UL Technical Symposium 2014 – Knowledge booster for the industry

Known for quality assurance, testing, inspection and certification for the textiles, apparel and footwear industries, UL (Underwriters Laboratories) recently organized Technical Symposium 2014 in Gurgaon to spread awareness and update on recent changes in norms regarding ban on chemicals. A large number of softlines and toys manufacturers participated enthusiastically, representatives from export houses and buying offices like Shahi, Orient Craft, Matrix Clothing, Richa, Triburg, Li & Fung, Impulse and Metro MGB, also participated.

Full of thoughts, updates and business relevant information, the symposium covered various aspects like regulatory requirements, global market trends, quality, etc. UL Global President for Consumer Products, Dr. Joohong Song shared the importance of Indian vendors with his vision for India and UL Global network which was quite motivating. Detail and in-depth discussion on chemical and regulatory requirements in Europe and America in Softline, Children’s and Toys (TJC) products by UL Global technical experts from Europe & US, Dr. Anne Bonhoff, Global Head of Chemistry and Susan DeRagon, Senior Technical Consultant, Toys & Premiums brought out the seriousness of Europe and America on such issues and challenges for the Indian vendors. Speakers explained how UL can be a helping hand for them in such issues. It was heartening to see that industry is concerned, not just because of buyer’s compellation, but even on its own towards sustainability as their questions were clearly showing the same spirit.

The session on global market trends in American and German markets, key global retailers’ growth strategy and their quality requirements by Gary Langbo (Global VP – Retail Sales) and Matthias Rosenthal (Business Development Manager – Germany) highlighted various trends across the world. Interesting questions were raised by the participants and answered by both speakers. Mickey Yu, VP & GM –Asia and Vinod Kumar, Director-Business Development, India also cleared the participants’ doubts which proved a good knowledge pack for industry representatives. Suresh Sugavanam, VP & MD (South Asia) explained UL-India footprints in various business lines and consumer products specifically.