool. I mean, for example, Jonathan, yesterday, I'm out in the laboratory, our seismic lab. Okay. Yeah. We have one of the three largest seismic shake tables in the United States.

Yeah. So we can put really big stuff on it. So equipment not only that goes into the nuclear industry, equipment that goes into a transmission and distribution or a substation. Okay. Yeah. If you're driving by a substation- 100% ... you see those big tall insulators that are made of- Yes ... either ceramic or rubber.

Well, we just tested one yesterday, and, you can imagine when you're shaking the bottom, the top is really flopping- Right ... back and forth, and I'm talking to the customer. He says, "Well, I think we have to go back to the drawing board." Well, we do that because we wanna make sure that that electricity is still generated and transmitted during an event.

If there's a seismic event, that will continue to operate because it's gone through the rigors of a seismic test at our laboratory. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. That's just... That's why... I, I seriously, it's one of those things where I feel like we just cannot [00:07:00] take it for granted- ... that we're safe in this world because things are tested ahead of time- Right

and it's done through facilities like yours. And I'm gonna go back again, once again, this is my home base when I went to go visit you guys- Okay ... for this, we had this ribbon cutting with our friends. Huntington actually were there- Oh ... because- Great supporter ... I, I didn't realize it was a community effort- for you guys to get this new shake table. Right. Which I thought was amazing 'cause I, I didn't, wasn't expecting to see my friends from Huntington there. I'm like- ... "What are you guys doing here?" Yeah. "Oh, we helped with the financing to- Yeah ... be able to procure this." And then you had the, then you had state leaders here.

Yeah. Was Devlin was, was there. Yeah. State Senator Devlin Robinson- Yeah ... and a team of people from Allegheny Strategic Partners, and that group, and state senator and the State Representative Kuzma and Huntington Bank. We put that coalition together and were able to get state support, and, private support.

Exactly. And then we wound up realizing the dream of installing one of the most unique pieces of test equipment in the country. Exactly. And then I think about when you have that piece of equipment now, like, how that's gonna open up your business. Yeah, it does, and we, we, and we also continue the business [00:08:00] that we have.

So we support, say, the rail industry. Yeah. And even the busing industry. So we have customers that, believe it or not, when you get on a rail car or a bus, it's air-conditioned on a hot, hot day, right? Well, those big air conditioners that are on the top of the buses and trains, they won't fit on the average shake table, vibration table.

And so if you think and see how the the roads in Pittsburgh we talked about before, and how the equipment is, is vibrating going back and forth, well, any- anything can fail in terms of a disconnection- Mm ... of a part or something- Right ... a circuit breaks or disconnects. We have the ability to sort of simulate and mimic that environment.

And then when you're done with that, just put it on a bus again and drive down 51 a few times. Yeah, exactly. And it... Just to make sure the shake table did its job, right? There's plenty of potholes to do the real-life simulation. Exactly, 'cause you got 51 there. Yeah, exactly. I, I love that. Yeah. So, you gave me a really cool story I think people need to know about- is how you worked with the Artemis. Yes. Yeah. Yes. That was amazing to me. The... Tell me about the testing you did with that, 'cause that just goes to show you, you guys can test [00:09:00] anything. In addition to vibration testing- Yes ... we do structural testing, load testing, and fatigue testing. Okay. So we've done everything from the the arm that is the umbilical- Yeah

To the rocket. And so, what we did was we simulated that umbilical arm that basically is bringing the, power generation and the oxygen and all of the gases to the rocket- Right. It's the lifeline for it ... pre-launch, right? Right. And then once it launches, the fuel cells kick in and power it.

But pre-launch, what we're doing is we're powering the the rocket as it's getting prepped to s- And so when that rocket gets ready to go, that arm, that, that umbilical arm has to slam shut in four seconds. And so what we do is we d- we set up a mock-up of the tower. Okay. Set up a mock-up of the rocket.

Our customer brought the umbilical arm in, and then what we did was we had everything, connected in terms of the all of the gases- Yeah ... electrical connections, and then what happens is there's [00:10:00] explosion bolts blow it, and then it slams shut, and then basically- That's how a successful test in a umbilical arm happens.

I, I mean, you mentioned something to me that I thought was so interesting was it was like months of preparation for basically a four-second test, right? Correct. Yeah. A four-second- Tell me about that. And they did it multiple times. Of course, yes. And, and, and building a three-story simulated tower, launch tower- Wait, so you, you had a 30-foot Yeah, 30-foot steel structure.

We didn't build the building. Right. We didn't build the rocket. What we did was we, we, built the steel structure that would, simulate where the launch arm was bolted to, and then the rocket, we had sort of a curvature of a, Right. You had the exact curvature- ... that would simulate of, of the, of the-

of the Artemis rocket and stuff ... rocket. And then what we did was we basically did the launch arm simulation.

