Kelude Heavy Industry Earns CE & ISO 3834 Certification
In July 2026, Kelude Heavy Industry successfully passed the annual CE certification surveillance audit conducted by TÜV Rheinland and obtained its initial ISO 3834-2 welding Quality Management System certification from SGS. The certified scope covers two product lines: European Standard Double-Girder Bridge Cranes and European Standard Gantry Cranes, with rated capacities from 50t to 300t. The CE certification is based on the MD 2006/42/EC Machinery Directive, and the welding system meets EN 1090-2 execution class EXC3. Together, these two certifications remove the qualification barriers to exporting across the EU, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
In July 2026, Kelude Heavy Industry completed two critical export qualification milestones: the annual surveillance audit for CE certification under MD 2006/42/EC, and the initial ISO 3834-2 welding Quality Management System certification. The significance of these two certificates is straightforward — they mark the transition from "we can build European standard cranes" to "an internationally recognized body has verified that we can." This is the dividing line between opportunistic export orders and a scalable export business.
The CE certification covers seven capacity ratings of European Standard Double-Girder Bridge Cranes and Gantry Cranes — 50t, 80t, 100t, 160t, 200t, 250t, and 300t — all designed and calculated in accordance with the EN 13001 series and subjected to EC type-examination. The ISO 3834-2 certification covers the entire structural welding process, from incoming material inspection and Welding Procedure Qualification Records (EN ISO 15614) to Welder Qualification (EN ISO 9606), Non-Destructive Testing, and final dimensional inspection.
CE Certification: From Compliance to Competitive Barrier
CE marking is the mandatory legal gateway to the European market. Under Annex IV of the MD 2006/42/EC Machinery Directive, bridge cranes and gantry cranes with a lifting capacity above 3t are classified as high-risk machinery and must undergo EC type-examination by an EU Notified Body. Kelude Heavy Industry engaged TÜV Rheinland (NB 0035) as its Notified Body, completing the full audit cycle from design review to prototype inspection.
The certification audit covered five core modules:
① EN 13001-1/2 Design Principles and Load Combinations — verification of compliance for general design principles and load combination calculations;
② EN 13001-3-1 Limit State Calculation for Steel Structures — verification covering the three primary failure modes: strength, fatigue, and stability;
③ EN 13001-3-2 Wire Rope Drive Systems — wire rope selection, drum diameter ratio, and safety factor verification;
④ EN 13001-3-3 Wheel/Rail Contact Stress — contact stress analysis between wheels and crane rail, plus fatigue life assessment;
⑤ EN 60204-32 Electrical Safety and Functional Safety — electrical equipment safety and safety integrity assessment.
ISO 3834-2: The International Passport for Welding Quality
ISO 3834-2 is the international standard for welding Quality Management Systems. The "-2" designation indicates "comprehensive quality requirements" — the highest level, covering all elements including contract review, design review, materials management, welding procedure qualification, welder qualification, welding execution, inspection and testing, nonconformity handling, and quality records. Unlike ISO 9001's general quality management framework, ISO 3834-2 focuses specifically on welding — the single most critical special process in crane manufacturing.
Key technical indicators of the certification: Welding Procedure Qualification Records cover the full range of structural steels from S235 to S690 (plate thickness 8–100mm), three welding processes (GMAW gas-shielded welding / SAW submerged arc welding / FCAW flux-cored wire welding), and welder qualifications in all positions — flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead. Twelve welders passed the EN ISO 9606-1 qualification tests (plate butt and pipe butt joints, in both carbon steel and stainless steel). NDT capabilities cover three methods — UT (ultrasonic), MT (magnetic particle), and PT (penetrant) — with inspectors holding EN ISO 9712 Level 2 certificates.
The welding execution level meets EN 1090-2 EXC3 — the highest execution class for cranes and steel bridges. EXC3 requirements for weld quality are: 100% NDT inspection of critical weld seams (EXC2 requires only 20% sampling), weld appearance acceptance per EN ISO 5817 Level B (the highest appearance grade), and allowable limits for weld spatter and undercut that are an order of magnitude stricter than EXC2.
| Certification Project | Certification Content | Execution Standard | coverage Scope | Certification Body |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CE Certification | MD 2006/42/EC ECType Inspection | EN 13001 Crane Safety Standard Full Series + EN 60204-32 | 50t~300tEuropean Standard Double-Girder·Gantry | TÜV Rheinland |
| ISO Class 3 (cleanroom)834 Quality requirements for fusion welding-2 | Welding Quality Management System | EN 1090 Execution of steel structures standard-2 EXC3 + EN ISO 15614 | Structural Components Welding Full Process | SGS |
| Welder Qualification | EN ISO 9606 Welder qualification testing standard-1 | Plate Butt Joint+Pipe Butt Joint·Carbon Steel+Stainless Steel | 12Named Certificate Holderwelder | TÜV/SGSJoint |
| NDTNon-destructive testing | EN ISO 9712 Level II | UTUltrasonic Testing+MTMagnetic Particle Testing+PTPenetrant Testing | 3Named Certificate Holder Detection Personnel | Training Organization |
Export Business: From Single-Project Compliance to Systematic Capability
Achieving both CE and ISO 3834 certification has given Kelude Heavy Industry a complete compliance evidence chain in export tenders. Previously, each export project required separate certification—a process that was time-consuming, costly, and unpredictable. Now, standard-configuration products in the 50t–300t range can respond quickly to CE certification requirements, with the certification period shortened from project kickoff to issuance upon design review approval.
More importantly, the dual certification unlocks mutual recognition across three key export regions—the EU, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The CE mark covers all 27 EU member states plus the European Economic Area (EEA). The Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO) in the Middle East accepts CE certificates as a basis for technical documentation, while the EAC certification in Central Asia requires only supplementary local requirements on top of the CE technical file. Kelude Heavy Industry now exports European-standard cranes steadily to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
The value of dual certification extends beyond new customer acquisition—it also reinforces repeat-purchase trust among existing clients. Three European distributors have already placed additional orders for H2 2026, totaling 12 European-standard double-girder cranes (50t–160t), with a combined contract value exceeding €2 million.
FAQ: CE & ISO 3834 Certification Questions
Q: What does the CE annual surveillance audit cover, and how does it differ from initial certification?
A: The annual surveillance audit focuses on three areas: ① Production consistency—whether mass-produced units match the EC type-examined prototype (main girder cross-section, weld seam quality, electrical configuration); ② Effectiveness of the Quality Management System—execution records of the ISO 3834 welding system, closure of non-conformities, and ongoing welder skill verification; ③ Design change management—whether design optimizations made over the past year have undergone impact assessment and been notified to the notified body. Unlike initial certification, the annual audit does not involve re-reviewing the full design calculation report and typically takes 2–3 weeks.
Q: Does ISO 3834-2 certification allow us to directly accept EN 1090-2 EXC3 welding orders?
A: Yes. ISO 3834-2 certification covers the welding quality management and execution capabilities required by EN 1090-2 EXC3. However, each specific project still requires project-level welding procedure qualification records (pWPS/WPQR), and a welding quality plan must be submitted to the client or inspection body before work begins. For export projects with third-party inspection, the inspector will verify the validity of the certification and welder qualifications at the pre-production meeting.
Q: What is the approximate equipment investment required for CE + ISO 3834 dual certification?
A: The equipment investment for dual certification includes: temperature- and humidity-controlled welding workshop retrofit (approx. $74,000–$119,000), upgrade of submerged arc welding and gas-shielded welding equipment (approx. $178,000–$223,000), NDT equipment purchase (UT flaw detector + MT magnetic yoke + PT consumables at approx. $22,000), casting of test counterweight blocks (600t of load blocks at approx. $119,000), and workshop lifting equipment (a new 50t double-girder crane for the test bench station at approx. $59,000). Total hardware investment is approximately $445,000–$594,000. Adding certification consulting fees and notified body audit fees of approx. $119,000–$178,000, the total investment comes to roughly $594,000–$742,000.
Q: How can customers verify the authenticity of a CE certificate?
A: The CE certificate carries a unique notified body number (NB 0035 = TÜV Rheinland). Customers can verify the notified body's accreditation in the EU NANDO database (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/nando/) by entering the NB number. Kelude Heavy Industry's EC type-examination certificate number and Declaration of Conformity (DoC) can be provided to customers in the contract. Customers or their appointed third-party inspection bodies can then contact TÜV Rheinland to confirm the certificate's status and scope of coverage.
CE + ISO 3834 dual certification is not the finish line—it is the starting point for scaling export operations. With certification in place, the next priority is production capacity assurance: keeping the 3–4 month delivery cycle for European-standard cranes under control.
