Construction Fixings

Thanks to continuous investment, and the experience it has gained in the field of fastening systems since 1962, Bossong SpA has established a wide selection of ETA certified products. Here the company focuses on why certification is important in the construction market.

How has the demand for certifications and European Technical Assessments/Approvals in the construction industry changed over the last 3 – 5 years?

“European Technical Assessments/Approvals are now really important in the construction market. We know that according to the Construction Product Regulation (CPR) that CE Marking is not mandatory for the fixing products but year-by-year we are seeing more customers requesting ETA-CE certified fixings.

In the past, the request for ETA products was only for important building projects in general. Now, customers are asking for ETA certified fixings also for minor connections, so requests are definitely growing. The other point is that the sensibility regarding safety is increased, especially in Italy. This is due to the seismicity level of our country, which means customers are asking for fixing solutions that are suitable for seismic areas. The only solutions available for seismic areas are those products that have a ETA certification with C1 or C2. 

An ETA certified products is important because the customer knows that the quality, know-how, and professionality of the manufacturer, is certified and measured by a third-party institute according to the strict rules contained in the EAD/ETAG.”

Why should customers use ETA products compared to other products? What are the benefits?

“ETA products are tested for situations that consider the effect of sustained load, durability, and temperature, over a long-time period. These parameters are important in order to have a connection with a certain service life.

In an ETA-CE product it is possible to find coherent data to design a connection according to the existing design guidelines that take in account the effects mentioned above.

In the Declaration of Performance (DoP), the designer can find all the relevant data. A product without CE and ETA could still be a product with quality and performance, but official proof such as a Declaration of Performance signed by the manufacturer cannot be issued, because the product has not been submitted for a CE Marking process.”

What does the accreditation process involve when applying for an ETA?

“The investment in the ETA process is significant in terms of cost and time for a SME like Bossong. As a company you need to invest at the beginning of the industrialisation of the product and then follow all the test procedures according to the EAD/ETAG. Factory production control must be implemented and assured. A notified body performs an annual audit on the manufacturing plant. Due to our high internal quality rules, however, we have decided to have two inspection per year, performed by two different notified bodies.”

What products are you able to provide that have ETA certification? 

“We invest every year in the development of our product range. We can offer a complete line of chemical anchors with ETA, including: BCR POLY SF, BCR VINIL, BCR V PLUS and BCR EPOXY 21. In our NW mechanical anchor family there is the throughbolt with ETA Option 7 – NWS-CE, and the NWS-CE1 with Option 1 with fire, seismic qualification C1 and C2. We also have the insert concrete screw CLS-CE in Option 1 with fire and seismic qualification C1.

We have completed our line of ETA certified product also for the plastic anchor family, with our JNS-PLUS qualified according to ETAG 020.” 

www.bossong.com