S-E-A, an international forensic analysis, investigation and product-testing firm based in Columbus, Ohio, US, has begun construction of a new research and office campus. The campus is scheduled to open in late Spring or early Summer 2016.
Four S-E-A buildings, totaling near 110,000 sq. ft., will house over 125 engineers, investigators, chemists, researchers, technicians, management and staff. In addition to office space, the buildings will have important state-of-the-art and unique testing facilities, including bespoke vehicle testing laboratories, a materials/ metallurgy laboratory, as well as indoor vehicle testing equipment such as a specialized vehicle minor impact and roll simulator. Additional testing facilities such as an electrical laboratory and visualization studio, which comprises animation capabilities as well as 3D laser scanners and motion capture devices are also on site.
In addition to the buildings, S-E-A is also constructing a 70,685 sq. ft. vehicle test pad on the site. Adjacent to the pad will be a specially designed earthen hill with various controlled slopes to test a broad spectrum of vehicles and equipment. Using the pad and/or the hill, rollover, crash analysis, crash avoidance, safety/occupant protection evaluations and automated steering tests will be conducted in specialized conditions. The design will allow for trucks, commercial & passenger vehicles, ATVs, golf carts, race cars and off-highway vehicles-including military vehicles-to be tested in a variety of situations.
“We are very proud that the reputation of the firm and our world-wide client growth has provided the catalyst for us to look into a bright future to build a new S-E-A headquarters,” explained Jason Baker, S-E-A CEO. “This campus will immediately satisfy existing client needs and allow us to accommodate unforeseen future requests for product testing, failure analysis, fire investigation and research.”
The new campus will also allow for additional staff to be hired. S-E-A plans to add 30 new positions over the next three years.
