In many ways, UL certification sets the baseline of quality and safety for today’s custom electronics contract manufacturers. Many product applications require UL certified products, while other applications expect UL certification as standard.

 

At Pergamon Corporation, we strive to provide the highest quality custom production solutions possible – tracked, backed, and guaranteed by one of the electronics sector’s most rigorous quality control systems.

Our holistic commitment to quality and consistency includes the manufacturing of your UL certified products. UL certified product development services are just one of the many ways that Pergamon ensures superior results.

What Is the UL Certification System?

The UL organization has published a multitude of quality certification standards dating all the way back to 1903. Essentially, the organization’s self-stated goal is to “employ exacting scientific processes and the highest ethical principles” to commercial manufacturing processes, thereby setting an industry standard for quality, efficiency and sustainability.

UL publishes a list of their certified products, which is accessible and searchable by the public to promote transparency.

What Is Required for a Product to Be Labeled as “UL Certified”?

A company whose product is under a valid and current listing is permitted to label their product with the UL mark. For a listing to remain valid, the provider has to pay to have their manufacturing processes inspected periodically by UL technicians.

In the case of American contract manufacturers such as Pergamon, UL inspections will be performed regularly at the manufacturer’s facility to ensure finely integrated in-house quality control.

What Do UL Certification Inspections Entail?

When the UL inspector comes to our facility, the inspection is for one or more specific products – i.e. not our manufacturing processes in general. The UL agents ensure that we are building each product to the precise same specifications that were provided to them when they performed the original evaluation on which the listing is based.

How Does UL Certification Apply to Different Electronics Manufacturing Industries?

Certain safety-critical components and their respective manufacturers are separately inspected and/or tested by UL. These components are referred to as “UL recognized” and have their own public database, similar to but separate from the UL-listing database of products.

  • Manufacturers of 1) wire / cable assemblies and 2) bare PCBs are treated separately because these are almost always critical components but it’s more appropriate to certify the manufacturing processes rather than the specific products.
  • In the case of bare board suppliers, there is a separate public database. This is a common source of confusion when customers or prospects ask us about UL. If you see the terms “UL796” or “yellow card”, that’s a sign they’re referring to a bare board manufacturer’s UL certification.
  • Finally, label printing companies who are authorized to print the UL mark are inspected separately. This is both to ensure they’re using approved materials and printing processes (for permanence of the safety labeling), but also so that UL can take immediate action against any fraudulent company that tries to cheat and put the UL mark on unauthorized products.

Superior Electronics Engineering and Manufacturing Services

If your prototype or production project requires responsive UL certified product development expertise, look no further than the innovative electronic engineering team at Pergamon Corporation.