Q-Mark covers Chinese plywood

BM TRADA has launched a Q-Mark scheme covering CE marking on Chinese plywood.

The scheme, unveiled by BM TRADA’s business development manager Mark Wilkinson at the 2008 China International Wood-Based Panels and Furniture Exhibition in Pizhou City, is intended to give buyers confidence that the plywood they purchase is fit-for-purpose.

Mr Wilkinson said the Chinese product had suffered a loss of confidence in the European market because certain mills had falsified CE marks on sub-standard products.

This, he added, had given rise to concerns about unreliable quality and created a nervousness to sell into structural markets.

The Q-Mark scheme meets a higher level for structural plywood than the Attestation of Conformity Level 2+, one of six levels within the CE marking process, by assessing for a higher Level 1+ product.

“Crucially, to send a clear-cut message to the market place, all boards must be individually marked and any mills found to be non-compliant with any of the requirements will be suspended from the scheme immediately,” said Mr Wilkinson.