UL announced that its laboratory in Gavirate (Italy) is the first third-party lab outside Egypt authorized by the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) to conduct testing and issue relevant test reports according to Egyptian Energy Efficiency and performance standards. The UL staff received this recognition to help with the increased need for non-Egyptian manufacturers to have a trusted partner to enter the Egyptian market in a safer, more sustainable way. This recognition involves main household appliances in several categories, including refrigerators, freezers, and fridge-freezers; washing machines and washer-dryers; dishwashers and electrical ovens, all of which represent the core business of UL’s highly specialized Gavirate lab. Recently, the process of accessing the Egyptian market was changed and reorganized: the Minister officially released a decree aimed at creating uniformity and standardization.
Below are the key changes introduced by the decree and considered by appliances manufacturers and importers wishing to introduce products in Egypt:
-Manufacturers are required to submit test reports issued by EOS accredited laboratories according to the applicable Egyptian standards (tests conducted by non-EOS recognized laboratories will no longer be accepted).
-Manufacturers or local importers can apply the EE Label only after approval by EOS and after the relevant energy efficiency license has been issued.
-EOS is the only organization authorized to issue an EE License and the relevant Energy Label.
-Manufacturers, importers and third-party bodies may apply for EE Certification following the EOS procedure.
-Each product can be tracked via the barcode on the label to allow anyone to verify that product has been registered.
-An online database of all certified products, where these products can be found through their barcodes, is available here: https://eos-eg.net/search/generate. A new online system will soon allow users to verify a copy of the EE License and of the relevant EE label.
“In this scenario – UL commented – becoming the first third party lab outside Egypt authorized by EOS is a great honour and represents a great opportunity for UL as it is the first European and global laboratory achieving this recognition. Most importantly, this recognition represents an important benefit for manufacturers who work with UL as they will be able to complete their safety certification process and obtain the EE Label from one trusted source. Additionally, they will only need to ship samples to one single location of an already well-known laboratory, making the entire process faster and easier than ever. Finally, UL customers will, in most cases, also be able to complete one single certification process to access different countries. So, both manufacturers who enter the Egyptian market for the first time and those who know this market already can find a great partner in UL.”
Below are the main Egyptian Energy Efficiency and Performance Standards to which the Gavirate lab can conduct tests and issue relevant test reports:
Standard for household refrigerators, refrigerators-freezers and freezers, ES 3794/2018
Standard for residential dishwashers, ES 7820/2014
Standard for household washing machines, ES 4100/2006
Standard for domestic ovens, ES 8058/2017.
“With this new recognition, we are further expanding our testing and certification capacities in Europe to improve how we serve market demand – said Domenico Chicco, global business development manager for UL’s Appliances division -. The creation of a European hub to cover all the Energy Efficiency and Performance testing needs of the appliances sector allows us to offer high-performance services to European manufacturers locally and to global ones in general, which simplifies the process by providing testing and certifications from a single source.”
