Markem: A Success Story
The following article was written by F.K. Donohoe of Markem Corporation
in Keene, NH. Markem is one of our oldest clients. His team of engineers
has made remarkable progress in obtaining the know how of global design
for worldwide marketing of their products. Here is the story of how
EUROCONSULT contributed to this success:
In the late 80's MARKEM CORPORATION became aware of the movement
towards a unified Europe which would require us to design our systems to
meet their Directives. With the help of our Manchester, England facility
we obtained applicable Directives; Machinery Safety and Low Voltage as
well as a number of standards purported to guide us to compliance. Months
of study and correspondence with our European compatriots only served to
demonstrate that we did not have the where with all to interpret and apply
the Standards. It was recognized that we needed someone with experience to
assist us and shorten the learning curve or we would never meet the
impending deadline.
We contacted and interviewed many perspective consultants and the one
who came out head and shoulders above (literally as well as figuratively*)
all others was Werner Paster, EUROCONSULT. Werner's professed goal was to
teach MARKEM to become independent of his services. With his pattern of
communication clear, and his depth of knowledge, coming from education and
work experience in Germany, Werner offered us an opportunity to not only
bring our systems into compliance but also learn how to do it ourselves.
To get things started Werner put on a one day seminar for our
engineering community to acquaint them with the Directives and Standards
we would be using and why. As might be expected it raised more questions
but Werner was up to the task. As an experienced electrical engineer he
was able to review our existing systems and show engineering where and why
we did not comply, critique new designs and offer engineering solutions.
When our engineers confronted Werner with an advanced design which seemed
to be ahead of the standards he was able to assess the safety, offer
suggestions and identify why the design would be acceptable. Because the
CE Mark was not yet in use we elected to test our systems to qualify for a
GS Mark. Werner placed himself "on call" and through telephone,
FAX and frequent visits elevated our knowledge to the point wherein May of
1993 we received our first GS Mark.
Over the next two years we designed, with Werner's help, a number of
new systems and redesigned a few existing systems to qualify for the GS
Mark and in doing so learned how to locate certified components and list
them on a Constructional Data Form, assemble Technical Construction files,
and write Declaration's of Conformity. As January 1, 1995 rolled into
sight MARKEM was prepared to apply CE Marks to many of its systems
allowing us to ship without interruption to the European Communities.
Today MARKEM engineers are competently designing to meet European and
Global standards thanks in no little part to Werner Paster's services. And
while we see much less of Werner these days he is still part of our team
and is used to answer difficult engineering compliance questions.
*for those who have not yet met Werner in person, he
is 6'4" tall.
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