VCA - the Vehicle Certification Agency - confirmed that the vehicles submitted by Halesowen based bodybuilders Bevan Group met the technical requirements on Tuesday 24th March 2009 and their European Whole Vehicle Type Approval Certificate (the highest and most desirable conformance standard) will be ready for issue on 29th April 2009, the earliest date possible. This means Bevans can now build an unlimited numbers of vehicle bodies of the same type and sell them across the EC without further inspections, providing all the bodies meet the ongoing conformity of production requirements.

The Group are also now in the position to produce a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) for each vehicle manufactured, positioning them way ahead of their competitors in terms of quality, processes, systems and service and further strengthening their formal link with chassis manufacturers and dealers.

Last year, Bevans gained ISO 9001 accreditation following the introduction of a new paperless quality management system. This impressive new system along with the equipment and the component approvals in place at the groups recently modernised Halesowen and Oldbury production sites was the key to ensuring Bevans passed the relevant EC Directive tests.

In October 2007, the 2007/46/EC directive was published, laying the foundations for the process of Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA). This process provides a mechanism for ensuring that vehicles/bodies meet relevant environmental and safety standards.

WVTA authorises a bodybuilder/manufacturer to:

• Produce vehicles to a proven specification
• Self-certify these as compliant with relevant legislation

Two fundamental requirements of gaining WVTA are:

• Meeting the technical and administrative requirements and capturing the design
• Ensuring that subsequent production vehicles are manufactured in conformance with the approved design

A number of performance requirements apply to a given vehicle type ranging from tyres through to side guards and rear under-run.

VCA Director of Operations, John Bragg said, “Whenever we talk to business enterprises affected by this legislative change we encourage the earliest start possible down a road which can lead to real operational efficiency, financial improvement and competitive advantage.  During difficult economic times the Bevan Group has demonstrated that they are very progressive and have set an excellent example by achieving certification so far in advance.”