Product quality is playing an increasingly important role in international trade, and certificates of conformity issued by independent bodies are becoming more and more demanded. On the one hand, they provide objective and reliable evidence of compliance with legislation and standards, and on the other, they promote fairer competition on the market between similar products.
One of the most important tools for accessing international markets is product certification, which provides proof of the product’s conformity with the requirements of a given market, which, in the case of products such as construction materials, is a necessary prerequisite for marketing the product.
Construction products on the EU market are subject to CE marking requirements. This indicates that the manufacturer has assessed the product and that it has been found to comply with EU safety, health, and environmental requirements. The CE marking proves that the consumer will receive a quality and safe product. The CE marking is harmonised in all EU countries.
Balticfloc has successfully completed the certification process for “BFlex”, which included product testing and certification in accordance with the European Assessment Document, resulting in the CE certification of BFlex thermal insulation material, thus opening up more opportunities in the building materials market in all of the project’s target market countries – the Baltic States, Germany, and Finland.
In addition, certification for the UK market has been carried out, where the product’s conformity is recognised by the UKCA mark, which has been the UK’s quality mark since 2020, when the UK withdrew from EU membership. The application for two certifications was not originally foreseen within the project, as the UK was an EU Member State at the start of the LIFE_PHIPP project. “Brexit” was one of the unforeseen developments during the project that had to be accepted and the best solution had to be found.
The certification process requires the transfer of product samples to an independent EU accredited laboratory for product testing, the results of which are then validated by an independent certification body. The certificate issued by the certification body confirms that the product meets the requirements. The BFlex thermal insulation material was tested by The Technical and Test Institute for Construction Prague (TZUS), an accredited laboratory in the Czech Republic, which carried out 12 different measurements. These included: fire reaction class, thermal conductivity, density, thickness, size, sound attenuation, water vapour transmission, compressive force, compressive strength, dimensional stability, deformation at a given compressive load and temperature, and air flow resistance.
Insulation materia “BFlex” technical date results
It took about 6 months to carry out all the measurements and obtain the results.
