Testing body

Conventional wood-based materials and other building materials often contain binders containing formaldehyde. The EU classified formaldehyde as “may cause cancer”. Products may only be marketed in EU member states if their formaldehyde emission is tested according to specified methods and complies with the national limit value. There are also legal requirements in many non-European countries. We offer testing for the following products:

• Europe | European Standards (EN): wood-based materials
• USA | ASTM Standards: wood-based materials
• Japan | Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS): wood-based materials, solid wood products, wallpaper, varnishes

We also use our many years of experience for the new and further development of formaldehyde test methods.

Research focus “Formaldehyde test methods”

Construction materials must be sufficiently strong to fulfill their purpose. We carry out type tests (“Initial Type Test (ITT)”) as well as many other tests. Our portfolio includes various material characteristic tests, long-term tests, investigations of the influences of constant and alternating climates and round-robin tests. We offer tests for the following products:

• Europe | European Standards (EN): wood-based materials, gypsum boards and cement-bonded particleboards, thermal insulation materials, walls and wall elements of wood panel construction, floor coverings.
• USA | ASTM Standards: wood based materials

Bonding must be safe. Particularly in load-bearing timber construction, timber construction materials and their structural connections must meet high requirements.

We offer tests for the following products:

• Germany | Model administrative provisions – technical building rules (MVV TB) or general building authority approval: adhesives for load-bearing timber construction components.
  
• Europe | European standards (EN): adhesives for load-bearing and non-load-bearing timber components, timber structures (made of glued laminated timber, laminated beams), parquet adhesives

Info sheet “Testing body: Structural bonding”

We also use our many years of experience for the new and further development of adhesive systems for wood-based material production and wood construction. 

Research focus “Bonding, adhesion, adhesives”