EU new building materials regulations will be implemented in early July

CE certification of building products has been following the Building Products Directive (CPD directive) for a long period of time so far. Now, in order to implement the CE certification of construction products more strictly, the EU will fully replace the original CPD directive by the Building Products Regulations (CPR) from July 1 this year, which means that the CPR regulations will enter the enforcement stage.

It is reported that CPR regulations apply to all construction products sold and circulated in the European market, such as roofing materials, asphalt mixtures, gypsum materials, aggregates, cement, pipes, flooring materials, sewer equipment, doors and windows, glass, structural metal products, and Firmware, insulation materials, waterproof materials, structural timber, traffic signal indications, fire protection equipment and heating equipment.

In addition to the six basic performance requirements, the law also requires companies to prove the environmental sustainability information of the building products they produce. Not only that, the new regulations have also made new mandatory requirements for traders, importers and distributors, etc. related to the circulation of construction products on the basis of originally constraining manufacturers of construction products, and provided unified construction products into the EU. The performance evaluation method, through the use of a common technical language, ensures the reliability of all construction product performance information.

China is a big country for building materials, and the EU is one of the major exporters of building materials in China. People in the industry believe that the entry into force of this regulation will usher in new challenges to China’s export of nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars worth of building materials to the EU. At present, China's building materials industry is entering an important stage of expanding its market share. Despite the rapid increase in export value, building materials exports to Europe still face “three major difficulties”: First, the current EU harmonized standard provisions for construction products are numerous and demanding. Relevant standards have reached 600 or so, and the pace of renewal has been accelerating. Although most companies are eager to occupy the EU market, their awareness of the crisis is weak, their ability to interpret standards is limited, and there are large blind spots for exports. Second, the CE mark is a building product link. In Europe, the cycle of testing and certification process is relatively long. Although CPR regulations are procedurally simplified compared to the past, enterprises with competitive advantages in low cost are still facing domestic labor costs, rising raw material prices, and certifications. The bottleneck of the reduction of profit retention caused by expenses; Third, the EU has a large gap in the demand for green, multifunctional, and high-quality high-end building materials, but Chinese products do not meet the EU's demand for products. Symmetrical phenomenon, product replacement is slow.

The inspection and quarantine department reminds related companies to respond quickly to changes in regulations and put them into the new CE certification process as soon as possible. At the same time, the following countermeasures must be taken: “High-tech, high added value, and low energy consumption” as the development of future products. Direction, explore and develop new materials and new processes to promote the development of new products; get rid of the relative monotonous situation of the previous product structure, develop marketable products with various specifications and specifications to meet the needs of medium-to-high-end products in the EU market, and change low-cost marketing campaigns. The model takes the core competitiveness of products as an important means to enhance branding and promotion capabilities, and enhances the export grade. Based on the European market, it may be a good idea to consider expanding the potential high-quality markets that are rapidly developing in Russia, the Middle East, Latin America and other construction industries. Reduce the risk of new regulations.