After years of testing products to certify their safety, Underwriters Laboratories is getting into the business of training people to install solar panels and other renewable energy products.
This week the nonprofit will open its first training and certification center at its Research Triangle Park facility. UL has converted some of its vacant space in RTP into a center where electrical inspectors and other personnel can get certified on how to install the latest solar, wind and electric vehicle systems.
UL sees a demand for providing a certification process for many of these newer technologies, said Patrick Boyle, president of UL University, which previously did only internal training. "It's not so much the product itself that is unsafe but the installation of the product is unsound," Boyle said. "And the unsound installation leads to electric shock or fire danger."
If the training and certification center is a success, UL hopes to open similar facilities at other sites around the world.
The expansion is especially positive given the growth potential of renewable energy, said Durham Mayor Bill Bell, who expects to attend a ceremony to open the facility Thursday.
The center in RTP won't greatly increase UL's local work force as most of the training will be done by existing engineers. But it does add another function at the 240,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 1986.
"If companies are reinvesting, it indicates that you'll have them for some extended period of time," said Rick Weddle, CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, which manages RTP. "This is the kind of place in which companies can evolve and transform themselves. There's a whole industry around measuring, designing, installing and understanding this type of clean technology."
A decade ago UL employed more than 500 people at its RTP facility. But the company slashed U.S. jobs as it followed many of its manufacturing customers to overseas markets.
UL now employs about 300 at its RTP facility. The Northbrook, Ill.-based nonprofit has 7,000 employees worldwide and product-testing labs in 25 countries.
Boyle said a new management team has helped UL turn itself around. He said annual revenue has increased to more than $1 billion from $600 million five years ago.
UL's services are particularly in demand in China, where manufacturers need the nonprofit's certification if they want to export products to the United States.
UL gets the majority of its revenue from manufacturers whose products it tests and certifies. Boyle said training and certification have the potential to be a lucrative new market, particularly if UL expands to other areas beyond renewable energy systems.
