Accreditation slashes Middle East export certification period by half as company targets regional market

An exterior view of LS Electric's Power Test & Technology center. [LS Electric]
An exterior view of LS Electric's Power Test & Technology center. [LS Electric]

By Park Hye-won, The Herald Business

LS Electric announced Monday that its Power Test & Technology center (PT&T) has obtained accreditation from the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) of the United Arab Emirates.

DEWA sets the standards for business models, technical specifications and system requirements across the power markets of all six Gulf Cooperation Council member states, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. With the new accreditation, LS Electric can now conduct the power equipment certification process required for Middle East exports directly at its PT&T facility in Cheongju.

PT&T, the only privately operated power testing laboratory in South Korea, was established in 1999 and has since secured accreditation under major global standards, including UL of the United States, ASTA of the United Kingdom and VDE of Germany. In 2023, the company scaled up the facility's capacity to 4,000 MVA, placing it among the top six power equipment testing laboratories in the world.

The Middle East market is known for its stringent certification requirements, demanding Full Type Test reports that verify safety and performance, as well as accreditation from designated testing bodies, as conditions for participating in power equipment tenders.

By handling the certification process for Middle East exports in-house, LS Electric said it can cut the time required for certification by roughly half, eliminating the need to go through external agencies. The company added that it has also significantly reduced the time and cost involved from product development through to local market response.

LS Electric said it plans to step up its push into the Middle East market by expanding its local sales network through partnerships and deploying region-specific marketing strategies.

"This is a remarkable achievement that officially demonstrates the world-class testing capabilities of PT&T in the Middle East itself," a company official said. "We will leverage our technological edge, recognized in global markets, and a thorough localization strategy to gain the upper hand in competition for large-scale Middle East power infrastructure projects."


klee@heraldcorp.com