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November 18, 2021

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UL achieves Technical Assessment Body designation for UK and European fire safety product markets 

Safety science leader, UL, says it can now provide the full suite of conformity assessment services to manufacturers for a wide range of fire safety products for the UK and Europe, following official confirmation of UL International (Netherlands) BV’s new EU technical assessment body status.

UL’s latest designation as a technical assessment body allows it to help manufacturers of new and innovative fire safety products to achieve CE marking. Its product scope includes firefighting equipment, fire and smoke control, firestopping, fire sealing and fire protection and retardant products.

The designation is in addition to UL’s existing roles as a notified body for CE marking, its approved body status for UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking and all its existing third-party certification services for the internationally recognised UL Mark.

Since Britain’s exit from the EU, conformity assessment and required conformity markings have become considerably more complex for many product manufacturers in the construction and fire safety sectors.

The UKCA mark is being introduced for products intended for the market in England, Scotland and Wales and will replace the European CE marking regime first introduced in 1985. UKCA marking will likely be mandatory for certain regulated products from 1st January 2023, following the UK Government’s recent agreement to extend this deadline for one year.

However, for manufacturers looking to place products in both British and European markets, assessments must be completed by both an EU-notified or technical assessment body for the CE marking and a UK-approved body for the UKCA marking. UL says it can now provide all options through a combined safety testing and certification assessment process, saving time and cost.

“UL is now a comprehensive service provider for conformity marking needs through our third-party testing, assessment and certification activities on a wide range of fire safety products in the U.K. and Europe,” says Chris Miles, EMEA Regional Business Director for UL’s Built Environment group.

He concludes: “This will deliver significant efficiencies and economies of scale for our customers, and vital safety reassurances to their customers, too. We would urge manufacturers looking to place fire safety products on the British market to start their UKCA marking applications soon – don’t wait until just before the revised deadline of 1st January 2023. And for products that already enjoy full market acceptance in the UK and Europe, we can help guide customers about additional market opportunities provided by the UL Mark in all other parts of the world.”


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