Selling small construction machines into the EU: machinery, engine and noise rules

Three sets of rules can apply to one machine

A walk-behind roller or a diesel rammer imported into the EU usually falls under three regimes at once: machinery safety, engine emissions and outdoor noise. The importer or the manufacturer's authorised representative needs the documents for all three, so ask a Chinese supplier which ones it already holds before comparing prices.

The light-equipment makers on this site make exactly these machines. Ningbo ACE lists rammers and trowels, including the CT-78DA diesel rammer; Bopu builds rollers and compactors such as the RZ230C roller; OLAI / JINYAO makes the BPM100-A power trowel.

Machinery safety: Directive now, Regulation from January 2027

Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery replaces the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Its main provisions apply from 14 January 2027; until then the Directive still applies. The Regulation keeps the CE marking, the EU declaration of conformity and the technical file, and adds requirements on digital instructions, software and cybersecurity.

It also treats attachments as products in their own right. A device the operator fits to a machine to change its function is "interchangeable equipment" under Article 3(2), so a hydraulic breaker, a crusher bucket or an earth drill needs its own declaration and instructions. Electrically powered site equipment such as the Cheers MAX 1000 grinder from Cheers or the Dekola DE04B core drill from Dekola is also covered by EU electrical rules, so ask for those test reports too.

Engines: EU type-approval, not just a label

Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 sets the Stage V emission limits and requires EU type-approval for engines installed in non-road mobile machinery. The machine maker must fit an engine that is type-approved for its category and power range, and the engine carries the approval number on its label. For a petrol or diesel rammer, roller or trowel, ask for the engine maker, model and EU type-approval number, and check that the engine in the shipment matches.

This is often where small Chinese machines fall short: the engine fitted for domestic or other export markets may not hold an EU approval. Settle the engine before the order, and write the approved model into the contract.

Outdoor noise: marked sound power and limits

Directive 2000/14/EC requires listed outdoor equipment to carry the CE marking with its guaranteed sound power level, and sets limits for some types. Compaction machines, including vibrating rollers, vibratory plates and vibratory rammers, have permissible levels linked to engine power, and hand-held concrete breakers are among the listed equipment. Ask for the measured and guaranteed sound power level, the test method and the label artwork.

Put all of this in one documentation list for the supplier: declaration of conformity, technical-file contents, instructions in the destination language, engine approval and noise label. Browse road machinery, concrete equipment and attachments with that list in hand, and see our guide to matching attachments to the carrier for the hydraulic side.

Explore related company and product information

• Ningbo ACE Machinery (Hongfeng Haoneng)
• Ningbo Bopu Engineering Machinery
• Ningbo Cheers Construction Machines Co., Ltd.
• Dekola (Hangzhou) Engineering Machinery Co., Ltd.
• Ningbo OLAI Engineering Machinery Co., Ltd.
• ACE CT-78DA diesel tamping rammer
• RZ230C vibration roller
• Cheers MAX 1000 planetary floor grinder
• DE04B Concrete Core Drill
• Hydraulic Breaker Attachment
• BPM100-A Power Trowel
• JM-600 crusher bucket
• 2500 Earth Drill