Agreement provides manufacturers of medical devices, household appliances and IT equipment with product safety testing services for market entry into Brazil.

Intertek Group has signed an agreement with Ibrace/ICBr, a leading certification body in Brazil, to provide manufacturers of medical devices, household appliances and IT equipment with product safety testing services for market entry into Brazil. This agreement also allows Intertek to provide Brazilian manufacturers with testing and approvals for markets such as North America, China, and the European Union.

The recently signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Intertek and Ibrace/ICBr enables Intertek to provide testing to local manufacturers and certification for Brazil via Ibrace/ICBr North American manufacturers may now submit products to one of Intertek's designated laboratories for the required testing to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards.

Once testing is completed, products found in compliance to applicable standards will be issued the necessary certifications by Ibrace/ICBr.

The applicant (manufacturer) will then be able to affix the required certification labels/marks.

Products covered under this agreement include medical equipment (IEC60601-2-x), household appliances (IEC60335-1 and IEC60335-2-x) and information technology equipment (IEC60950).

'The certification process for Brazil is very complex and time consuming for manufacturers unfamiliar with the regulatory agencies and procedures', says Bill Holz, Global Market Access Programme Manager, Intertek.

'This agreement provides our clients with a straight forward solution through Intertek that enables them to reach the Brazilian market faster and more cost effectively then had been possible in the past'.

Ibrace was founded in September 2001, and today is one of the leaders in the market of telecommunications products certifications in Brazil.

ICBr, founded in 2005, is an OCP (Organismo de Certificacao de Produtos) and is accredited by Inmetro for medical devices, computers and household appliances.

Both organisations have strong technical teams with considerable experience in certification of telecommunications, radio, medical and electronic products.

More than 4000 certifications have been issue by this team since 2001.

(Published by The Brazilian, May 29, 2007)