Compliance & Certifications

Quality Manual

At Mersen, our goal is to meet the needs of all of our partners—not simply our customers, but our suppliers, our shareholders and local authorities as well. To that end, we’ve developed an extensive quality, safety and environmental policies:

• Quality policies that spur continual improvements in products, services and productivity.
• Safety policies to protect our associates from accidents and illnesses.
• Environmental policies governing every step in the product lifecycle, from design to destruction.

To review these policies in more detail, download;

The Marks of Acceptance

To design and manufacture electrical products for today's marketplace, you need to "think global." This is especially true when it comes to product safety certification.

Mersen has circuit protection products to help you meet every major standard in every country. We work with regulatory bodies the world over to test and certify our products, so you can choose components that will meet the product safety requirements of the markets you want to reach.

Evidence of these approvals are the certification marks found imprinted on our products. Here are some of the more common marks and what they mean:

UL Listed Mark

The mark most familiar in the U.S., the UL Listed Mark is issued by Underwriters Laboratories. It signifies that a product has been tested by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and met the requirements of widely accepted product safety standards. For more information, visit http://www.ul.com/.

UL Listed products are also manufactured under the UL Follow-Up Services program, which means UL will periodically retest random samples from a manufacturer's inventory to ensure that the product continues to comply with standards and perform within accepted levels of operation.

UL Recognized Mark

Products bearing this mark are generally components of a product that will later be tested as a whole to obtain a UL Listed Mark. Using UL Recognized components does not ensure an automatic UL listing, however. The complete final product must be tested as a unit. To learn more, visit http://www.ul.com/.

CSA Mark

Issued by the Canadian Standards Association, the CSA Mark signifies a product that is tested to Canadian product safety standards. Products certified for sale in Canada may also bear the relatively new C-UL Mark issued by Underwriters Laboratories. To learn more, visit http://www.csa.ca/.

CE Mark

The CE Mark, required for products intended for sale anywhere in the European Union, shows that a product has been tested by a Notified Body and meets the requirements of all relevant European directives.

Kitemark

The British Standards Institution Mark — known as the Kitemark — is proof of compliance with standards endorsed by BSI, the world's first national standards organization. For more information, visit http://www.bsi-global.com/.

S Mark

Granted by independent laboratory ETL SEMKO, the S Mark designates products that comply with safety requirements applicable to the European Union.

VDE (Verband der Elektrotechnik) 

As a neutral and independent German organization, the  VDE Testing and Certification Institute carries out the testing of electrotechnical products, components and systems, according to DIN VDE standards and harmonized European standards, and bestows the VDE Certification Mark which is recognized and respected worldwide as a guarantee of quality and safety. 

CCC (China Compulsory Certificate) 

The CCC certificate was introduced in 2002 and applies to  low voltage goods imported in China as well as to products manufactured in China. A follow up in the manufacturing facility as for other major standards is operated in Europe and North Africa by VDE. 

CE Mark and Declaration of Conformity 

CE Mark is required for any category of products listed in the Low Voltage European Directive and intended to be sold all over the European Union. 

Declaration of Conformity is the commitment of the manufacturer or of the importer of the product to having achieved the complete test program of the European standards declared in the document.

Type approvals in the field of shipbuilding 

Since the beginning of the 20th century, and a few major maritime disasters, agencies have sprung up around the world to set standards for and inspect merchant and cruise vessels. 

Those agencies stay in constant contact through the IACS on a global level, and within its own country each issues certificates recognizing the suitability of products or parts for use in shipbuilding.

Their requirements include not only electrical performance tests but also stresses related to the marine environment, like vibrations, and damp and salt mist atmospheres. 

Mersen also offers product ranges listed by Bureau Veritas , Lloyd’s Register , Germanisher Lloyd , Det Norske Veritas, and Korean Register.  
 

A Commitment to Quality

ISO 9000 registration has become an international symbol for quality management practices. Implemented by more than 600,000 organizations in 160 countries, it's proof that an organization meets the stringent requirements of the Quality Management System standard.

Mersen's ISO 9001:2015 registration signifies our commitment to providing quality not only in our products, but in every facet of our operations.

A Commitment to the Environment

ISO 14001 is an internationally recognized management system standard that provides a highly effective framework for establishing and managing environmental activities and programs.

Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)

REACH

In 2006, the European Union passed a new directive addressing the production of chemical substances and their potential impacts on human health and the environment. The Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Directive went into effect on June 1, 2007.

