UL Solutions Opens Ningbo Retail and Consumer Products Laboratory to Help Manufacturers Advance Quality and Safety

News

UL Solutions Opens Ningbo Retail and Consumer Products Laboratory to Help Manufacturers Advance Quality and Safety

2025-03-26 06:59 Last Updated At：07:11

NORTHBROOK, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 25, 2025--

UL Solutions Inc. (NYSE: ULS), a global leader in applied safety science, announced the opening of its new Retail and Consumer Products Laboratory in Ningbo, China, supporting the rapidly evolving needs of the retail and consumer product industry marked by changes in consumer expectations, sourcing strategies, regulatory compliance and demand for sustainable and innovative products.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250313591336/en/

Strategically located in Ningbo, near the existing UL Solutions laboratory in Shanghai, the new 58,000-square-foot laboratory provides enhanced efficiency, faster response times and localized expertise to manufacturers in Greater China. This laboratory expands UL Solutions’ network in the Yangtze River Delta, a leading retail and consumer products manufacturing center, and is in close proximity to its existing laboratory in Shanghai.

“Today’s opening of our new Ningbo laboratory demonstrates our dedication to safety and excellence in the retail industry,” said Jennifer Scanlon, president and CEO of UL Solutions. “Our investment here is a testament to how we are advancing our capabilities, expertise and infrastructure to help enable retailers’ success, both now and in the future.”

The Ningbo facility offers a comprehensive suite of safety, quality, performance and chemical testing capabilities for textiles, footwear, furniture and electronics packaging under one roof, helping to streamline the testing process. Enhanced capabilities — such as newly added furniture flammability testing — support manufacturers from design to market launch. On-site subject matter experts will be available to collaborate with customers in real time, leveraging UL Solutions’ global safety science network of retail and consumer product experts, who work to foster collaboration among retailers, brands and suppliers to help address industry challenges.

“Our Ningbo laboratory reinforces our commitment to the retail and consumer product sectors and our many customers in the Greater China region,” said Weifang Zhou, executive vice president and president of Testing, Inspection and Certification at UL Solutions. “We are eager to continue to work with our customers and help them demonstrate compliance, enhance safety and drive sustainable growth and success.”

In the nearby Caohejing Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai, UL Solutions also serves the sector with its Retail and Consumer Test Laboratory, a 65,000-square-foot facility, which provides a comprehensive suite of safety, quality and performance testing services for retail and consumer products. The Shanghai facility tests products ranging from personal care products and jewelry to luggage and toys. These services include banned substance and chemical testing, functional and performance testing, stability testing, chemical management and ingredient reviews. UL Solutions recently added enhanced capabilities at the Shanghai facility to address dietary supplements, over-the-counter and pharmaceutical medications, cosmetics and personal care products.

In addition to the Ningbo and Shanghai facilities, UL Solutions offers retail and consumer product testing at 18 dedicated facilities globally. They are located near some of the world’s major retail and consumer product manufacturing centers, including Cabiate, Italy (near Milan); Dhaka, Bangladesh; Gurugram, India; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Lowell, Arkansas; and Shenzhen, China.

Find out more about UL Solutions services for the retail and consumer products industry. https://www.ul.com/industries/retail

About UL Solutions

A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions (NYSE: ULS) transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 110 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings, that support our customers’ product innovation and business growth. The UL Mark serves as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers’ products and reflects an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains, and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage.

Source Code: ULS-IR

Ilia Malinin cruises to 2nd straight title to cap an American gold rush at figure skating worlds

2025-03-30 10:09 Last Updated At：10:11

BOSTON (AP) — Ilia Malinin defended his world title with a free skate that earned a standing ovation inside TD Garden on Saturday night, capping a memorable home championships for the Americans, who won three gold medals in the four figure skating events to give them a wave of momentum heading into an Olympic year.

The 20-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, came up short in his try at a record seven quads — Malinin had to settle for a mere six after he popped a planned quad lutz. But it hardly mattered. He finished with a season-best 318.56 points after his free skate, set to “I'm Not a Vampire” by Falling In Reverse, to win his second gold medal by more than 31 points.

Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan jumped over Yuma Kagiyama and into second place with a sublime free skate, finishing with 287.47, while the reigning Olympic silver medalist from Japan wound up third with 278.19 points.

Earlier in the night, Madison Chock and Evan Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades when their jazzy free skate held off longtime Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

They set the stage for Malinin to join the American gold rush, one night after Alysa Liu's triumph in the women's event.

Malinin, who had about a three-point cushion on Kagiyama after his short program, oozed confidence as he swaggered toward the ice for his warm-up. And when former Olympic ice dancer Ben Agosto announced his name, and a second straight sellout in TD Garden roared, the self-styled “Quad God" suddenly appeared to be downright stoic preparing for his program.

The program itself? The kind of high-flying stuff nobody else can do these days.

Malinin hit his first four quads, including the axel that only he has ever landed in competition, before the only real misstep, when he doubled up the lutz. But he stayed in the moment, finishing the program to a roar of approval from the home fans.

He was already the favorite to win gold at the Milano-Cortina Olympics next year.

Now, the question is whether anybody else can even compete with him?

Chock and Bates finished with 222.06 points in the ice dance competition, while Gilles and Poirier took silver for the second straight year with 216.54. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson landed on the podium in third, earning Britain's first world medal of any color since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean finished their run of four straight ice dance titles in 1984.

Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov were the last to win three in a row, triumphing four straight times for Russia from 1994-97.

“Coming in here, we weren't thinking about a three-peat or any type of title defense. It was a standalone event,” Bates said. “We were prepared as we could possibly be and we skated as well as we could have.”

Now, Chock and Bates are ready to turn their attention to their biggest goal: the Winter Olympics in February.

The longtime partners have been on the stage before, and were part of the U.S. squad that won team gold at the 2022 Games in Beijing — following a protracted investigation into Russian doping. But for all their success, Chock and Bates have never stood on an Olympic podium in ice dance itself, finishing just off it in fourth place three years ago.

“I think the Olympic season certainly carries a different weight than the other three years,” Chock said. “You have this incredible opportunity to reach the entire world, and it makes it really special, because it amplifies our voices on and off the ice.”

The trip to Milan, Italy, is Malinin's primary focus, too. He was left off the team in Beijing despite finishing second at nationals that year, when U.S. Figure Skating opted for a more experienced lineup at the Winter Games.

“My focus on the Olympics will start at the beginning of next season, when the competitions start rolling around,” he said. “That is when I will have to start on strategy, making sure I like how the programs are, and how the jumps are going, and making sure that everything is comfortable before the Olympics.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports