Discussion
Hi there,
I can't give you specific guidelines on TUV approval, but I did do a lot of research and talking to BSi / British Standards Institue about getting a product approved by them to bring into the UK. The product itself was CE approved and the factory making the product was also ISO 9000/1 (from memory!) approved as well. The factory itself goes through the testing and inspection process, has it's machinery checked etc to ensure the products made conform to the standards and probably a whole bunch of other tests and checks every year to keep up excellent output.
From memory TUV approval is the German standard all products automotive related need to pass in order to be allowed to be sold there. this is I beleive on top of any other standards, CE approval being the minimum required. TUV approval from what i remember reading about it briefly, is a very tough standard to adhere to. You can also translate that into ultra expensive as well. I think the German aftermarket for car products is indeed only allowed once TUV approval has been attained.
This could go two ways here
1. If you're making the exhaust manifold/product and the TUV authorities allow a single/low volume manufacturer to be frequently tested to ensure the product meets it's standards, knowing that you are small etc. In a nutshell, say a variation on the SVA test - Single Vehicle Approval. This would mean that you could produce the product, get them to test it, verify it etc and issue with the approval to allow it to be sold in Germany and the EU and to be able to use the 'TUV Approved' logo etc to further enhance the reputation of your product.
2. You get the product manufactured by a company that already has the manufacturing capabilities to produce the item at TUV levels of standards and requirements.
From all that I learned about our product that we were going to sell, here's some feedback
the product was a new variation on a very high profile existing product. The market leader has 85% of the world market to itself. The next 10% were companies producing similar products with exactly the same level of certification and standards testing and the remaining 5% with the absolute bare minimum required to sell in Europe/NA/Far East markets.
The product itself would have sold on UK shelves for about £2.99.
Testing for 'one' type from BSi was circa £6000. We had 3 lines we wanted to bring in and that would've been £18,000. This would include inspections, and testing of the manufacturing plants and checking of their certification standards. Part of the process was to have a suitable watertight contract between the manufacturer/sellers/BSi and for us the cost would be between £12-15,000 to have that drawn up and signed to the required level. Other elements which might not apply to you were that we needed suitable storage conditions so AC/temperature control was required.
As you can see, the costs are huge. I can only guess that TUV which I think are the German equivalent of the BSi the levels of investment would be fairly similar. If by some miracle lets say the testing of the single manifold type that you make is perhaps £1000 you'd save quite a bit. Expect the legal documentation and contracts to still cost 5 figures and upwards though. No skimping there, you must and have to use a lawyer with this sort of expertise.
We got to around 80% through and stumbled when it came to coming up with £35K to get it all sorted, we'd anticpated like £20K. So the project didn't go forward.
Hopefully, some others may have direct experience and perhaps for your product the costs would be much lower.
good luck
Cheers, Dennis!
I can't give you specific guidelines on TUV approval, but I did do a lot of research and talking to BSi / British Standards Institue about getting a product approved by them to bring into the UK. The product itself was CE approved and the factory making the product was also ISO 9000/1 (from memory!) approved as well. The factory itself goes through the testing and inspection process, has it's machinery checked etc to ensure the products made conform to the standards and probably a whole bunch of other tests and checks every year to keep up excellent output.
From memory TUV approval is the German standard all products automotive related need to pass in order to be allowed to be sold there. this is I beleive on top of any other standards, CE approval being the minimum required. TUV approval from what i remember reading about it briefly, is a very tough standard to adhere to. You can also translate that into ultra expensive as well. I think the German aftermarket for car products is indeed only allowed once TUV approval has been attained.
This could go two ways here
1. If you're making the exhaust manifold/product and the TUV authorities allow a single/low volume manufacturer to be frequently tested to ensure the product meets it's standards, knowing that you are small etc. In a nutshell, say a variation on the SVA test - Single Vehicle Approval. This would mean that you could produce the product, get them to test it, verify it etc and issue with the approval to allow it to be sold in Germany and the EU and to be able to use the 'TUV Approved' logo etc to further enhance the reputation of your product.
2. You get the product manufactured by a company that already has the manufacturing capabilities to produce the item at TUV levels of standards and requirements.
From all that I learned about our product that we were going to sell, here's some feedback
the product was a new variation on a very high profile existing product. The market leader has 85% of the world market to itself. The next 10% were companies producing similar products with exactly the same level of certification and standards testing and the remaining 5% with the absolute bare minimum required to sell in Europe/NA/Far East markets.
The product itself would have sold on UK shelves for about £2.99.
Testing for 'one' type from BSi was circa £6000. We had 3 lines we wanted to bring in and that would've been £18,000. This would include inspections, and testing of the manufacturing plants and checking of their certification standards. Part of the process was to have a suitable watertight contract between the manufacturer/sellers/BSi and for us the cost would be between £12-15,000 to have that drawn up and signed to the required level. Other elements which might not apply to you were that we needed suitable storage conditions so AC/temperature control was required.
As you can see, the costs are huge. I can only guess that TUV which I think are the German equivalent of the BSi the levels of investment would be fairly similar. If by some miracle lets say the testing of the single manifold type that you make is perhaps £1000 you'd save quite a bit. Expect the legal documentation and contracts to still cost 5 figures and upwards though. No skimping there, you must and have to use a lawyer with this sort of expertise.
We got to around 80% through and stumbled when it came to coming up with £35K to get it all sorted, we'd anticpated like £20K. So the project didn't go forward.
Hopefully, some others may have direct experience and perhaps for your product the costs would be much lower.
good luck
Cheers, Dennis!
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff