Czech Welding Society ANB (CWS ANB) was established in the year of 1998 and has since then reached a series of authorisations and accreditations in the field of welding technology.

The figure below illustrates the development of these activities.

Issued certificates according to EN 298-1, EN ISO 9606

In the European Welding Federation (EWF) the CWS ANB was the second ANB authorised for certification of European plastic welders (CEPW) according to document EWF 581. The activity began with one ATB in 2006 and last year with the support of European funds the CWS ANB succeeded in setting up other 9 ATB for plastic welders’ education. At present the ATBs for plastic welders are in every region of Czech Republic. This has lead to increasing the number of issued certificates CEPW for more than 100% in 2007 (535 plastic welders certificates awarded)

Due to the fact that the new generation of plastic materials enables wider industrial applications, the use of plastic is rising and demands on the quality of welds is increasing many companies in the Czech Republic.

As our industry is oriented on export, it is important to show international, clearly defined certification and qualification. For our people who work in different parts of Europe it is important to achieve harmonised qualification.

On the other hand in the Czech Republic there were fewer welding schools for plastic welders than for metal welding and the existing ones used to work only with the national standard. The new ATBs have implemented European standards and document EWF-581-01 – European Plastics Welders.

The first courses for the qualification of plastics welders, according to the European Standard, were free which has also helped increasing the awareness of the industry and constituted a good promotion for the CEPW-Certification of European Plastics Welders.

Most companies clearly require qualifications and competence in welding of plastics and this is what CEPW provides them with.

The market quickly reacted to the offer of these new ATBs as the need for competent certified welders is pressing.