September 15/Canton, MA/Prepared Foods -– Shuster Laboratories Inc., a provider of product testing and quality assurance services for consumer packaged goods, announced that it will change its name to STR as of January 1, 2009. Shuster was acquired in 2002 by Specialized Technology Resources Inc. (STR), a global consumer product testing and quality assurance company with laboratories and offices in over 30 countries across six continents and the capacity to provide audit services in over 140 countries around the world.  

Shuster and CSCC, STR’s responsible sourcing division, will both take on the STR name so that the company can build a unified brand throughout the world.  Shuster will continue to deliver exactly the same products and services, only under a new name. This is the first step in a broad and long-term effort to improve client service, focus and data management to better assist clients with their supply chain management and product performance, the company noted.  

“We are very excited about transitioning the Shuster name to our global STR brand,” said John Gual, COO of STR. “Having a single STR brand will help us build stronger business relationships throughout our diverse markets and provide comprehensive solutions to clients in a more effective manner.”

Shuster, founded in 1955, has experience in the food, nutritional supplement, pharmaceutical, personal care product, and household chemical product industries. STR, founded in 1944, serves a broad scope of hard and soft consumer product industries including garments/textiles, toys/toy premiums, electronics/ electrical equipment, and general merchandise.  

“Shuster and STR already work closely and collaboratively on many shared clients, so the name change is the logical next step. It will make it much easier for companies to tap into STR’s extensive worldwide operations and our full complement of services and capabilities,” added Gual. “By unifying our companies under one name, STR can help our clients achieve even greater competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”

All of Shuster’s top executives and staff will continue in their current positions. New stationary, e-mail addresses and a website will be introduced by the end of the year. Shuster’s phone numbers and mailing addresses will remain the same.

From the September 15, 2008, Prepared Foods e-Flash