English
Caster Certificates Explained: CE, RoHS, REACH, ISO 9001 and the GTS Report
Created on 11.03
European buyers often ask for "the certificates" as if they were one document. They are not. A CE Declaration of Conformity, a RoHS test report, a REACH SVHC report, an ISO 9001 certificate, an EN 840 verification and a BSCI audit answer different questions. A folder full of PDFs is not evidence until each document matches the product, the model and the market.
We make casters for waste containers, industrial equipment, furniture, stainless steel applications and medical equipment. This guide explains what each document proves, what it does not prove, and how to check it before you approve a supplier.
1. Start with the product, not the logo on the certificate
A certificate is only useful when it names the product you are buying. Start with the model, the size, the material and the target market. Then ask which document applies.
A report for a 75 mm PU wheel is not evidence for a 200 mm rubber waste container wheel. An ISO 9001 certificate for the factory is not a load rating for the caster. A BSCI audit is not a product safety certificate.
Keep the product list and the document list side by side. Every line in the product list should point to a document, and every document should name a model.
Six documents, six different questions.
2. CE: a declaration, not a general quality badge
CE marking is a manufacturer's declaration that the product meets the applicable EU legislation. It is not a general quality badge, and it is not issued by a notified body for every product. For casters, the applicable legislation depends on the product and its final use.
We hold a CE Declaration of Conformity for the 200 mm steel-rim wheels used on mobile waste and recycling containers. The declaration is model-specific. Ask for the declaration that names your model. Do not accept a laboratory report as a substitute for the declaration, and do not accept a declaration for a different size.
The CE declaration is supported by the product test evidence for that model. It does not cover every caster in the catalogue. If a supplier says "we have CE" without naming the product, ask for the declaration and read the product description.
3. RoHS: restricted substances, not performance
RoHS restricts the use of certain substances in electrical and electronic equipment. The current EU directive is 2011/65/EU, amended by (EU) 2015/863. The restricted substances include lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB, PBDE and four phthalates.
A RoHS report tells you that the tested sample is below the limits for those substances. It does not tell you that the wheel will carry 300 kg or that the bracket will survive a kerb.
Even where a caster is supplied as a component rather than as electrical equipment, buyers often request a RoHS substance screen for the materials used.
We hold RoHS reports for specific samples:
- EMTEK report EGZ2607240121C00101R for a 75 mm PU swivel locking caster, tested to RoHS Directive (EU) 2015/863, conclusion PASS
- SGS report NGBHL24003261701 for 3 inch PU wheel casters
- SGS report NGBHL24003261601 for 2 inch nylon wheel casters
Each report covers the sample named on it. A RoHS report for a 75 mm PU wheel is not a RoHS report for a 200 mm rubber bin wheel. Ask for the report number and the sample description before you accept it.
4. REACH: SVHC screening, not a RoHS report
REACH is Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. The part buyers usually ask about is the SVHC candidate list. If an article contains a substance on the candidate list above 0.1% by weight, the supplier has information duties.
A REACH SVHC report is not a RoHS report. It screens for the candidate list, not the six RoHS substances. The report should name the material, the candidate-list version and the analytical result.
We hold two EMTEK SVHC screening reports for 200 mm waste bin castor rubber tyres:
- Report EGZ2307310320C00101R for the environmental crump rubber tyre
- Report EGZ2307310320C00102R for the environmental tread rubber tyre
Both reports screen for the ECHA candidate list of 235 substances and the 12 substances proposed in July 2023, plus Resorcinol. Both report a PASS conclusion, with SVHC results below 0.1% w/w.
These reports cover those tyres, not every caster in the catalogue. We do not publish the full reports because they contain raw test details. We can provide the report number and the applicable conclusion for the material you are buying.
5. ISO 9001: a factory system, not a product certificate
ISO 9001 is a quality management system standard. It tells you that the factory has a documented process for design, production and sales, and that an accredited certification body has audited that system. It does not tell you the load rating of a specific caster.
Our certificate is issued by ShenZhen ZhongTian International Certification Co., Ltd. (ZTIC), certificate number 46524Q10062R0M, for the scope "Design, production, and sales services of casters". It is valid from 9 April 2024 to 8 April 2027.
Use ISO 9001 to judge the factory system. Use a product test report to judge the product. The two documents answer different questions.
ISO 9001 certificate 46524Q10062R0M, issued by ZTIC.
6. EN 840 and GTS: product-specific test evidence
EN 840 is the European standard for mobile waste and recycling containers. Part 5 covers performance requirements and test methods. A GTS Verification of Compliance is product-specific.
We hold a 200 mm certificate, CCGD23051946906, tested to EN 840-5:2020, valid to 23 May 2028, covering models V80200PS-IR/BR-R and V80200PB-IR/BR-R.
We also hold a 160 mm certificate, CHGD25042469816, tested to EN 840-5:2020, valid to 6 May 2030, covering models 160PS-IR/BR-R and 160PB-IR/BR-R.
The 200 mm certificate does not cover the 160 mm wheel, and it does not cover the 10 inch wheel used on the 1100 L container. This is the point: a certificate is not a brand-wide sticker. It is a document for a defined product.
GTS Verification of Compliance CCGD23051946906 for the 200 mm steel-rim models.
7. BSCI and amfori: social compliance, not product safety
BSCI is now part of amfori. A BSCI audit looks at social management, working hours, wages, health and safety and other labour topics. It is not a product safety certificate.
Our current amfori BSCI social audit is grade C. That grade is a social compliance result. It does not replace a RoHS report, a REACH report or an EN 840 test.
Keep the social audit in the supplier evaluation folder, not in the product compliance folder. Both matter, but they answer different questions.
8. How to read a certificate in 60 seconds
Check seven things:
- Product description
- Model or sample name
- Standard or directive
- Scope
- Issuer
- Report or certificate number
- Validity, where the document has one
Then check the document type. A Declaration of Conformity is not a test report. A test report is not a management system certificate. A social audit is not a product certificate.
If the document names a different model or a different size, it is not evidence for your order. A certificate with no model and no scope is a brochure, not a compliance document.
Dynamic load testing in the VIMA test room.
9. What to send a supplier
Send six numbers and one photo: container or equipment size, weight when loaded, wheel diameter, bolt hole spacing or plate size, surface, annual quantity. Add the target market and the documents your customer requires.
Ask for the certificate or report that names the exact model. If the supplier sends a folder of PDFs, ask which document covers which model.
That is the difference between a compliance pack and a useful compliance pack.
Zhongshan VIMA Metal Products has made caster wheels for waste containers, industrial equipment, furniture, stainless steel applications and medical equipment in Zhongshan, Guangdong since 2007. Send us the six numbers, the target market and the model, and we will send the document list that matches.
Contact
Leave your information and we will contact you.
WhatsApp
E-mail