ESAB welding consumables are CE marked

ESAB Group has announced that 115 grades of welding consumables are now CE marked and available from stock for use in the fabrication of land-based structures conforming to the requirements of the Construction Products Directive (CPD) that came into force throughout Europe on 1 October 2006. If required, ESAB can provide the necessary documentation to enable these products to be used in CPD-compliant structures.

The CPD concerns CE marking of certain land-based structures, and one of the prerequisites is that the welding consumables must be CE marked. Fabricators can therefore select from the 115 grades available from ESAB Group companies. Because some consumables held in stock will have been manufactured prior to the CE marking regime being implemented, the EU has allowed a period of grace during which consumables without a CE mark can still be used. However, the fabricator must first obtain documentation from the supplier to show that the consumables are acceptable within the terms of the CPD. Two documents are required: the Declaration of Conformity (DoC), which states that the product meets all necessary requirements of the relevant EU legislation; and the Factory Production Control (FPC) certificate, which shows that the product has been manufactured in accordance with an accepted and verified quality system. ESAB can provide such documentation upon request.

Fabricators of structures for EU projects are strongly advised to use only welding consumables that are CE marked or those for which the supplier can provide the necessary documentation, otherwise they may be in breach of CPD regulations and therefore liable for hefty penalties.