Witex laminate flooring now bears the CE mark

Press Info July 2006

Witex laminate flooring now bears the CE mark

The CE mark is an important, visible indicator for traders, the handicraft industry and consumers when it comes to proving that the safety of a product has been tested to European standards. Witex applied for the CE mark at the beginning of the year and successfully completed the subsequent series of tests. The company is now one of the leading laminate manufacturers in Europe, which has fulfilled its obligations ahead of schedule with regard to labelling under EU guidelines (EN 14 041). Even though Witex products and packaging may not yet carry the CE mark, the EU standard is already being adhered to in the company's manufacturing processes, and since June of this year, all laminate flooring has been produced in accordance with CE mark requirements.
From January 2007, all laminate manufacturers will have to comply with CE criteria.

Requirements regarding health, safety and energy conservation have been set-out in EN 14 041 on the CE mark, in relation to elastic, textile and laminate floor coverings. The European standard also sets-out safe limits for chemical substance content, such as pentachlorphenol and formaldehyde, but also sets out mechanical properties regarding how waterproof the product is, its skid behaviour, electrical behaviour, thermal conductivity and fire behaviour, which products bearing the CE mark must adhere to.

CE signifies product safety - CELQ guarantees quality
As the CE mark is simply “the smallest common denominator” when it comes to product safety, but is not a meaningful quality seal for the consumer, larger European laminate manufacturers are going one step further and are acquiring the “CELQ” label (Certified European Laminate Quality) for their products, from The Association of European Laminate Flooring Manufacturers. This is of great assistance to traders and consumers when purchasing laminate. CELQ represents first-rate quality laminate flooring produced in Europe. Products which bear the CELQ seal have undergone and passed a wide variety of tests by independent, externally controlled testing institutes.
To be able to acquire the CELQ mark, manufacturers must be members of the association, and must allow their products to be tested in particular for criteria such as suitability for daily use and durability, which are important to private and commercial end-consumers. In the process, flooring is tested for its ability to resist fading, its abrasion resistance, scratch resistance, its suitability for rolling chairs and its resistance to staining among others, but is also tested for precision production, such as squareness of the floor boards. To ensure that people will continue to rely on the seal, first-rate products must undergo and pass the test procedure at regular intervals.
Witex now offers traders and consumers a powerful means of selecting goods by carrying the CE and CELQ certificates on its labelling. They can use this to clearly identify high-quality laminate flooring in the varied flooring market, and therefore will be more confident with their purchases.

May be re-printed free of charge (approx. 3,152 characters incl. spaces)
- a receipt is kindly requested.

Contact:
Witex International Flooring GmbH
Marketing and PR Department
Nord-West-Ring 21
32832 Augustdorf
Tel: +49 5237 / 609 -0
Fax:+49 5237 / 609 -180
E-mail: pr@witex.com
Internet: www.witex.com