North Star Saves Thousands on Consulting Services

Company Profile

North Star Ice Equipment is a Seattle, Washington manufacturer of flake ice makers and ice conveying systems. Impact Washington - NIST MEP first worked with North Star Ice Equipment in 1999. 

The company’s primary product line is a drum ice maker with a vertical stationary evaporator, which is available in six models with capacities that range between 2 and 56 tons per day. Machines can also be combined to increase capacity. North Star ice makers are well known for their heavy-duty construction and dependability.

Situation

At the time of our engagement, North Star was interested in exporting component parts to the European Union, but was concerned that the added cost of certification requirements might be a barrier to entry. North Star needed to know if component parts had to be CE certified. Sources of information had been incomplete, expensive and often biased toward selling services that North Star felt were unnecessary. One copy of a product directive cost over $100 - North Star needed three directives for one part. During their search for export information, they spoke with several consultants who offered exporting solutions for a price of over $10,000.

Solution

Impact Washington - NIST MEP experts found a specialized office within the U.S. Department of Commerce that provided all applicable directives, underlying standards, and detailed directions on how to legally affix the CE mark to their products. The price tag - simply the cost of copying the materials. Through this research process, North Star learned that they were not required to use the CE mark since they only export component parts. The company's European distributor is responsible for certification costs.

In addition, Impact Washington's staff conducted a local, low-cost seminar on CE mark certification using representatives from the U.S. Export Assistance Center. North Star personnel attended this seminar, as well as 35 other companies interested in European trade. Thanks to Impact Washington's assistance, North Star did not spend unnecessary money on export certification or consultants.

Results

• Eliminated unnecessary certification expense
• Eliminated unnecessary export consultant fees
• Received export assistance at trade seminar along with 36 other companies