UL Apex, UL's wholly owned company in Japan, opened a new office in Tokyo in January to provide better support to those manufacturing industries it serves. Located near the Tokyo train station, the new Tokyo office accommodates functions including Sales & Marketing and Field Services and houses the Tokyo Inspection Center and the Label Center.

UL International Czech s.r.o. is now open for business in Prague, the Czech Republic, following the establishment of UL Polska in Warsaw - an action that mirrors UL's strategy for further expansion in the Eastern European region.

UL professionals led by Vlastimil Riedl, Managing Director of UL International Czech s.r.o, now serves Czech customers locally in their own language. He can be contacted by phone on +42-22-0105-364 or e-mail at Vlastimil.Riedl@cz.ul.com.

UL announced it would support a project of the Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, to design cost-effective ways to distribute drinking water in the slums of Mumbai, India. UL will provide a grant of US $25,000 for supporting the project staff to conduct on-site research and develop new water-delivery concepts.