ICC Evaluation Service, Inc (ICC-ES) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL), announced that one of the leading building product manufacturers, United States Gypsum Co. (USG), is the first to have products assessed through the new Dual Evaluation and Certification Program receiving both the ICC-ES Mark for code compliance and the UL Mark for safety.
“Our company is privileged to be the first to have a product successfully pass under the new UL and ICC-ES Dual Evaluation and Certification Program,” said Robert Grupe, director, Architectural and Technical Solutions at USG. “As a global company, speed‐to‐market is important to us. The dual listing process helped us move through the certification process faster. Having one point of contact for both certification and evaluation helped maintain efficient communications and eliminate back end administrative time.”
The Dual Evaluation and Certification Program with ICC‐ES and UL launched in December 2009 to help building manufacturers show compliance with both standards and codes, through one point of contact. USG’s Fortacrete® Structural Panels were tested and certified to UL safety standards and evaluated to meet ICC‐ES acceptance criteria. The complying products will be posted in UL’s Online Certifications Directory and Code Correlation Database along with ICC‐ES’s online directory of evaluation reports and will be embedded in ICC’s e‐Codes Premium.
“In just a short time, we have seen a great response to the dual evaluation and certification partnership,” said Chris Hasbrook, vice president and general manager, UL Global Building Materials and Life Safety & Security Industries. “Manufacturers are concerned with two things: speed to market and providing safe, quality products. The Dual Evaluation and Certification Program is the solution to Industry needs.”
In addition to the Dual Evaluation and Certification Program for the building products industry, ICC‐ES and UL also established a Dual PMG Listing Program to verify that plumbing, mechanical and fuel gas products comply with applicable codes and standards.
“The partnership with Underwriters Laboratories has been tremendous,” said Mark Johnson, president, ICC‐ES. “Together we are able to better serve manufacturers, regulators, building officials, architects, contractors and insurers to make sure products are safe and code compliant as they are introduced to the marketplace.”
A nonprofit, public-benefit corporation, ICC-ES is the United States’ leading evaluation service for innovative building materials, components and systems. The ICC-ES Evaluation Reports® and PMG™ Listing Program provide evidence that products and systems meet requirements in codes and standards.
The ICC-ES SAVE Program provides verification that products have been independently verified as having the sustainable attributes claimed by the manufacturer to develop and advance sustainable design and construction. ICC‐ES® is a subsidiary of the International Code Council. For more information about ICC‐ES®, visit www.icc-es.org.
UL is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for more than a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems from more than 66,000 manufacturers’ each year. In total, there are more than 20 billion UL Marks appearing on products worldwide. UL’s global family of companies and network of service providers includes 120 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 102 countries. For more information, visit: http://www.ul.com/newsroom.
