Under Fire

摘要

Loring knoblauch already had enough on his plate when prostate surgery laid him low for three weeks in April. While his chances for a full recovery are excellent, the same is hard to say about Underwriters Laboratories, the 110-year-old product-testing outfit in Northbrook, Ill. that Knoblauch joined as chief executive in early 2001. Underwriters, best known for the tiny UL logo that appears on 19 billion new products each year, is the largest operation of its kind in the world, with 60 labs, $600 million in revenue and 6,000 employees. Its mission is to keep dangerous products out of the marketplace. Its engineers recently torched 4,000 tires at once to test the sprinkler heads in a mock BFGoodrich warehouse. They cooked 1,200 pounds of french fries before okaying a commercial exhaust hood. They simulated stray radio tower signals in UL's echo-free chamber (pictured here) out-side Chicago to make sure the signals wouldn't accidentally trigger a car's air bag. UL gets fees for testing, issuing certifications and making unannounced factory visits ― thousands a year worldwide. It also writes safety standards. All this public service, which began as an effort by insurers (underwriters, that is) to reduce damage claims, earns UL its not-for-profit status.