Construction Fixings

Changes in regulatory environments have been impacting ETA holders for years. Here, Austrian-based AVVIO GmbH & Co KG looks at certifications in general and what’s in store for ETA holders in the future.

Surveillance authorities tightened the requirements for ETA holders in 2022, how is this impacting the market?

“A steady increase in legal requirements can be observed in the area of construction products. For screws in wood construction, several new versions of the relevant standards (EN 14592 and EAD 130118) have been issued in recent years, which has led to a great deal of uncertainty regarding the requirements currently applicable in detail. At the same time, there has been increasing activity by various national surveillance authorities. Serious complaints and potential penalties are becoming more frequent. BREXIT and UKCA Marking, which will finally replace CE Marking in the UK from 2023, will pose even greater challenges for manufacturers.

With the regulatory environment becoming more complex, we see an increasing lack of knowledge about the process of ETA creation. There are several ways to obtain an ETA and participants need to know the associated benefits and risks. So called ‘reproduction ETAs’, for example, are often still unknown but an interesting option in which the prospective ETA holder – instead of going the usual, costly and time-consuming route of creating an entirely new ETA – enters into an agreement with the holder of an existing ETA to create a copy of that ETA. It is obvious that this agreement must be drafted with particular care in order to avoid risks for both parties.”

What is the process of creating an ETA and what do you see impacting ETAs in the future?

“All in all, the creation of an ETA is a clearly defined and regulated process. Nevertheless, it involves a lot of effort and requires quite some experience. Therefore, especially in a field like regulation and approval, we recommend not to take unnecessary risks and cooperate with experts who have a lot of experience. AVVIO offers a unique service in this respect. 

For more than 35 years we have been involved in the production and approval of fasteners for structural timber engineering. Our internal product testing to ensure the necessary performance prior to applications, completes this service. 

We are convinced the fastener industry will also face increasing sustainability requirements from the market and ultimately from regulators. Therefore, AVVIO has already started to work with universities and standardisation bodies to prepare the ground for an energy consumption test to fill this gap and add an energy class system for fasteners in standards such as EN 14592 and EAD 130118.”