Underwriters Laboratories Strengthens Presence In Global Water Division By Hiring Industry Veteran

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Dr.Rao joins Underwriters Laboratories (UL) water division as Head – Water solutions at UL’s office in India. Prior to this appointment Dr. Rao was with Givaudan and was responsible for Regulatory Affairs and Product Safety (RAPS) for India Operations and helped to develop and maintain Quality Systems. At UL, he will work to develop and expand UL’s water business in India.

Bangalore, December 24, 2008: Dr.T.N.V.V.Rao joins Underwriters Laboratories (UL) water division as Head – Water solutions at UL’s office in India. Prior to this appointment Dr. Rao was with Givaudan and was responsible for Regulatory Affairs and Product Safety (RAPS) for India Operations and helped to develop and maintain Quality Systems. At UL, he will work to develop and expand UL’s water business in India.

Dr. Rao began his career with Eureka Forbes Ltd. in 1991. During his tenure there, he successfully established a laboratory for water testing and evaluation of water purification systems. In March 1995 he moved to Sanmar Specialty chemical Pvt Ltd and handled various projects on water including one on Effluent Treatment plant etc. He returned to Eureka Forbes in 1998 and helped to establish and Head ‘World class Water Testing and Research Laboratory’ (Aqua diagnostics water Research and technology Centre of Eureka Forbes Ltd, Bangalore). Key highlights of his 11-year tenure there included developing new technologies for water purification, working with BARC technology to develop ultra filtration based low cost water purifier and worked closely with Prof. T.Pradeep of IIT Chennai on collaborative work on nano technology.

In February 2006, he moved to Givaudan and was responsible for developing Quality systems, maintain Global KPIs and co-ordinate with Global Quality Team for implementation of Quality Systems. With over 17 years of industry experience, Dr. Rao is a veteran in the field of research and quality management. He has worked on various research projects studying industrial effluent hazardous, underground water table, Environmental Impact Assessment, etc. He has acquaintance with a number of modern instruments used in the field of quality management and also has a number of magazines with his papers published including ‘Desalination’, Asian Environment, ‘Inland water resources: India’.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Venkitachalam, Vice President & Managing Director, UL Emerging Markets, said,” Water quality management is an essential but untapped market in India. We are focussed on establishing UL as a leader in water quality and Dr. Rao will help our initiative as he brings along vast experience and knowledge in the field of water quality management and testing procedures.”

Jeff Smith, General Manager, UL Global Water Business stated, “Dr. Rao is a key strategic addition to the water team. His knowledge and experience of the water industry in India further positions UL to expand globally in this market.”

Dr. Rao, Head-Water Solutions said, “UL has been a crusader for safety practices and has earned global acceptance. They have strict safety certification procedures and are focussed on their strategic initiatives and have excellent research division and technology support. It’s a challenge and opportunity to explore the Indian market under the UL guidance. My mandate will be to take UL’s water business to the next level in India. “

Mr. Rao is a Certified Lead Auditor for OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and safety Assessment Systems) and also has Ph.D in Environmental Chemistry from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.

About UL:

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 21 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers’ products each year. UL’s worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 62 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 99 countries.

For further details, please contact:

Mariam Joseph/Reby Abraham
Hanmer MS&L
M-9892511933/9930390608