Invest NI back CE marking to help exporters

Invest Northern Ireland's CE marking programme is aiming to help local companies address safety issues more effectively and to become more competitive in export markets.

Speaking at a seminar for a group of 20 companies, which recently completed CE marking of products through the programme, Tracy Meharg, Invest NI’s Managing Director of Innovation and Capability Development, said the marking shows insurers that companies are taking “a responsible and professional approach to product safety”.

Ms Meharg said: "The ever increasing litigation against manufacturers and their individual managers drives home the importance of product safety.

"A well-engineered and safe product, CE marked and perhaps type-tested, supplied with the appropriate information goes a long way towards safeguarding a company and its management team.

“In addition, there is some evidence that insurers are influenced by such a transparent and structured commitment to safety by individual companies, and this can be reflected in premiums,” she added.

The programme was provided in association with the Institute of Lifelong Learning at Queen’s University, Belfast, and further programmes for new companies are planned for 2004.

The programme, which includes technical seminars and individual consultancy at the client's premises, focuses on product risk assessment, required technical information, instruction manuals, product testing, declarations of conformity and CE marking.

A series of three programmes have been organised over a two-year period for approximately 20 companies per programme.

The seminars are held at InvestNI and Queen’s University venues, while the bulk of the consultancy is undertaken at the clients' premises.

(sp)