Salt Lake City: Livability in the 21st Century

As the premier global quality institute and testing laboratory
for filled textile products, IDFL Laboratory and Institute
test certifies, inspects, consults, and audits and manages
quality assurance programs for companies around the globe.
Services are cost effective, client support is the industry best,
and its reputation assures accuracy and integrity.
IDFL developed many of the global standards for
down and feather testing, and has the world’s largest
testing database. It created traceability systems for
raw materials and uses its reputation for integrity
to develop product and factory inspection in
Asia. Partnering with the University of Utah,
IDFL provides country-of-origin verification on
natural textile products. Services include: down
and feather testing, inspection and audit services,
fabric testing, consulting and research, and natural
and synthetic testing.
While working for the government of Utah in the
1950s, Wilford Lieber, Sr., noticed a large variance
in the quality of down and feather products, trending
toward increasingly inferior down. In 1978
Wilford and Mary Jean Lieber established IDFL, an
independent laboratory. Their work in this privately-held
family company became the worldwide
foundation for all technical testing of jackets and bedding.
IDFL consulted with North American governments and
industries and helped fledgling industries in Japan and
China develop standards. Its reputation is based on absolute
integrity and honesty, refusing to alter results or reports.
Susan Morrow and Joyce Mikkelson soon became key
partners in the work. Joyce, a globally recognized testing
trainer, worked well past her eighty-fifth birthday.
In addition to the Salt Lake City headquarters, IDFL sites
include Hangzhou, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Frauenfeld,
Switzerland. Work orders have increased from 1,000
annually in 1978-94 to 20,000 in 2013. Currently, seventyfive
percent of IDFL revenue comes from outside North
America, with 8,000 clients in seventy countries, and future
expansion in Europe, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and Latin
America. IDFL plans to grow as the premier quality assurance
partner in the $20 billion filled textile product sector,
and to expand to areas including wool, cotton, polyester, etc.
Global same-day courier service and instant global
communications have allowed a small company such as
IDFL to become the global leader in quality assurance of
filled textiles, providing services to large global retailers
and manufacturers of brands including IKEA, GAP, H&M,
Zara, Macy’s, Costco, Columbia, North Face, Adidas, Puma,
Nike, Eddie Bauer, Moncler, Bosideng, and JYSK.
IDFL staff members participate in many charitable activities
and are active in recycling and energy conservation.
Recycling is practiced in all areas. Wilf Lieber, CEO, sets
the example, riding a bike to work in all four IDFL offices.
IDFL LABORATORY
AND INSTITUTE
T H E M A R K E T P L A C E
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