UL (safety organization)

UL Solutions Inc.
FormerlyUnderwriters Laboratories, UL LLC
Company typePublic
NYSE: ULS
Founded1894; 130 years ago (1894)
FounderWilliam Henry Merrill
Headquarters
Northbrook, Illinois
,
U.S.
Area served
125 countries
Key people
Jennifer Scanlon (President and CEO)
RevenueIncrease US$2.68 billion (2023)[1]
Decrease US$276 million (2023)[2]
Number of employees
15,000+ (2024)[2]
ParentUnderwriters Laboratories Inc. (non-profit)[3]
SubsidiariesFuturemark
Websitewww.ul.com Edit this at Wikidata

The UL enterprise[4] is a global private safety company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, composed of three organizations, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL Solutions.

Established in 1894, the UL enterprise was founded as the Underwriters' Electrical Bureau (a bureau of the National Board of Fire Underwriters),[5] and was known throughout the 20th century as Underwriters Laboratories. On January 1, 2012, Underwriters Laboratories became the parent company of a for-profit company in the U.S. named UL LLC, a limited liability company, which took over the product testing and certification business. On June 26, 2022, the companies rebranded into three distinct organizations that make up the UL enterprise.

The company is one of several companies approved to perform safety testing by the U.S. federal agency Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).[6] OSHA maintains a list of approved testing laboratories, which are known as Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories.[7] According to Lifehacker, UL Solutions is the best-known product safety and certification organization globally.[8]

  1. ^ Jain, Pratik; Saini, Manya (2024-04-12). "UL Solutions valued at $6.8 bln in strong debut on NYSE". Reuters.
  2. ^ a b Lipschultz, Bailey; Or, Amy (2024-04-12). "Safety Firm UL Solutions Jumps 23% After $946 Million IPO". Bloomberg News.
  3. ^ "Entity change to UL LLC Letter" (PDF). Pbadupws.nrc.gov. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  4. ^ Solutions, UL Research Institutes, UL Standards & Engagement and UL (27 June 2022). "UL Enterprise Launches New Brands". WFMZ.com. Retrieved 2022-08-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "History". UL. Retrieved 2017-03-05.
  6. ^ "Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories – Underwriters Laboratories Inc". United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTLs) – Current List". Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  8. ^ Yuko, Elizabeth (2022-06-11). "What 'UL Listed' Means on Electronics, and Why You Should Look for It". Lifehacker. Retrieved 2022-06-11.