Underwriters Lab Sets Up Indian Subsidiary

US-based Underwriters Laboratories has set up an Indian subsidiary to help Indian manufacturers, finding themselves blocked from international access by technical trade barriers, to get international access.

"Every country has different safety, quality and installation requirements for different products. Consequently, the web of national conformity assessment can be so tangled that frustrated manufacturers give up trying to get their products accepted into new regions...UL is the expert in international product compliance and that's why we have come to India," Underwriters Lab's executive vice-president and chief operating officer (international) Joe Bhatia said here yesterday.

UL's subsidiary, UL India Pvt Ltd, will be headquareterd in Bangalore and have offices elsewhere alo primarily to help India manufacturers gain convenient local access to markets in North, Central and South America, Europe and Asia.

UL would also conduct some tests at local labs throughout India as needed. "For the past several years, Indian manufacturers have tried to take advantage of falling international trade barriers. Agreements and trading blocs like the EU in Europe, APEC and ASEAN in the Asia-pacific and nafta in North America as well as global accords like WTO and GATT have opened borders and tempted manufacturers to access new markets," Bhatia said.

UL is a world major in products saftey and global conformity assessment facilitating international trade. Though safety certificiation for most products is not required by law in the US, most Americans retailers refuse to sell products that do not carry a safety certification mark. "And for some products such as medical equipment, a safety certification mark is mandated by law," Bhatia added.

Every year UL certifies over 14 billion products worldwide and conducts quality management system assessments under ISO 9000, QS-9000 and ISO 14001 (environmental management systems).