UL Acquires Wiklund Research & Design, Adds Human Factors Engineering Expertise to Life & Health Offerings

NORTHBROOK, Ill. and CONCORD, Mass., Nov. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UL, a world leader in advancing safety, announced today the acquisition of Wiklund Research & Design, Inc., one of North America's leading providers of human factors engineering (HFE) to the life and health sector.  The addition positions UL to fully support medical and diagnostic device manufacturers as a single, trusted source of conformance and certification services across the entire product lifecycle.

Wiklund Research & Design provides user research, design support, evaluation and training services to assure medical device use-safety and usability.  Many leading life and health product manufacturers rely upon Wiklund Research & Design's usability testing services to verify compliance to North American and European regulatory standards.

"Joining UL is a natural fit for our team, and a significant benefit for our customers," said Michael Wiklund, founder and president of Wiklund Research & Design.  "We are now part of a wider breadth of medical and diagnostic device services, a deeper well of expertise, and the world's most trusted name in safety." 

"With the rapid pace of innovation in the life and health industry, manufacturers need a trusted partner to provide global market access and conformance seamlessly throughout the lifecycle of product development," said Hiroshi Yamaki, president of UL's Life & Health business unit.  "Human factors engineering was a missing piece for us, and in Wiklund Research & Design, we added one of the industry's market and thought leaders."

Wiklund Research & Design complements UL's existing file construction, analytical testing, risk management, and quality system offerings to round out a robust line of testing, conformance delivery, design support and advisory services for medical and diagnostic device manufacturers. Wiklund Research & Design is UL's third life and health conformance-related acquisition in 14 months, when MDT and MDRS were acquired in August 2011.

Michael Wiklund will continue to manage UL's human factors engineering operations. The business will remain headquartered in the Boston area.

About Wiklund Research & Design
Formed as an independent practice in 2004 and incorporated in 2005, Wiklund Research & Design, Inc. is a usability testing laboratory and user interface development advisory firm that helps clients develop safe, usable, and satisfying products. Wiklund Research & Design offers a wide range of human factors-related research, analysis, design support, and usability testing services. Additional information about Wiklund Research & Design may be found at www.wiklundrd.com.

About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than 118 years of history.  Employing more than 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