Retlif Testing Laboratories

07/04/2019

Happy 4th of July from Retlif Testing Laboratories!

11/08/2018

CONGRATULATIONS! Retlif Testing Laboratories was recently honored with a 2018 Small Business Award by the Town of Islip Office of Economic Development!

(Pictured are Economic Development Director William Mannix and Councilwoman Mary Kate Mullen with Retlif President Walter Poggi and Director of Operations Scott Poggi)

11/07/2018

The 40th Anniversary accolades continue!
Retlif was recently recognized by the Town of Islip for 40 years of providing high quality testing and engineering services. Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter was on hand to present the citation at our Retlif headquarters to Walter and Marilyn Poggi and Scott Poggi.

11/06/2018

Retlif was recognized for its' 40 years of service by the Pennsylvania State Senate, during our 40th Anniversary Open House at our Harleysville, PA location. Presenting the certificate of recognition was State Senator Bob Mensch. Retlif President Walter Poggi and Director of Engineering Richard Reitz accepted the honor on the company's behalf.

10/31/2018

Retlif was recently recognized for its' 40 years of service as an independent testing laboratory by the NH State Senate. NH State Senator Lou D’Allesandro presented a certificate announcing the Senate resolution to Retlif President Walter Poggi and Retlif NH Branch Manager Scott Wentworth at our Goffstown, NH location.

09/04/2018

Retlif Testing Laboratories will be an exhibitor at the 2018 Long Island Power Electronics Symposium.
The event will take place on Thursday, November 8th, from 12-8pm, at the Hauppauge Radisson in Hauppauge, NY.

More information about the symposium can be found at

The Long Island Power Electronics Symposium & Exhibits is the area's premier annual event that brings together the local power electronics community.

04/30/2018

40 Years Out Front & Behind The Scenes

The venerable testing and strategic compliance organization’s expertise has seen combat in innumerable battles, traveled to the moon, sailed under the ice caps, ensured safety on rails, roads and the skies, and helped to fast forward technical innovations in medicine and science.

It all started 40 years ago.

When Retlif Testing Laboratories was founded in 1978, Jimmy Carter was President, the Cold War was icy, the inflation rate soared to 8%, Son Of Sam haunted New York, and unemployment was climbing. It certainly wasn’t the best time to launch a new business venture, but to Walter and Marilyn Poggi it was the time for action. The fledgling company took shape in a former Korean War helicopter factory and has grown steadily to become a leading independent testing and engineering organization with laboratories in three states and a respected industry leader around the globe.

Now, 40 years later, after all the champagne corks are popped and after all the accolades are dutifully accorded by friends and industry compatriots alike, four simple words sum up what all the actions and speeches cannot:

Happy 40th Anniversary Retlif!

The company’s consistent expansion has been fueled by its philosophy, which has continually evolved since the foggy days of 1978. Recognition of the tangible value of product approvals and new marketplaces continues to distinguish Retlif from its competition.

Retlif’s growth and success stems from its cross-industry focus, investment in leading edge equipment and technologies, along with its ongoing education and training of its engineers and technicians.

“The mission of Retlif on our 40th anniversary is the same as it was in 1978.” Mr. Poggi stated. “We are laser focused on solutions, specifically appreciation of each client’s strategic goals. As a result, we never confine our thought processes to merely executing test parameters or solely to the results of our testing. We look for the broader picture in every detail of every test. By also concentrating on product approvals and the expansion of our clients’ marketplaces regardless of product or industry, we bring additional value to every Retlif client.”

And after 40 years of supporting leading and start up organizations with EMC/EMI and ESS/Environmental testing, there are a great many companies in a great many industries who have benefitted from this unique philosophy.

04/30/2018

Successful Showcasing at Symposium

The annual IEEE event at The Long Island RF/Microwave Symposium & Exhibits proved to be a rousing success, and the Retlif booth was busy the entire time. Retlif Executive Vice President Bill Hayes reported that the traffic at the Retlif booth was heavy and steady “with a good mix of industry professionals, manages and students.”

04/30/2018

Retlif Expands Solar Testing Capabilities

Independent Testing Leader adds expertise, equipment, dedicated facilities

Ronkonkoma, New York January 23, 2018………….Retlif Testing Laboratories, a leading US independent testing and strategic compliance organization, has inaugurated Phase One of an expansion program to offer more solar radiation testing, including both heat and photochemical testing, to military and commercial product manufacturers.

The first of two planned dedicated Solar Radiation Test Chamber upgrades has been completed at Retlif’s Harleysville, Pennsylvania testing laboratory. The new chamber and expanded capabilities provide the irradiance and spectral content to replicate field conditions required by a number of standards in rail, transit, aerospace, commercial air, composite, EMC/EMI, Environmental Simulation, maritime and military applications. For example, they are fully compliant with test procedures, cyclic exposure, and steady state exposure, as defined in the widely used MIL-STD-810, Method 505.5.

“Solar radiation is damaging to all systems and equipment operating or being stored in outdoor environments,” Retlif Executive Vice President Bill Hayes stated. “The demand for more radiant energy testing has been growing at all Retlif laboratories, which has become the driving force behind this phased expansion. The dedicated test chamber is a proprietary design involving state of the art hardware from leading manufacturers such as Ametek, Osram, Kipp & Zonen and Omega Monitoring Equipment. The new environment is driven by SpectrILight III data acquisition software designed to Retlif specificity standards.”

