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Underwriters Laboratories President and CEO to retire today

NORTHBROOK, Ill., USA - Aug. 31, 2004: Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) today announced that Loring Knoblauch, the company’s president and CEO, will retire effective immediately.

Knoblauch, 62, joined the not-for-profit product testing and certification organization as president and CEO in April of 2001. He said that his decision is driven by his desire to spend more time with his family after recently battling cancer. “While my post-surgical check-ups have been most encouraging, all of this works quite profound changes in how I look at the world and what is important to me and my family going forward,” Knoblauch stated in an announcement to employees. He went on to state that he has enjoyed being part of the company; however, he and his wife, Carol, want to enjoy their grandchildren, travel and other interests.

Knoblauch’s departure comes at a time when UL is experiencing strong growth in its business, with revenues up more than 12 percent in 2004.

Fred Marcon, chairman of UL’s Board of Trustees, will work with the company’s top management to lead UL while the Board searches for Knoblauch’s successor. The Board has formed a search committee to identify potential candidates.

Knoblauch is UL’s ninth president and CEO. Before joining UL, Knoblauch served as president and CEO of Talon Automated Equipment Company, a privately held manufacturer of industrial processing equipment. Prior to that, he served for three years as Hubbell Inc.'s president of International Operations. He also spent 20 years with Honeywell International, where he held a broad range of top management positions, including president of Honeywell Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) and vice president of International Business Development (Minneapolis, Minn., USA).

“Loring came on board Underwriters Laboratories three and a half years ago at a time when change was required to maintain UL’s dominant position in its market,” Marcon commented. “Under his leadership UL has had its strongest ever year-over-year growth in both revenue and operating profit. Simultaneously, Loring drove several change initiatives resulting in a more customer focused, global UL. While we are sorry to see Loring go, we appreciate all of his hard work and commitment over the past few years. He has made a lasting impact on Underwriters Laboratories Inc. and we wish him and his family only the best.”

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.

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