UL Acquires ICQ Global, Extends Global Reach for Toy, Softlines and Consumer Product Testing
Accredited Italian laboratory bolsters UL's verification services for international suppliers, manufacturers and retailers
NORTHBROOK, Ill. and CABIATE, Italy, Aug. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UL, a world leader in advancing safety, announced today the acquisition of ICQ Global, a leading consumer product testing provider based in Italy, with presence in Africa, Asia and the United States. The addition will bolster UL's European and Asian footprints, and global quality and performance assurance services across the consumer product supply chain.
Relied upon by many of Europe's top consumer brands and retailers, ICQ Global performs electrical, chemical, physical, flammability, microbiological, and other performance tests to assure product conformance to national and international consumer standards. ICQ Global tests a wide variety of products, including toys, promotional products, textiles, cosmetics, food contact material, construction products, furniture, packaging materials, paints and varnishes.
"By joining UL, our people and customers will benefit from deeper expertise, more services, and a broader reach across the world and the consumer product value chain," said Natale Consonni, president of ICQ Global. "This is an exciting time for our organization, and for our customers seeking even greater differentiation and market access."
"ICQ Global is a highly impressive company that has built strong bonds with its customers through integrity, technical acumen and excellent customer service," said Sajeev Jesudas, president of UL Verification Services. "As we advance our commitment to delivering trust and assurance throughout the consumer product supply chain, ICQ Global is both a great strategic and cultural fit."
ICQ Global becomes UL's fourth quality assurance testing acquisition in the past year. The Quality Assurance (QA) business of STR Holdings joined UL in August 2011, followed by Bangladesh-based Magnus Textile Services and Germany-based eco-INSTITUT earlier this year.
ICQ Global is recognized as an approved testing laboratory by numerous national and international bodies across Europe, the United States (CPSC), Brazil (CGCRE), Hong Kong (HOKLAS) and others. ICQ Global will continue to operate from its facilities in Italy and Hong Kong.
About ICQ Global
ICQ Global is one of the most respected independent quality and performance testing laboratories for toys, furniture, clothing and other consumer products, verifying product conformity and assurance to national and international requirements, building a distinctive expertise for qualifying children products. ICQ Global holds accreditations to CGCRE (Coordenacao Geral de Acreditacao de Laboratorios) – Brazil, U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), ACCREDIA, European Commission Toy Certification, International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) for packaging tests, American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) and Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (HOKLAS).
About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than a century. Employing nearly 10,000 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
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