How to do plywood business with European Certificate details

CE and DOP document:

The European market requires that construction products across all of its member states carry a common mark to show they meet a harmonised European standard and may be easily identified as being ‘fit for purpose’.

For the plywood, The (updated) harmonised European standard enabling the CE marking of plywood is EN 13986:2004+A1:2015. Wood-based panels for use in construction – Characteristics, evaluation of conformity and marking.

In addition must have clearly display the CE mark, the product have the correct Declaration of Performance documentation:

List of standards

EN310

Wood-based panels: Determination of modulus of elasticity in bending and of bending strength.

EN314

Plywood – Bond quality

Bond Class 1: Dry conditions ‒ interior applications with no risk of wetting.

This is equivalent to a moisture content in the plywood corresponding to a temperature of 20°C and a relative humidity of the surrounding air only exceeding 65% for a few weeks of the year.  As a guide, the average moisture content of most softwoods will not exceed 12%.

Bond Class 2: Humid conditions ‒ protected exterior conditions e.g. behind cladding or under roof coverings.

This is equivalent to a moisture content in the plywood corresponding to a temperature of 20°C and a relative humidity of the surrounding air only exceeding 85% for a few weeks per year.  As a guide, the average moisture content of most softwoods will not exceed 20%.

Bond Class 3: Exterior conditions ‒ unprotected exterior conditions over sustained periods.

This is equivalent to climatic conditions leading to a higher moisture content than would be suitable for bond class 2 environments.

EN636

This gives the requirements for plywood for general purpose use and for structural (load bearing) applications in dry, humid and exterior conditions.

EN 636-1

Plywood for use in dry conditions.

EN 636-2

Plywood for use in humid conditions including protected external applications. It is also capable of resisting exposure to the weather for short periods. Use in interior applications where the humidity rises above that given for dry use is also acceptable.

EN 636-3

Plywood for use in exterior conditions including liquid water or water vapour in damp but ventilated locations.

EN717

Wood–based panels – Determination of formaldehyde release

FSC:

FSC certification ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. 

In order to we can meet our current needs for forest products without compromising the health of the world’s forests for future generations, has developed a set of 10 principles and 57 Criteria that apply to FSC-certified forests around the world.

Our company export wood panels with FSC certificates, including plywood, MDF board, OSB Board, etc. If you are interested in it, we can offer you the latest certificates for check.

EUTR:

The EU Timber Regulation aims to reduce illegal logging by ensuring that no illegal timber or timber products can be sold in the EU.

he due diligence system shall contain the following three elements:

Information: Operators shall provide the following information: a description of the timber or timber products placed on the market (including trade name and type of product, common name of tree species and, if applicable, their scientific name), country of harvest, quantity, details of the supplier and information on compliance with applicable legislation.

Risk assessment: Operators should analyse and evaluate the risk of illegally harvested timber or timber products placed on the market, based on the information identified above and taking into account relevant risk assessment criteria set out in the EUTR, including but not limited to, assurance of compliance with applicable legislation, prevalence of illegal harvesting of specific tree species, prevalence of illegal harvesting or practices in the sourcing country, complexity of the supply chain.

Risk mitigation: When the assessment has demonstrated that there is a risk of illegally harvested timber or timber products derived from such timber, operators shall mitigate such risk by requiring additional information and/or verification by a third party.

Because many clients in European market have the requirement on EUTR documents, our company update the latest EUTR certificates this year, and widely used in most of the European customers now.

These certificates are commonly used for export to the European market, if you have any questions on them, please contact us freely.