Phase Two is scheduled for third quarter 2018, at Retlif’s Ronkonkoma Long Island New York headquarters.

About Retlif: Retlif Testing Laboratories has been one of the world’s leading independent testing organizations since its founding in 1978. As a strategic compliance organization, Retlif offers EMC/EMI and Environmental Testing Services, approvals and certification as well as Environmental Simulation Testing (ESS) services. Today, the firm operates three full-service laboratories in Ronkonkoma NY, Goffstown NH, and Harleysville PA, and a Washington D.C. Regulatory Affairs office.

04/30/2018

Ensuring The Future Today

Since the founding of Retlif in the dark economic times of 1978, the company has supported the defense and homeland security in many ways beyond testing. In keeping with this staunchly held belief, Retlif has long been a believer in and fully supported the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Program. In this recent Indepthlook.org article you may see the extent of the company’s resolve and determination to help ensure the future of our great nation.

04/27/2018

A Tale Of The Sea

Retlif makes possible a “Voyage Of Discovery”

In keeping with its firm belief in the benefits of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets Program, Retlif Testing Laboratories (Ronkonkoma, New York), a leading independent EMC and Environmental Simulation testing organization founded in 1978, recently sponsored a ‘Voyage of Discovery’ aboard the Nada, a 47-foot sailing vessel.

The U.S. Naval Sea Cadets program is designed to build leadership in young men and women by exposing cadets to the full rigors of a military training program for potential paths they make take after high school graduation.

Retlif sponsored a “Voyage of Discovery”, a life changing experience aboard the Nada, a 47-foot sailing vessel. Six teenage U.S. Naval Sea Cadets from Long Island set sail from Mt. Sinai Harbor on Long Island Sound bringing back invaluable practical experience on the high seas and a wealth of tactical training. Captain Roger Noakes sailed with the aspiring U.S. Navy Midshipmen aboard the Nada. Retlif President Walter A. Poggi commented, “We believe that the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets program is both guiding and formative, a true means of shaping the future of sea power in our country.”

The crew sailed the Nada from Long Island Sound northeast past Block Island, then north of Boston to Cape Cod, docking at the famed fishing port of Gloucester, Massachusetts. There at the U.S. Coast Guard station the Sea Cadets conducted shipboard repairs to navigation lights and systems. The “Voyage of Discovery” proceeded further north to Portland, Maine for a final check of the crew’s confidence and their willingness to head “offshore.”

The planned sea route took them into the Gulf of Maine, and the 47-foot vessel was soon beyond all shore-based communications. Captain Noakes and the six Sea Cadets relied on daily satellite phone calls with a shore-based contact who relayed weather forecasts and important information while confirming that all members of the crew were safe.

The “Voyage of Discovery” took the Nada to the storied and infamous St. George’s Bank (AKA George’s Bank), southwest of Nova Scotia, which is the most westward of the Great Atlantic Fishing banks. In fact, St. Georges Bank is the largest and most important fishing ground near the U.S. Atlantic coast.

In explaining the area’s notorious reputation, experienced mariners often cite the abrupt and unexpected weather changes that are so prevalent. The Sea Cadets aboard the Nada soon experienced the seas that sailors have encountered for centuries. With its dense, interminable fog, stormy weather and cold ocean currents, as well as 15-foot ocean waves and winds approaching 40 knots, the Sea Cadets received a firsthand education and appreciation of the rigors of a military training program. The dense fog limited visibility to a few feet, and as Captain Noakes remarked, “in these conditions, we relied almost entirely on the radar made possible by a generous donation from Retlif Testing Laboratories. The radar helped the 47-foot Nada avoid run-ins with 100-foot ocean fishing vessels, which could have spelled disaster if one had surprised us emerging out of the mist”.

One night the Nada’s crew hove-to to ride out a storm, stopping the boat and using the sails to steady the motion as the Nada drifted sideways in a controlled, seakeeping manner. “Seakeeping is a measure of how well-suited a watercraft is to conditions while underway, a time-tested means of dealing with very bad weather,” Captain Noakes explained. “I’m pleased to say that the Sea Cadets demonstrated their resolve and were happy to have experienced this rare but important seakeeping tactic.”

As Giovanni da Verrazano, Henry Hudson and John Cabot must have encountered while exploring these waters during the Age Of Discovery, the sea is a fickle mistress, and the Sea Cadets recognized this at the furthest extent of their journey.A satellite call informed the voyagers that a tropical disturbance forming in the Caribbean had hurricanepotential with storm force winds. The storm’s projected path included the vicinity of the Nada, and it was decided to head back home. The Sea Cadets’ route returned them via Cape Cod and the Nantucket Shoals as the tropical disturbance developed into Hurricane Gert. In port when the resulting huge waves came to dominate the area, the Sea Cadets learned an invaluable lesson of the sea…respect for the mighty realm of Poseidon.

Retlif’s sponsorship of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets and the “Voyage of Discovery” program has helped to ensure the future with hands on education and instruction. As Mr. Poggi explained, “The concept of ensuring the future underlies every EMC test and all the torturous Environmental Simulation or ESS testing that maritime and military products undergo en route to compliance. I think the dedication of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets certainly bodes quite well for sea power and consequently for the future of this country. We at Retlif are proud to stand behind them and to do our part to ensure their future success”.