Before equipment like wax melters and pumpers can be sold in the European Union, they must comply with all the health and safety regulations that are included in the current legislation.
These are not just guidelines. They’re mandatory directives for equipment that will be operated in the EU.
Compliance with all these regulations is represented by the CE Mark. This mark is the standard throughout Europe and it allows products or equipment to be exported to the countries in the Union.
While these requirements can be very strict, it has, in some ways, made things easier on exporters like Coogar Products.
There was a time when companies that wanted to export this kind of equipment to a European country would have to conform to different national laws for each individual country. Now, the CE Mark means there is only one standard that must be met in order market and export melters and mixing pumpers to every country in the EU.
Enforcing the Regulations
As we stated earlier, this is not a voluntary or optional thing when you want to sell equipment to Europe. Compliance is required and enforced on the national level.
This means that if you fail to get the CE Mark, your products could be held up at the port of entry, be subject to heavy fines, and even be removed from the market in some extreme cases.
It is certainly worth the effort to be completely compliant before you begin branching out into the EU marketplace.
How We Achieved Our Certification
To start the certification process, we first had to determine which directives were applicable to our specific products. There are three that apply to our corner of the industry:
- Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC
- Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU
- Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC
There are also a number of main standards that must be considered, which include: EN ISO 12100-1:2010, EN 60204-1 2006, EN 61000-6-2:2005, EN 61000-6-4:2007/A1:2011.
There are a range of processes that must be completed to show that we remain compliant with the directives of the EU. These processes include performing a hazard analyses, showing that we understand all the relevant directives, getting testing and reports from a third party, and completing an application for the CE Mark.
Once these processes are completed and the standards are met, we must sign a Declaration of Conformity statement which says that our equipment complies with all these directives and standards. This is the document that customs officials will be most interested in, but it must also be provided to the end-users of our equipment.
The proof that we are in compliance with all these directives comes in the form of a Technical File. This is basically all the documentation that is necessary to show how the product works, the risk assessments that were performed, the results of third-party tests, and more. It can include drawings, schematics, reports, operations manuals, and anything else that may be required to show that we understand the directives and have done everything possible to ensure the safety of our products.
A Note On Markets Outside the EU
From our past experience the CE marking has been recognized in Asia and South American countries. They recognize this marking because they understand the standards that the equipment has to meet to become CE certified.
Why It’s Important to Maintain Certification
The main benefit of acquiring the CE Mark is, obviously, that it allows us to make our products available all throughout the European Union. Wax, candle makers, soap makers and cosmetics companies throughout Europe will have the same access to these products as anyone else in the world.
For us, at Coogar Products, it has been a great benefit since it allows us to ship our equipment to the 30 countries of the European Economic Area while following a single set of requirements. No longer do we have to wade through the confusing and often-conflicting sets of regulations that came from dealing with each country individually.
For the end user, they know that the product they receive has gone through stringent testing and risk analyses to ensure that they’re getting the safest, most reliable products possible.
At Coogar Products, we are ready and able to serve our European customers and make sure you get the equipment you need to support your growing business.
Contact us today to see what we can do for you.