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UL, a global safety science leader, has officially opened a new laboratory in Querétaro, Mexico. The facility, 221 kilometers (137 miles) northwest of Mexico City, is one of the first multi-national testing laboratories to open in Mexico. It tests for product safety and performance for the Mexico market, as well as for export to the United States, Canada, and countries throughout Latin America. 

"Today marks an exciting new day in our three-decade relationship with Mexico as we open UL's newest state-of-the-art laboratory in Querétaro," said Jennifer Scanlon, president, and CEO, of UL Inc. "Given our mission of working for a safer world, UL is dedicated to using its testing and certification expertise to help manufacturers in Mexico grow and prosper by helping to bring their innovations to market quickly and safely."

Located in the Kaizen Industrial Park complex and near the Querétaro International Airport, the new laboratory sits within one of Mexico's leading manufacturing hubs. The laboratory houses testing facilities for engineered materials, wire and cable, appliances, lighting, refrigeration, and consumer technologies. With Mexico ranked as one of the world's top exporters in the automotive industry, UL's experts will utilize state-of-the-art customized equipment to provide automotive materials testing.

The laboratory offers local testing for the UL Mark for the U.S. and Canada. Upon accreditation approval, it will also offer the Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOM) mark in Mexico and Latin American testing services.

"Adding testing capabilities in Mexico will strengthen our ability to help customers export products to the United States, Canada, and other Latin American countries while meeting safety and performance testing and certification needs in Mexico," said Weifang Zhou, UL's executive vice president and president of Testing, Inspection, and Certification. "UL's presence in Mexico means that local manufacturers have a global partner to help them navigate regulatory landscape complexities throughout the Americas."

In addition to Scanlon and Zhou, the grand opening included a ceremony with Héctor Guerrero Herrera, undersecretary of Industry and Commerce, Office of the Mexico Secretary of the Economy, Steve Conlon, counselor for Science and Technology, U.S. Embassy to Mexico, Rodolfo Flores, UL's regional director for Latin America, and Todd Denison, UL's senior vice president of Global Regions. The event also included a special opening day visit by Mauricio Kuri, governor of the State of Querétaro.

The opening of the new laboratory builds upon UL's three decades in Mexico. UL has a well-established engineering and customer service office in Mexico City and an engineering team in Querétaro. The laboratory establishes UL's commitment to Mexico and the entire Latin American market.

"UL's Querétaro laboratory demonstrates our commitment to offering high-performance services to manufacturers in Mexico from a single source and at one location for testing and inspection," said Flores. "It also demonstrates our commitment to empowering manufacturers with shorter development cycles, a faster time-to-market, and the ability to be more competitive in the global marketplace."

UL operates in over 140 locations in more than 40 countries across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Africa with more than 14,000 scientists, engineers, problem solvers, and innovators who partner with customers to unlock their potential by empowering them to demonstrate safety, enhance sustainability and strengthen security. UL works with 60% of Global 500 and Fortune 500 companies, the largest companies in the world and whose quality standards are often benchmarks for other ones. In addition to UL's presence in Mexico, the company's Latin American operations include facilities in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia.