Manufacturers aiming global markets face the challenge of meeting different requirements simultaneously.

• In Latin America, it must meet International Electro technical Commission (IEC) standards and observe the national deviations: S Mark (for Argentina), INMETRO (NBR) standards (for Brazil) and the NOM Mark (for Mexico).
• In Europe, it must meet Harmonized Documents (HDs) based on European Norms (ENs) or the HAR Agreement.
• In North America, these products must conform to the UL Standards (for the United States) and the CSA standards (for Canada) .
• In many other countries, such as Japan and Australia, they must meet IEC standards, and any national deviations to these standards.

Typically, manufacturers produce different versions of the same cable for different markets, increasing the design and production costs. Those cables must then undergo multiple testing and certification, sometimes by laboratories and certifiers in different areas of world, before it can be offered in the marketplace.


Producing a cable for multiple markets

Although the requirements are different, including cable constructions and conductor measurement systems (American Wire Gauge vs. Metric), wire & cables can be designed to meet both requirements. Even if additional costs may be incurred at first, manufacturers producing single, "global" wire & cables can, ultimately, save money in design and production.

UL Staff can conduct a preliminary compliance review, to help the manufacturers to understand the differences in requirements for the different markets you wish to enter. Through such investigations, testing and certification of your wire & cables, UL can help you to achieve global acceptance for your products.

More information

For more information about certification of wire & cables, please, click here or follow the links to find additional information about:

• Appliance Wiring Material (AWM) & Cables
• LAN Cable Testing
• WireTalk - UL publication dedicated to this industry.
• Wire & cable marking guide
• Appliance Wiring Material (AWM) style number database

UL Affiliates can assist you to get the necessary certification for this product category.

Certification in Latin America

Mandatory Mandatory Mandatory