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Nuovo regolamento UE per i prodotti da costruzione

Nuovo regolamento UE per i prodotti da costruzione

La Business Unit E&I si prepara a supportare i propri clienti in relazione al nuovo regolamento UE sui prodotti per l’edilizia (CPR)

24 Lug 2013

E&I Business Unit gears up to support customers in relation to the new EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR), mandatory from 1 July 2013

The new EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR), adopted in 2011, became mandatory from 1 July 2013. Regulation (EU) 305/2011 lays down the conditions for the placing or making available on the market of a wide range of construction products (materials) including “Power, control and communication cables”.  It has been described as the most significant change for a decade in the way in which construction products are sold in Europe”.

The new CPR replaces the old Construction Products Directive (CPD) which needed revision because, as a Directive, it was not applied in a harmonised way throughout the EU.  The new Regulation applies directly, without national interpretations and should remove existing barriers to trade.  The CPR imposes legal obligations on manufacturers, importers and distributors who market products in the EU.

For most construction products, already CE marked under the CPD, there will be a transition from CPD to CPR. However, “power, control and communication cables” were not CE marked under the CPD, meaning that the CPR signifies a “new start” for these products. Many cables are already CE marked under the Low Voltage Directive and this will not change. CE marking of cables under the CPR will only cover their fire performance – initially, their reaction to fire (limiting the generation and spread of fire and smoke) and at a later stage, their fire resistance (where it is essential to ensure continuity of operation by safety systems).

Although 1 July 2013 is an important date for the CPR, the actual date when cables are CE marked under the CPR for their fire performance and the issue of the Declaration of Performance will be some time later (the best estimate is 2H 2014 according to available information). Therefore nothing will change for cables on 1 July 2013. They will continue to be marketed under the current arrangements. 

Despite the inherent uncertainty of the legal process at EU and member state level, Prysmian Group is getting ready. Fully coordinated project teams led by business and R&D staff are working both locally and at corporate level to serve and support our customers in relation to the new CE-Marking rules, as well as to anticipate market requirements. There are two main priorities at present:

1) Positioning (and upgrading where necessary) of the local portfolios for the construction market, with CE-Marking based on fire performance established by local regulations.

2) Lobbying activities.

 

Training programs, internal/external communication packages and workshops are being developed at the same time to support these two main priorities. 

For more info, please contact the R&D department or the E&I Business Unit.