Diverse Standards Prove Difficult for U.S. Firms
Mustard-colored earthmovers roll off the line at Caterpillar’s vast European factory like huge prehistoric reptiles.
All are shiny and new, but some have no lights: Germany, Italy and other nations have a dizzying array of standards for lights on earthmovers, depending on whether the machines are at a construction site or on the road.
Some require rotating beacons on top, others demand lights close to the ground or insist on higher mountings so lights will not be knocked off accidentally.
Caterpillar’s solution is to put adjustable brackets on wheel-loaders so lights can be elevated and lowered. Sometimes it gives customers special packages of lights to add later in conformance with local rules.
“We cannot just make one arrangement for lighting and market that to all the countries,” said Gerald Ritterbusch, product safety manager at Caterpillar headquarters in Peoria, Ill. The company’s European plant is in Gosselies, about 40 miles south of Brussels.
Other American companies also struggle to meet different standards applied by the 12 European Community nations to lawn mowers, farm equipment and a host of other products.
John Deere adds special springs and shock absorbers to seats to meet some of the nearly three dozen EC rules for building a safe tractor.
Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co. brings in German specialists to test its lawn mowers for compliance with noise rules.
Digital Microwave Corp. figures it costs tens of thousands of dollars to win European certification every time it makes an important change in the design of a telecommunications product.
The trading bloc has several standard-setting groups working on about 10,000 technical rules so businesses can sell the same products throughout the community. But standards still vary among the members, so companies often must have several designs for the same product.
“We are looking forward to that day when we can spend the money just once instead of three or four times,” said Patrick Shanahan, managing director of Tellabs Ltd., Irish subsidiary of an American telecommunications manufacturer.
