Case Study

Accreditation supporting the rubber industry in Thailand

 

Summary

The Bureau of Laboratory Accreditation, Department of Science Service (BLA-DSS) is an accreditation body of Thailand. It aims to provide accreditation services supporting industrial sectors across Thailand, such as the rubber industry. Thailand block rubber exports are a fast-growing industry, generating over USD 3 billion in 2025.

Accreditation of rubber testing laboratories in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025 simplifies trade at the national and international levels by providing objective evidence of technical competence. It builds trust and acceptance in international marketplaces such as China, Japan and the USA, and improves the quality of rubber products by supporting reliable testing and quality control.

Background

The “20-Year (2017-2036) Rubber Strategy” supports Thailand’s natural rubber and rubber products focusing on five dimensions: rubber sustainability, rubber price stabilisation, downstream industry development, rubber smallholder income security and rubber area reduction and efficiency increase. The strategy has aligned with the BLA-DSS’s strategy as an accreditation body for providing accreditation services for natural rubbers and rubber products. The Department of Science Service (DSS) has collaborated with the Department of Agriculture, the national regulatory body, to improve the performance of rubber laboratories from manufacturing processes to product quality control, supporting national and international trade.

Industrial rubbers are crucial for manufacturing due to their flexibility, durability, chemical resistance, and extreme temperature resistance. The rubbers are widely used in various industries, from seals and gaskets to industrial machinery parts. Industrial rubbers are important to manufacturing for key reasons, including:

1. Flexibility and resilience: the flexibility of rubber allows it to stretch and return to its original shape, making it ideal for components such as seals, gaskets and hoses that must maintain a tight fit under fluctuating pressure and temperature.
2. Durability: the rubber is resistant to wear and tear, making it a long-lasting material. In manufacturing, components that must withstand repeated movement or contact, such as belts, seals, and O-rings, often rely on the durability of rubber.
3. Chemical and oil resistance: some rubbers, such as nitrile rubber, are resistant to oils, fuels, and chemicals. This property makes them ideal for use in the automotive and aerospace industries.
4. Temperature resistance: some rubber compounds, such as ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) and silicone rubber, can withstand high temperatures, making them ideal for applications such as engine seals, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and other high-heat environments.

For these reasons, ensuring the quality of testing related to industrial rubbers is essential to enable rapid and accurate process control, improve manufacturing efficiency, and meet rubber products’ quality requirements and performance standards. This is particularly essential regarding the widespread use of rubber components across various industries, ranging from automotive to medical applications.

Strategy

Expanding the scope of testing accreditation to support trade and investment in rubber products.

BLA-DSS has accredited 30 block rubber laboratories in Thailand. The benefits of accreditation from BLA-DSS include the formal recognition of a laboratory’s competence through technical activities in testing and product quality control, which results in increased confidence among consumers/users and global acceptance.

Results and impact

Potential benefits of a rubber laboratory obtaining ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation from BLA-DSS include:

1. Rubber and product testing laboratories can confirm their capability to conduct testing in accordance with international standards, as well as rubber and product laboratory standards of the Rubber Division, Department of Agriculture, or other related standards.
2. The evaluation results can be used to investigate potential problems arising from measurements or tests within the laboratory and to improve and correct deficiencies, including consideration of preventive actions and risk management.
3. Rubber and product testing laboratories may use the results of laboratory proficiency testing participation to verify the effectiveness of a new measurement or test method.

These results increase confidence and trust, facilitating trade with economies such as China, Japan and the USA. In Thailand, regulators and the government are increasingly reliant on the results from accredited laboratories to meet requirements for the quality of natural rubbers and rubber products.

BLA-DSS is committed to providing accreditation services, aiming to enhance the industry’s export performance by reducing costs associated with re-testing by other regulatory bodies, minimising time losses, and increasing exports in both national and international markets. Thailand’s block rubber exports generated over USD 3 billion in 2025.

Contact

Mrs. Chantarat Vorasapavit – Director of BLA-DSS
Email: chantarat@dss.go.th
Tel: +66 2 201 7027, +66 2 201 7024, +6608 9123 3321