We did two models. We did a, I think it was a four-foot and then a seven-foot model- Okay ... that were, different. And then we had to do a couple of simulations, so we did, several, [00:11:00] slam shots of- Exactly ... both models. Yeah. So first off, like I think to myself- how the astronaut's safety was in your hands there.

If that thing doesn't pull away properly, that .. could mess the launch up. I mean- Yeah ... I don't know the specifics, but I'm- Mm ... feeling like before that thing can this- Yeah, yeah ... it's gotta make sure there's nothing still stuck to it. Yeah, yeah. So- Yeah ... I think that's, it goes to show you just how important- Yeah

Your testing is, and- Well, it's important, and it's extremely important that, like you'd alluded to earlier, we have qualified, quality people. Yeah. And then the other important part, Jonathan, is our relationship with our customer. Yeah. So we are partners as we're going through these sophisticated test programs.

Exactly. And our collaboration that's happening is, every step of the way what we start off with is a test plan. And so we either collaborate with the customer, or we build the test plan, or they may have the test plan. And then when the test plan is reviewed by our test team, our test engineers, and then we show it to the customer, we at that point both [00:12:00] sign off on the test plan and then begin the test program.

And then they see every step of the way we stop. Exactly, yeah. We have a very strict quality assurance program. I can only imagine. I mean, I can only imagine 'cause, like once again, people's lives are in your hand. Right. And, and that to me is like you, you gotta be pew. Yeah, yeah. I mean- Simple as that.

But that's not- And I tell, I tell our team, I said, "Look, we, we're testing things that are going onto nuclear-powered submarines, aircraft carriers, ships, rail cars." Is there anything you don't test? No, I don't... we don't do a lotta testing for residential furniture and stuff like that.

It's mostly large industrial stuff that's our specialty. You're not shaking couches to pieces. No, we're not, just the important stuff. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So. No, that, that to me is is absolutely amazing. And I'm gonna go back to home base again when I- Okay ... when I was at my visit there, 'cause all the memories are coming back.

Yeah. 'Cause I really had a fantastic time there. It was fun, sure. Because I just love seeing stuff- ... being made, being tested. To me, I just get so excited about that, which is why we're doing this series- Right ... with Huntington Bank is because this is what makes our region tick. And I see the people that are working there.

And go back to your people. Mm. I've never [00:13:00] seen a more dedicated group of folks that were out there. Right. And as we're getting the tour, it's like you could just see the passion. Yeah. So what's it like w- working at Clark? And I know that you guys are probably always looking for talent and stuff like that- Yeah.

... As well too. Give me a little more insight on that. Well, we, we really focus on culture. And so we really work hard making sure people have a work/life balance. It's a family company. Yeah. You met my son. He's the president of the company. Does a unbelievable job.

Educated at Pitt and Carnegie Mellon. And so, we are excited about the fact that- At one point in time, they were talking about demolishing the building we're in and putting a hotel there. Really? But today, we have about 75, engineers, test technicians, lab research analysts and, administrators and salespeople, and we're continuing to hire.

And so, we have basically taken this opportunity to have this infrastructure that's in place, and we have done our best to leverage it, and but what we have to do is you could have... I tell people you could have [00:14:00] all of the equipment in the world, test equipment in the world, the most important part of that test equipment are the people behind it.

100%. And so, and so that quality assurance program, they need to ensure that the data we provide our customer is quality data. And how we do that is a series of our quality program, our calibration. Everything is traceable to NIST, which is the National Institute- Yep ... of Standards and Testing.

Doesn't get any better than that. No, and- Any more official than that. Right. Yeah. And so, we, we welcome quality audits from our customers and from the independent auditing agencies that we qualify to. We welcome those audits because it makes us better. Yeah. And so... And the fortunate thing is our employees and our team know how important that is.

And so, safety and quality are the pillars of our company. 100%. One thing that I was really surprised to learn about when I was there, you were giving me a tour, is you took me upstairs- ... into the room where you do all this different testing for oil- Right ... and things like that. Yeah. I had no idea about this.

[00:15:00] Yeah. And I'm a total car nerd. Yeah. I know my SAEs. Yeah, sure. I know my 020s and all that- Yeah ... kind of fun stuff. Yeah. Tell me about this, some of the services you do in that area. Well, the, the lubrication laboratory that we have- Yeah ... we do... We test used lubricants and new lubricants,

clark Testing is the number one laboratory that works with ASTM. Mm. They have selected us for over 20 years. Really? Close to 25 years- Wow ... we've been doing this program. Okay. And what we do is we calibrate l- labs throughout the world. So we do what they call a round robin or proficiency testing, and we get bulk materials and bulk samples in from large production companies, and you name Marathon, Exxon, Chevron.

