About Us

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide affordable, high quality laboratory services to our clients.  The Laboratory will strive to achieve the following objectives:

1.  Provide quality customer service.  Our goal is to provide quality customer service by giving friendly, efficient service and keeping costs as low as possible.  We have a goal of completing routine in-house analyses within 72 hours (3 business days excluding weekends and holidays). 
2. Achieve national recognition.  Our goal is to be recognized nationally for our quality and analytical precision.  As part of our academic efforts, we will strive to contribute to industry and association efforts at improving fuel quality overall and the test methods used to demonstrate fuel quality. 
3. Act as an educational resource for the College and community.  Our goal is to provide academic support to the College and community by providing free testing for student class projects, guided tours for students and community groups, and possible internship opportunities for qualified students. 

Who We Serve

The Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory serves the fuels industry with an emphasis on renewable fuels.  Our clients include producers, marketers, laboratories, consultants, transportation organizations, research groups, consumers and more.  In addition, Iowa State Code establishes the Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory as the official fuel testing facility for the Iowa Bureau of Weights and Measures.

How We Began

The Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory began as an offshoot of the Biofuels Technology Program created at Iowa Central Community College in the fall of 2006.  One of the cornerstone features of this program was the student teaching laboratory.  Although initially housed in the old campus greenhouse, the teaching lab included many state-of-the-art instruments used for performing biodiesel analyses according to ASTM methods. 

We were approached in the fall of 2006 to assist in conducting the Two Million Mile Haul B20 biodiesel field trial with Decker Trucking of Fort Dodge, Iowa, employing both our instruments and students in the study. These efforts attracted the interest of several parties who collectively formed the idea of creating an independent fuel testing laboratory on the campus of Iowa Central.

We secured initial funding through a state appropriation that provided funds for the laboratory casework and an initial round of instrument purchases.  Additional funding was provided through a Department of Energy grant that allowed for additional instrument purchases and further expansion.  We opened our doors in the fall of 2009 with the goal of assisting the renewable fuels industry with rapid, low-cost fuel testing.  In 2010 we became the first laboratory in the nation to achieve the BQ-9000 LAB® designation for quality testing of biodiesel products; in 2012 we completed ISO 9001 certification to cover all our other testing capabilities.

Where We Are Today

Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory operates as a self-sustaining entity on the campus of Iowa Central Community College. We offer quality laboratory support to local, national and international clients.  In late fall of 2024 we occupied our new, state-of-the-art facility constructed across the road from the main campus.  With the new facility comes enhanced capabilities, including jet fuel testing and in-house cetane and octane testing.