Austria 1883 OVE was founded in Austria. Austrian market. Belgium CEBEC was founded in 1923. The CEBEC mark is particularly asked for by Belgian consumers. France AFNOR is a private, state-approved association since 1901. The NF-mark applies to French, European or international standards. Over 150 applications, thousands of certified commercial references, over 4000 French and foreign mark holder companies. Germany DIN was founded in 1917. Since 1975 it has been recognized by the German government as the national standards body. The certification process began during the 1930s. : no one is obliged to participate in the work of DIN or to implement its standards. The results of its work are recommendations that have no authority except their inherent technical competence. Although the majority of the services offered by DIN are aimed at the German market, various services in connection with information and document procurement also address the needs of users outside Germany. DIN standards can be supplied abroad as well as product certification in connection with exports to Germany and/or the European Union member countries. Economic impact through the diffusion in the German market: research project on the "Economic benefits of standardization" initiated by DIN and the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology (BMWi) in 1997 and completed in May 2000. The benefit to the national economy is estimated at more than US$15 bn per year (1% of GDP). Page 1 of 8
Germany (cont.) As "DIN geprüft" mark The VDE Association was founded in 1920. The beginnings of TÜV go back to the second half of the 19th century (1872). VDE has liaison offices in 17 countries of the EU and EFTA as well as in 25 countries worldwide. Cooperations with partner organizations in 50 countries. VDE Authorized Offices in China, Japan, Korea, Italy and USA. VDE Experts in Japan, Korea and USA. All the services provided by TÜV are aimed at the global market. More than 200 000 types of electrotechnical products are certified and bear VDE certification marks. With more than 80 subsidiaries, TÜV is present in 40 countries. Test reports of the VDE Institute are not only useful for the certification with the VDE certification mark, but also for obtaining national marks licences of other countries in Europe and worldwide. This is possible on the basis of harmonized standards and certification agreements between certification bodies in many countries around the globe. Products marked with the ENEC mark of the VDE Institute can be marketed in Europe without any further approval of other signatory bodies of the mentioned agreements. The VDE marks Licence Certificate forms the basis for the EC Declaration of Conformity and CE marking by the manufacturer or his authorized representative. Product testing by other test and certification organizations can be accepted and integrated into the TÜV mark. Page 2 of 8
Germany (cont.) In use since 1980 Recognised safety mark which is respected in many countries outside Germany. Italy IMQ foundation 1951 Aimed at the Italian market To obtain the GS mark, the product must be tested by an independent testing laboratory that e.g. has been recognised by DIN CERTCO on the basis of an accreditation by the ZLS. The resulting test report may also serve as the basis for the award of the DIN test mark. If both marks are used, a discount of 50% on the costs of the GS certification is granted. IMQ foundation 1951, IMQ UNI-CIG mark in use since 1962 Aimed at the Italian market Page 3 of 8
Netherlands KEMA exists since 1927. ; electrical products must comply with the criteria of the European Low Voltage Directive corresponding to EC procedures. A product that carries these criteria therefore automatically conforms to the legal European requirements. KEMA-KEUR ensures access to numerous certification marks and thus access to many different markets. KEMA is a participant in the CENELEC Certification agreement (CCA). All the national certification organizations in the European Union and the EFTA countries are united within the CCA in order to create testing uniformity. KEMA tests to the European Norms (EN) and its test results are accepted by all the signatories of the CCA Agreement. When a product bears KEMA- KEUR, and therefore complies with the Low Voltage Directive, it can also carry the CE mark. The significant added value of KEMA-KEUR above CE lies in the fact that KEMA tests as an independent third party. Spain ANEC was founded on February 26, 1986. It is not compulsory to request to use the mark, but if it is granted it must be used for every product produced of the type for which it was awarded. Spain and Mexico (AENOR- MEXICO) 42 500 certified products As "ANEC Producto Certificado" Spain and Mexico (AENOR- MEXICO) Page 4 of 8
Sweden United Kingdom In 1925 SEMKO is founded to address Swedish electronic and electrical manufacturer's product safety testing and certification needs. One year later the "S"-mark was registered. BSI: Certification mark registered under the Trade marks Act 1994 BEAB exists since 1960. Nordic countries Each year SEMKO tests the safety of about 10 000 electrical products. In the global CB (Certification Board) Scheme, which covers more than 30 countries, SEMKO is the company which issues the largest number of certificates. CB is a scheme where members accept each other's tests as the basis for certification. Worldwide; BSI tests products to British, European and International Standards. BEAB's membership of the CB (Certification Body) and CCA certification schemes, together with agreements with approvals bodies around the world, means that BEAB offers services to obtain additional European and internationally recognised safety marks. SEMKO is part of the NOR- DIC / EMKO Agreement and therefore the "S"-mark can be used for access to other Scandinavian marks without the need for re-testing. Member countries are Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland. If the manufacturer has had testing carried out by BSI for the Kitemark, the existing results are taken into account for CE marking. Unless extra requirements exist, there is no need to duplicate testing or systems assessments. Europe: BEAB is able to offer the (German) GS mark, either individually or combined with BEAB approval; North America and Canada: BEAB is able to obtain the UL and ETL marks for both Canada and Australia; Asia: BEAB is able to arrange for the testing of domestic appliances and consumer electronics products in Japan. Page 5 of 8
