New CPR – draft ready. Will fixings reach the market faster?

27 November 2023 4 min

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European Assessment Documents (EAD), based on which European Technical Assessments (ETA) are issued, continue to provide grounds for us to place products on the market. However, this may soon change.

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We have recently reported that Rawlplug has joined the European Tool Association (CEO) as well as its subordinate association, Construction Fixings Europe (CFE), which deals specifically with fixings and fasteners. Just as a reminder: what this means to us is, among other benefits, having access to the most up-to-date market information, and by that means – an ability to respond to the changes in industry trends and regulations even more quickly. [LINK TO PREVIOUS RELEASE]

Sales, trends, pricing

An opportunity to find out what official membership in both these associations entails in practice came with the annual CEO Congress held in Stockholm. Following its first general part, pertaining to global sales, industry trends, and pricing, CFE workgroup meetings were scheduled.

“These items on the agenda interested us the most,” admits Wojciech Linkowski, Technical Support Leader, who represented Rawlplug in Sweden along with Przemysław Tkaczyk, Sales Director.

Why, you may ask. Simply because, after a brief wrap-up of the year and a presentation of forecasts for the following year, as well as after the official presentation of Rawlplug – already in its role as a CFE/CEO member, there was a hybrid meeting dedicated to the new CPR (Construction Product Regulation), being an extremely important directive regulating the procedure of placing construction products on the market.

European Assessment Documents vs harmonised standards

“The CFE Association has been actively involved in the drafting of this document,” Wojciech Linkowski explains. “According to the draft, there are currently two ways to market a construction product: a mandatory procedure based on harmonised standards and a voluntary procedure based on ETAs being issued with reference to European Assessment Documents.”

This is an important – yet potential – change. The second path still applies to fixings, which often makes it difficult and lengthy to place products on the market. This is due to the promulgation process not being regulated for new EADs, making it difficult to predict when they become valid.

Table of contents

Sales, trends, pricing
European Assessment Documents vs harmonised standards
European product means better
New EADs and design standard update

The standards have mainly concerned a part of screws, so far. Should the new CPR come into force having a similar form to the draft version, the harmonised standards to be created within the next five years will cover all fixing products, including facade and roof fixings, as well as mechanical and bonded anchors.

Wojciech Linkowski

Rawlplug Technical Support Leader

European product means better

The document is currently 400 pages long, and further comments and proposals to the draft are submitted by the European Commission, the European Parliament, and industry associations (CFE being one of the project’s key consultants). The working process has entered its final stage and, if all parties agree, it is possible that the new CPR is enacted at the end of this year or early next year. It may also contain additional requirements for products which – this being the case – will have to be accompanied with:

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) – document containing information on the product’s environmental impact;
Digital Product Passport (DPP) – digital document enabling anyone interested to track the product’s entire path throughout its life cycle;
Smart CE Marking – marking that constitutes a link between a physical product and its Declaration of Performance (DoP) and provides access to this extensive and valuable information in a harmonised digital format.

Digitisation was another major subject addressed throughout the congress. The implementation of further digital solutions sends a clear signal to customers, not only from Europe, but from all over the world: we are making the entire production and supply process more transparent for you; we are closely monitoring our environmental impact, and we are emphasising the highest European quality, while providing rationale for it; and yes, a product from the Old Continent may be more expensive, but it is also much better than a competing product manufactured, for example, in China.

Wojciech Linkowski

Rawlplug Technical Support Leader

New EADs and design standard update

The new CPR was the main theme of the CFE meeting, but not the only one. The current Post Installed Fastening workgroup submitted a report on the final stage of work on the second revisions of EADs 330499-02-0601 (bonded anchors) and 330232-02-0601 (mechanical anchors) as well as on updating the EN 1992-4:2018 design standard. The new Cast In Fastening workgroup was also announced at the Congress, and the formation of yet another one – Wood Screws – was heralded.

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