14th Nov 2022 update from UK Government on UKCA and Product Conformity
The UK Government announced on the 14th November that businesses will be given two additional years to apply the new UKCA product marking, allowing businesses to continue to use either UKCA or CE markings until the end of 2024. The Festo engineering and product compliance teams have worked intensively on this topic and are well prepared. We will keep our customers informed throughout this period and are happy to answer any further questions.
The task of re-certifying products that require a UKCA mark with a UK Declaration of Conformity has already been 99% completed within Festo. These can be viewed on each product page under downloads. This allows the more than 14,000 affected products to be UKCA marked. Despite the legislative easement, this re-labelling process will continue to conclusion as planned.
The UK Government UKCA marking extension means that Festo can deliver products to the UK, fully conforming to the legal requirements, either with only the current CE mark (until the end of 2024), or with the UKCA and CE marks as soon as the relabeled products are available. Goods already on-stock currently only carrying a CE mark may continue to be sold as we run-out existing stocks [AU1] [SS2] and they will be supplanted by the UKCA marked products as they become available from our production plants in the next few months.
The UK Government also announced that conformity assessment activities carried out under EU requirements by an EU Conformity Assessment Body [CAB] by 31st December 2024 can be used as the basis for UKCA marking until 31st December 2027. Based on this, for a limited number of Festo products the UK Declaration of Conformity and UKCA mark will refer to such EU certificates. Festo UK Declaration of Conformities list relevant standards that apply to the product, as well as details of the EU or UK CAB which was involved in the conformity assessment procedures.
Businesses to be given UK product marking flexibility - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Festo Ltd is the UK Importer of Festo goods from the EU. This means that Festo UK assumes legal responsibility as the Importer ensuring the conformity assessment procedures have been carried out and the labelling/documentation requirements are fulfilled.
Product conformity
Compliance with material-specific requirements in line with globally applicable laws and industry-specific regulations is becoming increasingly complex. Material compliance requirements are evolving dynamically and are an important part of overall product safety. If you are looking for answers to these questions:
- Does the product I have chosen comply with the requirements of the RoHS Directive?
- Is it subject to exceptions?
- Does it contain an SVHC covered by the REACH Regulation?
- Where can I find information on conflict minerals?
In our Application note, you will find an overview of these questions and further information on material compliance issues that could affect Festo products.
Product-related certificates and declarations
Declarations of conformity (CE, food safety, etc.) and product-related certificates (UL, CCC, etc.) can be found on the respective product detail pages under Support/Downloads. For more information, please contact technical support.
Paint-wetting impairment substances (PWIS)
Paint-wetting impairment substances (PWIS) are substances that cause small concave indentations at various points in the paint layer when surfaces are painted. Silicones, fluoric materials, certain oils and greases may contain this type of substances. Components used in the automotive industry, and especially in painting systems, must not emit paint-wetting impairment substances into the environment. To prevent paint defects caused by paint-wetting impairment substances in production, car manufacturers have long been implementing their own test instructions and standards.
VDMA Specification 24364, a cross-company set of rules, is available and describes requirements for testing, classification and identification. Festo supports this initiative with an appropriate classification of its products.
You, too, will benefit from this: In future you will be able to select our products even more precisely for your application using the VDMA identification system.
The VDMA specifications can also be downloaded free of charge from the members' area of the VDMA homepage by VDMA member companies for internal use. They can be found there in the Database for Technical Rules (DATeR). The accompanying practical guide is available to download at ot.vdma.org.
Corporate sustainability
Thinking in terms of generations and responsible, long-term management are deeply rooted in the corporate DNA of the family-owned company Festo. This is reflected in our corporate sustainability and sustainability management. Our contribution to sustainable development is set out in the Sustainability Strategy 2020+. This is based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations and was adopted by our Management Board in 2020. Festo attaches great importance to promoting transparency.
More information on sustainability activities and relevant key figures can be found in corporate sustainability and our Sustainability Report. In addition, Festo SE & Co. KG is continuously assessed by independent third parties. To gain insight into Festo’s sustainability performance, you can submit a request to us on the EcoVadis or NQC SupplierAssurance rating platforms.