EU 15 Council Decision 93/465/EEC of 22 July 1993 CE marking is mandatory: for all new products (whether manufactured in the Member States or in third countries); used and second hand products imported from third countries; substantially modified products. Applies to all products which are intended to be placed on the Community market and to those used and second hand products from a third country which enter the market for the first time. CE marking replaces all mandatory conformity markings at same type, which existed before harmonisation took place. In 1993 CELMA (European Committee of Luminaries Manufacturers), together with the CCA Group launched the ENEC mark for all types of luminaries, later expanded to encompass lighting components. In January 1996 an ENEC Agreement was reached to extend the scope of the ENEC mark scheme to all electro-technical products. 18 European Certification bodies have signed an agreement (ENEC Agreement, approved by the CENELEC mark Committee) and established the common mark ENEC. The ENEC mark serves the free movement of goods in the European Economic Area including Switzerland and increasingly also in the markets of Eastern Europe. About 5000 ENEC licences have been issued to date, representing 15 000 different products on the European market. The ENEC mark distinguishes products certified with marks of independent third party bodies from other products for which conformity was declared. Certification bodies of other European states are obliged to treat products rightfully bearing the ENEC mark in the same way as if they had granted the ENEC mark themselves. The ENEC mark derives its own value from the combination with recognized national certification marks. Page 6 of 8
EU 15 (cont.) The scheme is based on a Council Regulation EEC N 880/92 of 23 March 1992, which has been updated and revised by Council Regulation N 1980/2000 of 17 July 2000; date of entry into force: 24.09.2000. Applies to all EU Member States, as well as to countries of the EEA Agreement (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). 100 licenses for the use of the logo have been granted for several hundred products. The Commission and the Member States must ensure coordination between the Community eco-label scheme and existing national schemes. EU and EFTA countries The HAR mark is either a printed mark or a marking thread wound into the cables. If printed marking is used, the testing organisation s mark is shown together with the HAR mark Australia Standards Australia International (the issuer of this label) was founded in 1922. The standards mark was first introduced in 1966. QAS Product Certification provides an international passport to 60 trading countries. There are currently over 6000 Australian Standards. Japan Japan Number of designated JIS products for marking: 786 (as of March 31, 1998). Internationally, QAS has developed links with certification bodies in over 60 countries. BSI (UK), TÜV (Germany), UL (USA) and JQA (Japan) are a few of their international colleagues. These links mean that the manufacturer can gain certification with these bodies through QAS. Page 7 of 8
United States United States Canada Underwriters Laboratories Inc. was founded in 1894. In 1896 Thomas Edison established the Lamp Testing Bureau of the Edison Electric Illuminating Company. 1904: Edison renames his Lamp Testing Bureau "Electrical Testing Laboratories"; 1959: Electric Testing Laboratories begins testing equipment for the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (AR). Worldwide Total number of current UL Standards: 776; Number of product types UL evaluates: 18 550; Number of manufacturers producing UL certified products: 61 869. The ETL mark is an accepted demonstration of product compliance in both the USA and Canada. ITS ETL SEMKO is recognized as an NRTL (provider of independent evaluation, testing and certification of any electrically operated or ga- and oil-fired product) in the United States and, in similar capacity, as a Testing Organization (TO) and Certifying Body (CB) in Canada, and as a Notified Body in Europe. Sources: "Guide to the implementation of directives based on the New Approach and the Global Approach" European Commission, 2000; http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/newapproach/newapproach.htm; "Europeans and the EC Logo" Report drawn up by INRA (Europe) European Coordination Office S.A. for the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection managed and organised by The Directorate General for Education and Culture, "Centre pour le citoyen", "Analysis of public opinion" Unit, 15 March 2000; www.enec.com; http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ecolabel; www.har-cert.com/index.html; www.ove.at; www.cebec.de; www.afnor.fr; www.marque-nf.com; www.dincertco.de; www.din.de; www.vde.de; www.tuv.com; www.tuvps.com; www.imq.it; www.ceiuni.it; www.kema.nl; www.kemaquality.com; www.aenor.es; www.bsi-global.com; www.beab.co.uk; www.etlsemko.com; www.qas.com.au; www.standards.com.au; www.ul.com; www.itsglobal.com; www.jqa.or.jp. Page 8 of 8