ICC Evaluation Service Inc and Underwriters Laboratories announced that United States Gypsum Co. is the first to have products assessed through the new Dual Evaluation and Certification Program receiving both the ICC-ES Mark for code compliance and the UL Mark for safety.

“Our company is privileged to be the first to have a product successfully pass under the new UL and ICC-ES Dual Evaluation and Certification Program,” said Robert Grupe, director, Architectural and Technical Solutions at USG. “As a global company, speed-to-market is important to us. The dual listing process helped us move through the certification process faster. Having one point of contact for both certification and evaluation helped maintain efficient communications and eliminate back end administrative time.”

The Dual Evaluation and Certification Program launched in December 2009 to help building manufacturers show compliance with both standards and codes, through one point of contact. USG’s Fortacrete Structural Panels were tested and certified to UL safety standards and evaluated to meet ICC-ES acceptance criteria. The complying products will be posted in UL’s Online Certifications Directory and Code Correlation Database along with ICC-ES’s online directory of evaluation reports and will be embedded in ICC’s e-Codes Premium.

“In just a short time, we have seen a great response to the dual evaluation and certification partnership,” said Chris Hasbrook, vice president and general manager, UL Global Building Materials and Life Safety & Security Industries. “Manufacturers are concerned with two things: speed to market and providing safe, quality products. The Dual Evaluation and Certification Program is the solution to Industry needs.”