To download our letter, please click on the link below.

RoHS

In 2003, the European Union passed a new directive restricting the use of mercury, lead, cadmium and other potentially hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products. Called the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, the regulation went into effect on July 1, 2006.

Whenever possible, many of our parts are fully compliant.

To download our complete position letter, click on the link above. For answers to your questions about the RoHS Directive, contact us or call 978-465-4853.

What substances are covered by RoHS?

The hazardous substances covered by RoHS directive 2002/95/EC are:

• Lead (Pb)
• Cadmium (Cd)
• Mercury (Hg)
• Hexavalent chromium (CrVI)
• Polybrominated biphenyl (PBB), a flame retardant
• Polybrominated diphenyl (PBDE), a flame retardant

Who should be concerned with RoHS?

Companies that must comply with the RoHS directive are those that:

• Manufacture and sell electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) under their own brand
• Resell under their own brand EEE made by other manufacturers
• Import or export EEE on a professional basis

What equipment is covered by RoHS?

RoHS applies to low- voltage electrical and electronic equipment designed to operate at 1000V AC or less and 1500V DC or less, listed in Annex 1A of the WEEE directive 2002/96/EC:

• Large household appliances
• Small household appliances
• IT and telecommunications equipment
• Consumer equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Electrical and electronic tools (with the exception of large-scale stationary industrial tools)
• Toys, leisure and sports equipment
• Automatic dispensers
• Spare parts for the above equipment manufactured after July 2006
• A detailed list of the equipment categories may be found in Annex 1B of directive 2002/96/EC.

What equipment is currently outside the scope or exempt from RoHS?

• Medium-voltage electrical and electronic devices
• Spare parts for electrical and electronic devices manufactured prior to July 2006
• Arms, munitions and national-defense-related material
• Large-scale stationary industrial tools

The two categories of electrical and electronic equipment listed in Annex 1A of directive 2002/96/EC, which will be included at a later date:

• Medical devices
• Monitoring and control instruments

Exceptions listed in the Annex to directive 2002/95/EC

• Mercury in certain lamps
• Lead in the glass of cathode ray tubes, fluorescent tubes and electrical components
• Lead in solder used in servers and storage systems (until 2010)
• Lead as an alloying agent in steel (0.35% by weight), aluminum (0.4% by weight), and copper (4% by weight)
• Lead in certain high melting temperature-type solders
• Lead in solders for network infrastructure equipment
• Lead in certain electronic ceramic parts
• Cadmium plating less than 0.01% by weight
• Hexavalent chromium in carbon steel cooling systems for absorption refrigeration

Download the Directives:

Quality and Environment Policy

Our quality and environment policy supports the Mersen Electrical Protection & Control mission, which consists in offering our customers innovative solutions originating in the development of cutting-edge technologies.

At Mersen we endeavor to be:

• A Technology Leader in our markets
• Customer oriented
• Focus on human development
• Socially, legally, environmentally responsible
• Highly driven performance culture

By:

• Understanding our customers' challenges and offering them innovative solutions
• Guaranteeing our customers' satisfaction by managing and attaining all commitments we make
• Reinforcing leadership and coaching for managers
• Developing skills, both to create a network of talents that can guarantee our efficiency and to foster personal growth
• Ensuring the safety of all our associates and continuously improving their working conditions
• Complying with all applicable legislation and regulations, and monitoring any changes in them
• Building sustainable development aspirations into the design of our products and operations at our production facilities
• Continuously improving our products, services, organization processes, and the performances of our teams through action plans and risk base thinking
• Providing new solutions to meet the changing needs of our markets and customers in a timely manner, and anticipating changes in our markets

These orientations form the basis for our Quality and Environment Program. Every individual is required to take ownership of them and translate them into action at every level of the organization - they are key to our success.

Thierry Lopez de Arias

VP, Electrical Protection & Control

Conflict Minerals Policy

Other Compliance Resources

Mersen Code of Ethics

IRIS stands for International Railway Industry Standard. It is a globally recognized standard unique to the railway sector for the evaluation of management systems.

ASD is the Aerospace and Defense Industries Association of Europe. EASE is the European Aerospace Supplier Evaluation.

IATF 16949 emphasizes the development of a process oriented quality management system that provides for continual improvement, defect prevention and reduction of variation and waste in the supply chain. The goal is to meet customer requirements efficiently and effectively.