UL Acquires Germany-Based eco-INSTITUT, Deepening Indoor Air Quality Expertise and Expanding Global Testing Services

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NORTHBROOK, Ill. and COLOGNE, Germany, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UL, a world leader in advancing safety, announced today the acquisition of eco-INSTITUT, a leading product emissions and chemical content testing provider based in Cologne, Germany. The combined expertise of eco-INSTITUT and UL uniquely positions UL as a full-service provider for clients looking to test and certify to any major North American and European product emissions standard.

"UL is committed to facilitating the creation of healthier indoor environments by both advancing the science of indoor air quality and widening market preference for manufacturers of healthier, low-emitting products," said Sara Greenstein, president of UL Environment. "By combining eco-INSTITUT with UL, we can provide European manufacturers with instant access to the global marketplace via local experts with regional and international market savvy."

eco-INSTITUT's state-of-the-art testing facilities and expert team are relied upon by manufacturers across Europe to analyze the chemical emissions of construction materials, furniture, bedding, floor coverings and other consumer goods, certifying products to more than a dozen nationally and internationally recognized indoor air quality standards.  eco-INSTITUT also issues its own leadership label for low chemical emissions, which currently appears on more than 180 products.

The acquisition of eco-INSTITUT uniquely positions UL as the world's only one-stop source for testing and certification to the following:

• AgBB
• BIFMA
• Blue Angel
• CA 01350
• CRI
• EU Ecolabel "Flower"
• French emissions regulations
• GEV EMICODE®
• GREENGUARD Certification
• natureplus® quality label
• U mark/DiBt & CE marking

eco-INSTITUT marks UL's second acquisition in the product emissions testing and indoor air quality certification arena, following the additions of North American emissions testing leader Air Quality Sciences and its certifying body, the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute, in February 2011. Together, UL and eco-INSTITUT become the world's leading product emissions evaluator in capabilities, resources, and global market access.

"This union is a big win for our team, for our loyal customers, and for anybody concerned about the chronic deterioration of our indoor air quality," said Dr. Frank Kuebart, managing director of eco-INSTITUT. "We are excited to help UL apply its global reputation in safety science to improving environmental health, safety, and sustainability."

eco-INSTITUT will join the Environment business unit of UL, which is dedicated to advancing global sustainability, environmental health, and safety by supporting the growth and development of environmentally-preferable products, services, and organizations.  Dr. Kuebart will continue to lead the operations of eco-INSTITUT in Cologne, and report to Henning Bloech, UL Environment's commercial director for Europe and Asia.

The addition will also bolster UL's global textile testing offerings with a high-caliber German laboratory. eco-INSTITUT provides a robust line of quality assurance evaluation services for textiles, including chemical testing capabilities.

About eco-INSTITUT GmbH

eco-INSTITUT is a full-service product emissions and textile chemical testing laboratory based in Cologne, Germany, providing chemical emissions testing, external quality inspections, chemical content and analysis, indoor air analysis and advisory services. Since 1988, eco-INSTITUT has been relied upon by European manufacturers to analyze the chemical emissions and content of built environment products and consumer goods.  

eco-INSTITUT is accredited to certify products to a multitude of national and international indoor air quality (IAQ) standards such as Blue Angel, DiBt's U mark, AgBB, Natureplus, the EU Eco Flower, GEV-Emicode, CE, the Golden M, QUL, the Cork logo, Naturtextil, Organic textile Label, Oko Control, AFSSET, French A+ label, and BIFMA. eco-INSTITUT also features its own certification standard for products that have met leadership chemical emissions and content criteria.  For more information, visit: www.eco-INSTITUT.de.

About UL

UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than 117 years of history.  Employing more than 9,000 professionals in over 100 countries, UL has five distinct business units -- Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, Knowledge Services and Verification Services – to meet the expanding needs of our customers and to deliver on our public safety mission. Additional information about UL may be found at UL.com.

SOURCE UL