Shawpak has achieved certification by UL Solutions, as an authorised UL approved panel manufacturer, to UL standards 508A.
UL 508A is the standard for, ‘Safety For Industrial Control Equipment’, and covers industrial control and related devices rated to 1500 volts or less used for starting, stopping, regulating, controlling, or protecting electric motors.
Panels can now be designed, manufactured, and built in-house, compliant to UL 508A standards and shipped to the United States. This was required for establishing and maintaining standards related to safety protocols and compliance.
Chris Scopes, engineer director, "Gaining UL Certification allows Shawpak the ability to maintain full control of the entire electrical design phase of a machine."
As UL is a nationally recognised testing authority in the US, it was important for Shawpak to achieve the accreditation. Due to increasing orders from the United States for Shawpak’s range of packaging machinery, it was critical that we developed our processes to ensure compliancy to UL standards on panel manufacturing.
Shawpak’s electrical team underwent training and appointed Darryl Orridge, electrical design engineer, as UL MTR (Manufacturers Technical Representative). As well as training, Darryl carried out an examination to qualify for the certification. Soon after, documentation and schematics were submitted for the first IPI (Initial Product Inspection), to undergo testing against standards developed by UL. For the next three years, Shawpak has accreditation to manufacture panels and will be subject to quarterly inspections by UL Field Services to ensure compliance consistency is maintained.
This process has given standardisation to procedures and allows Shawpak the capacity to apply UL principles and standards to panels, which are fitted in the Shawpak Range of Packaging Machinery.
Along with UL certification Shawpak recently completed the implementation of Allen-Bradley as its standard control system on all new machines. Standardisation of our technical processes is critical for our continued growth and increase of machinery orders