VAC-U-MAX achieves ATEX Certification for its industrial vacuum cleaners
June 19, 2018
VAC-U-MAX, Belleville, New Jersey, USA, has achieved ATEX Certification for three of its compressed air-powered industrial vacuum cleaning systems for use in explosion-hazard environments. To achieve the certification, VAC-U-MAX’s vacuums were subject to a third-party review and full testing by Intertek, a Nationally Recognized Testing Lab (NRTL) as designated by OSHA.
“This is a key factor because some organisations are touting ATEX Certification, but their NRTL is not recognised by OSHA,” explained David Kennedy, Director of Business Development for VAC-U-MAX. “If you are not recognised as an OSHA NRTL, your equipment does not meet the requirements for their Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program.” Testing of the systems reportedly resulted in a ‘Type Examination Certificate’ in accordance with the latest revision of the EN ISO 80079-36 and EN ISO 80079-37 standards.
Kyle Goltsch, VAC-U-MAX’s Mechanical Designer for the ATEX Certification effort, commented, “The submittal documentation, such as the Ignition Hazards Analysis, was a collective of our sixty-five years of experience in handling combustible dusts, resulting in a proof-of-design that passed the tests. It was gratifying that our standard products did not have to change to meet the latest ATEX standards – in the end, all we needed were a few new labels.”
One of the three product ranges for which VAC-U-MAX received ATEX approval was its SR SeriesTM for Submerged Recovery applications, such as for the reactive metal powders used in metal Additive Manufacturing.
