Underwriters Laboratories Expands Its Portfolio Of Marks For Fire Alarm, Fire Detection & Fire Resistance Products

The combined UL Mark for Europe, Canada and the U.S. is the first transcontinental Mark in UL's portfolio of market-leading certification marks now available for fire alarm, fire detection and fire resistance manufacturers. The Mark demonstrates product compliance with applicable European standards as well as applicable requirements for Canada and the U.S. Manufacturers now have the opportunity to earn a combined Mark with one product submittal, enabling them to reduce critical time-to-market and compliance costs by combining global testing and certification efforts with one organization at one time.

For manufacturers that require European market access, UL has introduced the new UL-EU Mark, a pan-European certification mark. The UL-EU Mark is part of UL's global market strategy to help manufacturers get safe products to market quickly. UL' efforts are a response to industry desire to reduce the number of certification marks on their products, and the need for a strong global brand behind the marks associated with their products. The UL-EU Mark on a product means that samples of the product have been tested to applicable European safety standards. Trust in a manufacturer's safety claim is key, and going the extra step to earn a voluntary safety mark to accompany the CE marking demonstrates a manufacturer's commitment to safety.

The global marketplace moves rapidly. There has never been a greater need than now in the marketplace for a well-recognized and valued Mark that can provide confidence in the safety of the products being sold, said Chris Hasbrook, UL global vice president, Building Materials, Life Safety & Security industries. UL is internationally known for safety and integrity, thanks to a long history of technical expertise, standards development, commitment to research and its strong global network of safety experts.

Consumers, retailers, code authorities, architects, insurers and fire brigades worldwide rely on UL's Marks to provide confidence in product compliance to applicable safety standards regionally, and can now have that same confidence of a product's compliance to European standards as well.

Manufacturers utilizing one of these two UL Marks will see immediate benefits. Primary benefits include: having only one product submittal and one team of UL testing experts to accommodate their testing requests; strong market recognition; reduced number of certification marks appearing on products; and a greater public confidence in the safety of products supplied to the market.