UL opens LV office

Tuesday, April 2, 2002 | 10:50 a.m.

Underwriters Laboratories Inc., an independent non-profit organization that has tested and certified products for safety for more than 105 years, has established an office in Las Vegas.

John Lechowicz, a safety engineer with UL for more than 20 years, is managing the one-person office, becoming the first permanently assigned UL employee in Southern Nevada.

Lechowicz said the organization determined that it was being asked to conduct enough tests and evaluations in the area to justify opening an office in Las Vegas.

He said on average, he conducts about four field tests a month on electronic systems with numerous components. Lechowicz said most of his testing involves electronic signs and message boards and industrial control panels for the growing Las Vegas business community.

"It made sense to open an office here rather than having the client incur the expense of an engineer flying up and back for a few days," Lechowicz said.

Lechowicz said most compliance work occurs in the factories where electronic systems are built, but some tests have to be completed after a product is installed.

Each year more than 17 billion UL marks are placed on a variety of products worldwide.

The Las Vegas office, which opened in January, has become a branch of UL's major laboratory in Santa Clara, Calif. The organization also has labs in Camas, Wash.; Northbrook, Ill.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Melville, N.Y. The local office is at 330 E. Warm Springs Road, Suite B-30, just west of Bermuda Road.