SIG Distribution has launched a new quality mark and urged the construction industry to be vigilant in ensuring materials are compliant with European standards.
The distribution arm of SIG has advised the industry to choose construction materials with verified product compliance documents. According to SIG Distribution, recent media reports have claimed that a significant portion of rebar imported from China has not been up to European safety standards, raising concerns over the quality of imported construction materials.
To address these concerns, SIG has launched SIG Assured, a new official stamp of reassurance that SIG will be displaying to show customers that every product it stocks meets all legislative requirements.
The company says that SIG Assured will gives customers peace of mind that all the products it stocks meet the requirements for a wide range of industry compliance standards, and that the information will always be verified by third party experts. Through this quality mark, customers will also have access to all documentation immediately upon request.
Vaughan Taylor, business development director of SIG Construction Accessories, said: “The industry is quite rightly disturbed, waking up to the realisation that cheaper imports may not meet standards and that the safety of professionals and customers could be so easily compromised through the use of materials that aren’t compliant with European regulations. We launched SIG Assured to reassure our customers that every product we stock meets all legal requirements.
“Of course, we mustn’t tar all imports from China with the same brush; this is why we encourage the industry to make use of schemes such as SIG Assured. We independently verify all of our suppliers and ensure that we can trace the provenance of every product we stock.”
SIG Assured covers industry compliance standards such as safety data sheets, Reach, CE marking and EUTR.
