Paolo Fantoni has recently been confirmed for the third time as President of the European Panel Federation (EPF), the European organisation representing panel manufacturers.
At the last General Assembly, held in Dunblane, Scotland, President Fantoni declared the urgent need to harmonise the binding parameters of formaldehyde in panels within the EU, both to regulate the import of third party products and to avoid obstacles within the EU market.
“Currently seven on 28 Countries preview a binding limit to the emissions of formaldehyde - Fantoni has explained - and between these, Germany thinks to introduce unilaterally more restrictive rules and different methods of test, that however would go to limit the free competition inside the single market. All this not only creates problems for European producers and leaves open the doors to the import of non-European products that do not meet any standards, but also creates confusion in the final consumer. We therefore call on the new bodies of the European Union to urgently adopt a directive harmonising the matter“.

The EN13986 standard

Panels produced in Europe are generally used in furniture, construction, packaging and many other sectors. The EN13986 standard currently has two formaldehyde emission classes: E2 and E1. Since 2007, the lowest E1 (0.1 ppm - parts per million - as recommended by the World Health Organisation) has been adopted by the member industries of Epf. The Federation intends to push for a precautionary reduction of the volatile substance, based on recent assessments made by the European Chemicals Agency (Echa).
The EPF proposal aims to standardize the rules in all EU countries by introducing the mandatory limit E1, both for the production and import of panels and furniture. At the same time, it requires the introduction of an additional standard, on a voluntary basis, with emissions of half E1, to which individual manufacturers can adhere.

European production of panels

According to Epf's 2018/2019 Annual Report, total European panel production in 2018 was 59.3 million cubic metres, up 1.7% from the previous year, due to increases in chipboard, plywood, hardboard and softboard.
In the first four months of this year the indicators, compared with those of the same period in 2018, speak of a negative reversal of production levels, which decreased by 1.2%, as a result of the uncertainties that affect the downstream industrial chains.