CE marking to remain

As an example of the sentiments offered by many industr y bodies and individual companies, the British Pump Manufacturers Association (BPMA) on behalf of the £1 9 billion UK pump sector has welcomed the recent announcement from the Department for Business and Trade regarding the indefinite extension to the use of CE marking for UK businesses

The CE (Conformité Européenne) mark is used across Europe to certify that a wide range of items including pumps and related equipment meet stringent product safety standards. As a member of the European Union, the UK had for decades adopted the use of this safety marking for products being sold both within the UK and throughout the European continent

However, as part of a wide range of proposed post-Brexit legislative changes, the Government had planned for this safety marking to be replaced by a new UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark for all goods sold in Great Britain from the end of 2024; a deadline which had already endured several postponements and extensions

UK businesses and their respective trade organisations have for many years been calling on the authorities to extend the use of the long-established CE mark, explaining that forcing them to meet the new UK rules which effectively duplicates EU product standards would add a significant and unnecessar y cost burden to UK industr y.

With the UKCA mark not being recognised in the EU, and only required for goods being sold in Great Britain, manufactures would have needed to adopt both conformity protocols for products destined for both marketplaces. Notably, this would have also been the case for all overseas manufacturers wishing to sell products into the UK

Having continually pushed for the retention of the CE Mark, Wayne Rose, Director and CEO at the BPMA, said: “Some of our larger members have already endured the unwelcomed expense and bureaucracy of dual safety mark adoption, simply to continue selling the same products to the same markets, so although they too will welcome this announcement, a good deal of wasted time, effort and cost has already been spent For our smaller members, they will be relieved that the cliff-edge deadline of UKCA mark adoption has been removed, and that they can now redirect their efforts into product innovation and business growth ”

The full Government statement can be viewed via www.rdr.link/mav002