The implications of CE marking and the Construction Products Directive (CPD) in relation to fire retardant treated wood based panels products were spelled out to timber merchants at the opening of Arch Timber Protection‘s new treatment centre in Yorkshire last week.
For some, news of the depth of their responsibility when the regulations come into force in six months time came as a shock.
Andrew Hughes of Arch and Dr Janet Murrell of Warrington Fire Research Centre said that, as from April 1 next year, companies supplying the construction industry with treated or untreated wood based products, directly or indirectly, will have to comply with BS EN 13986 2002 and will have to produce a Certificate of Conformity for each product.
Mr Hughes warned: “The trade will no longer be able to supply the construction market by default. If products do not comply with the Construction Products Directive (CPD), or better still the CE mark, they should be returned from site. This will be a legal requirement – no ‘ifs’, no ‘buts’.”
He said plywood and board manufacturers were obliged to assess each product in construction terms and state its performance, and it was their responsibility to achieve the CE mark and produce declaration of conformity.
And, said Mr Hughes, from April 1 importers and merchants would have to show traceability back to the specific manufacturer.
Arch is making a considerable investment in testing a range of species and sizes of wood based panels treated with its fire retardant products for compliance with the directive
After the event, Chris Sutton of James Latham plc said: “It was a real eye opener. Most people were surprised at the implications of CE marking on fire retardant products.
“As a company we were aware of CPD for construction. The fact that it is our responsibility to have additional systems in place and our responsibility to mark products came as a total surprise.
“It is going to be almost impossible to get CE-marked plywood from the Far East but we have mills in Scandinavia that can do it.”
