Standards
IECEx: the international certification scheme
IECEx is the international certification scheme for equipment used in explosive atmospheres. Its purpose is to reduce duplication: equipment assessed once against the international standards can be recognised across participating countries, rather than being re-tested for each market.
- Built on the IEC 60079 series of international standards
- Designed to reduce duplicated testing across markets
- Shares technical basis with ATEX but is a distinct scheme
- Separate again from North American certification
What the scheme does
IECEx provides a common framework for assessing and certifying equipment against the IEC 60079 series. Certification bodies and testing laboratories operate under agreed rules, so that an assessment carried out in one participating country is recognisable in others.
The problem it addresses is real: without it, a manufacturer selling internationally faces repeated assessment of the same equipment against substantially similar requirements, and purchasers face certificates they have no basis for evaluating.
Relationship to ATEX
ATEX and IECEx share much of their technical basis, because ATEX requirements draw on the same international standards. That similarity makes them easy to conflate, but they remain distinct: ATEX is a European legal framework with mandatory application in its jurisdiction, while IECEx is a voluntary international certification scheme.
In practice equipment often carries both, assessed against a common technical core through two certification routes. Carrying one does not automatically confer the other.
Relationship to North American certification
The North American framework developed separately, with its own classification structure, its own standards and its own certification arrangements. A UL 1203 listing and an IECEx certificate are not equivalent documents, and neither substitutes for the other.
For equipment moving between markets this means assessment under each applicable scheme rather than translation between certificates.
What to ask for
The useful request is the documentation applicable to your jurisdiction and to the specific configuration you intend to buy. A certificate names an equipment identifier, a scope and the standards assessed against — those are the parts that determine whether it helps you.
PrestiVac does not claim ATEX or IECEx approval. Our certification is North American: UL 1203, listed by CSA. Where equipment is required under one of those schemes, ask for the documentation applicable to your jurisdiction rather than treating a North American listing as equivalent.
What this means when you specify recovery equipment
PrestiVac manufactures industrial vacuums. We do not manufacture dust collectors, and housekeeping equipment is one element of a dust safety programme rather than the whole of it.
Our listing is CSA Certificate 70122393. The EX1 HEPA line is covered for Class I, Gp. D; Class II, Gps. E, F and G; Temp. Code T3C; the EV EX HEPA line for Cl. II, Div. 2, Gps. F and G only. Certified equipment does not by itself make a facility compliant with any standard or regulation.
PrestiVac does not claim ATEX or IECEx approval. Our certification is North American: UL 1203, listed by CSA. Where equipment is required under one of those schemes, ask for the documentation applicable to your jurisdiction rather than treating a North American listing as equivalent.
Area classification is determined by your own engineering assessment and the authority having jurisdiction. This page explains the framework; it is not a classification of your facility, and it does not replace the applicable code or your Dust Hazard Analysis.
Frequently asked questions
- Is IECEx the same as ATEX?
- No. They share much of their technical basis through the IEC 60079 standards, but ATEX is a European legal framework with mandatory application in its jurisdiction and IECEx is a voluntary international certification scheme.
- Does IECEx certification satisfy North American requirements?
- No. The North American framework has its own classification structure, standards and certification arrangements. Equipment is assessed under each applicable scheme.
- Are PrestiVac vacuums IECEx certified?
- No. We do not claim ATEX or IECEx approval. Our certification is UL 1203, listed by CSA.
Talk to the manufacturer
Get the right explosion proof vacuum for your application.
Tell us what you need to vacuum and where. Our technical team will recommend the PrestiVac model best suited to your material, your classification and how hard you will work it — and because we build every unit ourselves, we can modify it to fit.
- Legally certified explosion proof
- Solid stainless steel construction
- Industry-best 3-year warranty
- Designed & manufactured in the USA
- 200+ vacuum versions