A clarion call has been made to panels traders to meet CE marking requirements before their products are excluded from UK and European construction markets.
Speaking at the Timber Trade Federation‘s (TTF) National Panel Products Division annual dinner on November 12, divisional chairman Richard Hewitt told members it was “absolutely vital” CE marking did not catch the industry out.
Marking will become a requirement on all wood based panels from April 1, 2004, in order to conform to safety requirements in the Construction Products Directive.
Mr Hewitt said the TTF would continue to raise awareness of the issue in the coming months, with federation product manager Nick Boulton available to conduct seminars for area trade associations and individual companies.
At the dinner, which attracted more than 450 people, Mr Hewitt said the panels industry was in good health, now making up 41% of total timber products traded in the UK.
He said: “Our particular sector has expanded beyond all recognition in the last few years and we have established ourselves as a growing and significant part of the UK forest products scene.”
Mr Hewitt, who at last year’s NPPD dinner called for the “tiny minority” of disreputable traders to be driven out of the industry, said he was glad to report no complaints had been lodged under the TTF Code of Conduct.
TTF president Geoff Rhodes said UK panel product sales amounted to more than £900m in 2002, with the biggest growth trend in MDF and OSB.
