NEU-ISENBURG, Germany, March 12 /PRNewswire/ --

- UL offers complimentary product assessments on April 22-23 at Hannover's Messe Convention Center

Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a world leader in product safety testing and certification, will be exhibiting at the 2009 Hannover Messe Industrie from April 20th to the 24th in Hall 16, Stand F26 and will be presenting its testing and certification services, which assist manufacturers of industrial power and controls products and renewable energy equipment to achieve global market access. UL's family of companies embraces a network of 64 facilities serving 98 countries and UL had 20 billion UL Marks appearing on products last year. As a Hannover Messe Highlighted Service, UL will provide manufacturers, prior arrangement, complimentary product assessments at Hannover's Convention Center on April 22nd and April 23rd.

In today's economic downturn, product safety certification is even more important to manufacturers' strategy to distinguish their products versus competitors and gain a competitive advantage that helps to boost sales. By partnering with UL as one global conformity assessment service provider, manufacturers are able to reduce the use of resources for administrative and project management activities, hence saving time and money. UL's testing and certification solutions support businesses during the complete product development cycle, from design to production, ensuring consistent compliance with all safety requirements, accelerating and supporting access and acceptance in major world markets.

UL's Market Access with CB Scheme, IECEx and CCC

UL's overall theme at the Hannover Messe will be Accessing the global marketplace with the UL mark, the international IECEE CB Scheme and IECEx system and other regional marks - with a special focus on Asian market access. In fact, along with the UL mark to access to the U.S. and Canada, Underwriters Laboratories provides global manufacturers of industrial power and controls products with custom certification packages incorporating the cULus and RU marks, CB Scheme and selected local marks of manufacturers' target export markets.

CB Scheme is an international system for mutual recognition of test reports and certificates for the safety of electrical and electronic products. It is like a passport for manufacturers willing to access the global market and it is one of the fastest and most beneficial conformity assessment solutions.

The IECEx System enables market access to 28 countries for manufacturers of devices used in potentially explosive atmospheres or hazardous locations with one UL product submittal. Through its accreditation under the IECEx Scheme, UL can save time and expense by eliminating the redundancy involved in obtaining HazLoc certifications for multiple markets worldwide. UL's IECEx Scheme accreditation allows UL to issue Certificates of Conformity (CoCs), Ex Test Reports (ExTRs) and Quality Assessment Reports (QARs) that will be accepted by other national certification bodies in countries participating under the Scheme without the need for additional testing. UL is the first and only hazardous locations equipment certifier with offices in both North America and Europe able to provide this convenient and efficient certification solution.

Access to China with CCC Mark

The market access to China continues to be a central topic for all Industries. The Chinese CCC certification mark required by 155 product categories of 21 product groups for import into China is a must to access this market. Through a Joint Venture with the CCIC, China's national body for the control of the import and export requirements, UL supports manufacturers with the entire CCC certification process.

UL's Hannover Special: Complimentary Product Assessments

Interested manufacturers will have the opportunity (by prior appointment only) - to submit one product for a complimentary assessment with UL's engineering and global market access experts. The purpose of each product evaluation is to analyze construction, review each product's conformity against applicable safety standards and determine product accessibility to enter North America and other international markets. The product reviews will take place on Wednesday, April 22nd, and Thursday, April 23rd, from 10:00 am to 05:00 pm; each complimentary assessment appointment is estimated to take no more than 30 minutes. This offer is limited to selected product categories of power and controls and renewable energy equipment. To register to this assessment, visit www.ul-europe.com/hannover.

About Underwriters Laboratories

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 62 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries. For more information, visit: http://www.ul-europe.com or http://www.UL.com/newsroom.

Philipp Krauslach Christian Fuchs Underwriters Laboratories GolinHarris BL GmbH +49-6102-369-378 +49-69-91-30-43-17 Philipp.Krauslach@de.ul.com fuchs@golinharris.de

Philipp Krauslach of Underwriters Laboratories, +49-6102-369-378, Philipp.Krauslach@de.ul.com; or Christian Fuchs of GolinHarris BL GmbH, +49-69-91-30-43-17, fuchs@golinharris.de, for Underwriters Laboratories