All those companies are sending us sample product, and that sample product could be anything: hydraulic fluid, diesel fuel, engine oil- Yeah ... gasoline, and jet fuel. Anything. A little bit of everything kinda coming in. We get, we get hundreds of drums in, and what we do is we've got tanks, 4,000, 5,000 gallon tanks.

We blend it, [00:16:00] and then what we do is we test it, send our test results to ASTM, and then we bottle it in either one liter or one - gallon bottles and virtually send it all over the world. So they can test against that to make sure- Yes ... that they're, they got the r- Exactly ... they got the good stuff. So that laboratory- Yeah

in India or Indiana- Wow ... is sending their data to ASTM. And ASTM is saying, "Okay, you're meeting the standard." Yeah. "You are within the ASTM standard." Once again, you're putting Pittsburgh in the center of the world. Right. Well- I'm g- Thank you for saying it ... I'm saying it But yeah.

There are, laboratories in, in, like I said, China and India and Russia, in, in every continent- Yeah ... getting samples that have Clark Testing logo on it. That's so cool. Yeah. Oh my goodness. The sun never sets on Clark Testing. No, it doesn't. I couldn't- That's a good line

I couldn't resist. You can take that one. Thank you. Next one's five bucks. All right. That's amazing. And the best part of my visit was I went home with a T-shirt. Yes, yeah. So I feel like I'm part of the Clark staff. You are. I wear it all the time. I'm like, [00:17:00] "Clark Testing." Yeah. Well, that's great. That's right.

And you're like, "What's that?" I'm like, "Let me tell you. Do you got five minutes?" Yeah. Great branding. Thank you. That is amazing. It is. So, so what is the future? I mean, I think about a key piece, obviously when you put that new shake table in- right ... I just feel like you're just gonna keep growing.

Yeah. And you're a family business, which is so interesting to me. Right. To have something like this as a family business with your son- right ... w- functioning as the president and so forth. Where do you see things moving right now for Clark? Well, our growth and our next phase is always driven by the customer.

So we've got- ... a large customer in the rail industry. Yeah. And we have the capability right now to simulate a rail car. We've done we've done simulations for the Phoenix rail system- ... for San Francisco. We've done Denver. And what we do is we simulate the rail car going through its, its course, its cycle.

Yeah. It's funny, if you walk by the wall and you listen to it- Uh-huh ... it sounds like you're in the station at Pittsburgh. Oh, that's so cool. It sounds like a- A little chk- chk- chk ... train coming in- Yeah ... and then leaving the station. Oh, cool. Exactly. So, but anyway, we've got a customer now that we can test two axles [00:18:00] on a rail car, and our customer's come to us and said, "Hey, we would like to partner with you.

What if we help you and partner with you to do four axles on a rail car?" Nice. So, we're working with that, first off, I just love that. I hate to interrupt. I love it when you're able to work with a customer- ... and it's gonna develop a new service and product for you.

Right, right. That is awesome. Exactly. And, and think about the level of trust- Yes ... that customer has in you- ... to invest in that. Right, right. Yeah. I'll go back. Sorry. I just- No, no ... I, I had to interrupt 'cause I was like, "That is just gold to me right there." What's happening today, and we heard the president of, of Huntington Bank, Suzy, mention the, the growth that's going on, not only in Pittsburgh, but throughout the country.

Yeah. And, in the power generation and the energy sector- Exactly ... we're doing a lot for the nuclear power industry, and there are several different, key manufacturers in the nuclear power industry- ... all customers of Clark Testing, and they have come to us and said, "Your seismic shake table, we would like to invest to make sure that we have capacity and availability- for that seismic shape table going into the future- [00:19:00] Yeah ... because There's stress right now on the electric grid, and as we're building out these data centers. Data centers need new power, and there's talk about new nuclear power plants- Yep. Oh, yeah ... the small modular reactors. They're happening. So we have companies in the nuclear power, in the nuclear industry, in that space that are coming to Clark Testing saying, "Hey, we would like to work with you in collaboration to expand your capability."

And then finally, in the defense sector we've got the electromagnetic testing capability. Remember the chambers you saw that looked kind of like- Yes ... so, we have certain capabilities that one of our defense contract customers has said that, we, we wanna sort of basically buy up the capability and capacity of your lab for the rest of the year.

Oh my goodness. Can, can you duplicate this? And so we're, we're in negotiation. So it's really customer-driven when we are looking at, the next step in terms of growth of the company. Yeah. It's a very exciting- It is ... and as we wrap this thing up, I wanna talk about just how important manufacturing [00:20:00] is to- Right

the Pittsburgh region.

Of course, the Tech Council, so many of our members are manufacturers, and the integration of technology- ... that is so important, and we see the growth potential. We see the growth happening now. Right. Obviously, what are your thoughts on that? So, again, we carry the legacy, right? Yes. So we're a former Westinghouse laboratory.

