Are you a manufacturer or importer of machinery? Or do you build machinery for your own use? In these cases, you must keep in mind that you must affix a CE marking to the machine. Consult our machine safety experts to find out what your obligations are to bring your product to the European market or to put it into service. They will also help and advise you on how to apply the CE marking correctly.

What you need to know

Are you a manufacturer? If so, you must take the following steps:

  • Determine whether your product is a "machine" and falls within the scope of the European Machinery Directive. The concept of "machine" within the directive is broader than the strict meaning of the word.
  • Design and build the machine in accordance with the applicable essential requirements of the directives and the state of the art. You must also draw up a user manual.
  • Compile a technical file per machine type. This file must demonstrate the conformity of the machine with the Machinery Directive and must be kept available to the authorities.
  • Check whether your machine falls under Annex IV of the Machinery Directive. In this case, you may need to call on a notified body such as Vinçotte before you can place the product on the market.
  • Draw up an EC declaration of conformity, to be supplied with each machine.
  • Affix the CE marking and other required information to each copy of the machine.

Our machine safety experts can advise you on all these steps and can propose practical solutions to achieve a product that complies with the Machinery Directive.

Are you an importer?

Make sure that you only import machines that bear a CE marking and that are accompanied by an EC declaration of conformity according to the Machinery Directive. If not, you run the risk of having to bear (part of) these obligations yourself, with the possible problems that this entails.

If the manufacturer guarantees that its machines comply with the applicable European directives, it is still advisable to exercise reasonable caution to ensure that only compliant machines are placed on the European market. As an importer, you have the obligation, among other things, to only place safe machines on the market and you are responsible for providing the documents in the correct language.

Our machine safety experts can check for you whether the manufacturer has already complied with the necessary obligations and which obligations, if any, still need to be fulfilled by you as an importer so that you can import and distribute the products in Europe with peace of mind.

Are you building a machine for your own use?

In principle, the obligations concerning CE marking apply in full to anyone who builds a machine for their own use or who assembles machines and/or machine parts for their own use. In this case, you become the manufacturer of the machine.

In addition to the obligations as a machine manufacturer, you must of course also comply with the rules applicable to machines in use in Belgium, i.e. Book IV: "Work Equipment" of the Belgian Code on Well-being at Work.

Advantages

Our services offer you several advantages:

  • The certainty of whether or not your product falls under the European Machinery Directive.
  • A clear overview of the regulations that your machine must comply with and the steps to achieve this.
  • Confirmation that your machine complies with the requirements of the Machinery Directive.
  • A complete technical file and user manual.
  • If your machine is mentioned in Annex IV of the Machinery Directive, the intervention of Vinçotte as a notified body as a condition for placing the machine on the market.
  • Extra credibility thanks to our years of experience and our approach, which is periodically independently assessed in the context of our accreditation as a notified body.