UL said the UAE’s Civil Defense had approved the lab for testing the safety and performance of fire-resistant cables.
According to UL, the facility will allow manufacturers, brands and suppliers of fire-resistant cables in the Middle East to access a local lab when applying for a mandatory Civil Defense Certificate of Compliance.
Until now manufacturers exporting electronics products to market in the UAE had to conduct testing and certification at UL labs in the US and Canada.
Testing conducted within the Abu Dhabi facility adheres to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), British standards (BS) and European Standards (EN), UL said.
“The UAE strives to be one of the safest countries in the world, and that is why authorities such as the UAE Civil Defense were established,” said Sameer Abdul Salam, UL’s senior business development manager for the Middle East and Africa region. “To import, manufacture or sell fire safety products in the UAE and other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman, manufacturers must demonstrate the safety of their products through testing and certification through an approved testing laboratory and certification body.”
“Following the UAE Civil Defense’s extended approval of UL’s Abu Dhabi fire cables safety and performance laboratory, UL can simplify the process for manufacturers looking to import or sell their fire-resistant cables in the UAE and help them build trust in the safety of their products among their customers,” said Salam.
The new lab has the capability to test flame-retardant and fire-resistant cables, fire alarm cables, building wires with fire resistance ratings and fiber optic component cables with fire resistance ratings and busways. The lab can also accommodate tests to multiple standards for flame retardancy and fire resistance properties, including IEC, BS and EN.