Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

About UL | Careers | Contact Us

Underwriters Laboratories to streamline RTP operations

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Aug. 3, 2004 - Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) today announced that it is streamlining its Research Triangle Park, N.C., operations to focus on providing certification services to a number of high-tech industries in the Southeast. In doing so, the not-for-profit product safety testing organization will transfer much of its existing RTP operations to UL facilities in Northbrook, Ill., and Melville, N.Y.

As part of the realignment, approximately 175 to 200 of the RTP facility's current 371 jobs will be eliminated during the next 12 months, the company said.

UL's RTP laboratory will continue to serve customers throughout the Southeast that manufacture high-tech products such as medical devices, telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and appliances. The site will also continue to test life jackets.

"During the past two years UL has improved both our internal processes and our technology," said August Schaefer, senior vice president with responsibility for U.S. operations. "By consolidating operations at our two full-service labs and developing smaller, highly focused labs like the RTP facility, UL is better able to meet the growing demand for our services in the United States as well as the demands of public safety. Our customers value UL's expertise, and these changes will ensure that we use that expertise most efficiently."

Schaefer noted that UL's U.S. operations posted record gains during the first half of 2004 and that the company continues to grow globally in excess of 12 percent annually. "Many of our traditional U.S.-based customers have relocated their manufacturing facilities overseas and are requesting that we provide safety certification services locally," he said. "As we become more efficient in the United States, we are also increasing our presence in those markets."

The reduction in force at the RTP site is part of a decision announced in May to reduce UL's U.S. work force by 750 employees by the end of June 2005. UL currently employs 5,875 people worldwide. Of that, 3,660 are employed in the United States.

UL first came to RTP in 1986 with the construction of 110,000 square feet of lab and office space, followed by a 112,000 square-foot addition in 1992. The site, located at 12 Laboratory Dr., also has specialized 4,000 square-foot and 5,000 square-foot facilities to provide electromagnetic compatibility and NEBS testing for the telecommunications industry.

Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, not-for-profit product safety certification organization that has been testing products for more than 110 years. UL tests more than 18,000 types of products annually, and more than 19 billion UL Marks appear on products each year. Worldwide, UL's family of companies and its network of service providers include 60 laboratories, and testing and certification facilities.

Top of Page