We're a former U.S. Steel laboratory, so we're still supporting those customers, and those companies are doing great. I don't know if you saw the Business Times. U.S. Steel's doubling the investment in the Mon Valley area. And I saw that the other day. I was like, "Ah." Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I immediately- so cool

Sent the announcement to my team. And so, these companies, basically the Westinghouses, the Alcoas, the U.S. Steels and we have a lot of legacy Westinghouse companies that are operating as, like Hitachi Mitsubishi Electric. Yep. They're all customers of Clark Testing. Of course they are.

We're doing great business with them, and but they're continuing to keep the testing in the area. They're continuing to keep, the local regional supply chain busy, whether it's for, the rail industry, the power generation industry- ... the defense industry. [00:21:00] There's a huge number of companies that support the Navy in this area.

Of course. And so, we're all sort of getting together and collaborating and working together, and we love being just sort of a part of that support service. Yeah. It's a whole eco- To help, help- It's a whole ecosystem going on there. Yeah. Yeah. And, and so the manufacturers... so if, if it, if we weren't here, then these manufacturers wind up going to Hunt they go to Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. They'd have to go to either Alabama or Long Island or something like that ... Long Island. Yeah. So- So the laboratory options... Or, or Chicago. You know- are, are not that many. And so now they just basically are able to come to our lab and then go home and sleep at the house at night.

Yeah, isn't that a lot better? Yeah. I mean, as much as I love the waffles at the hotels and stuff- Yeah, yeah ... I mean, I'd rather be home doing that. A- and if there's an engineering problem, they can call an engineer from headquarters or from the, R&D unit- Exactly ... and they'll come down- And be on site

on site. And there's- Yeah, they can be like, "What's going on here?" There's a ton of value in that. 100%. Before we leave, though, there's one last thing that- ... I think we gotta talk about. Right. And I didn't realize you guys were [00:22:00] part of this, which I'm very excited to learn more about, is your, is your role in cybersecurity.

Right, yeah. How does that work at Clark Test, too? So we, we are what's called ITAR certified. And that is a a certification that we have with the State Department to handle CUI, controlled classified data. And we have for the last three years been working on a CMMC certification, which is a- Hey

cyber certification- Yes ... specifically for the defense industry. We are at the last phase of our audit, and we will be one of the first test laboratories in the United States- Do have this CMMC certification, and we're pretty proud of that. Yeah. We've got a great IT team that has been spearheading this process.

Our auditors who have been working with us for now, we've been... It's been about a three-month audit. We are in the last two weeks of it. All right. And- Well, good luck on coming down the home stretch. Yeah, yeah. And certification will happen, and then, we'll basically be out there, promoting the fact that, we are [00:23:00] a test laboratory with this certification a US-based owned laboratory where there's a lot of more, a lot more international competition.

Yeah. And so we are excited about supporting our customers with the security and the quality. You're just adding one more thing on your brochure Right ... that's really setting you apart. Yes. At the end of the day, all this comes as what a magnificent resource that our region has- Yeah. Yeah ... in Clark Testing- Yeah

to help our local manufacturers, but to bring manufacturers from around the world. Yeah. Right down 51 and into your parking lot there in Large, PA Yes. Yeah. In Jefferson Hills there. Yeah. Which is just amazing stuff. It's- is an amazing story. Thank you. Yeah. And you can tell I get really enthusiastic about it- Yeah

'cause I just love seeing what you guys do. Yeah. When I was on my tour there- ... getting my T-shirt. Yep, yep. I was like, "Man, what a cool thing." Yeah. And I'm so glad we're able to connect- Yeah ... and get this story together 'cause I just think our, our viewers and our listeners out there are gonna just be like, "Wow, that's Pittsburgh, man."

We're pretty excited to be a part of Pittsburgh- Yeah ... a part of the whole sort of ecosystem of a [00:24:00] manufacturing and, everything that's happening with the new environments, the new markets- Yep ... the, the EVs, the, Everything ... batteries e- everything, AI, and we are just, a part of being sort of the service sector that's supporting all of this manufacturing growth in the region.

It's- 100% ... it's, it's an awesome thing happening here in Pittsburgh. You're the best, Paul. Thank you so much- Jonathan ... for entertaining me. Yeah, and if you're on your bike- Yes ... and you need some water- Okay ... pull over- I will ... come in, and we'd love to help you out. I'll be like, "Paul said I could stop by."

Absolutely. I swear. Yeah. You're the best. Hey, in case you forgot, this has been Jonathan Kersting having way too much fun- Awesome. Me too ... here on An- because I'm a little amped up. I am too. I'm amped up. For Lack of a Better Term. And I cannot wait to see you on the next one 'cause we're gonna be exploring stories just like this.