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30. 01. 2023

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Thirty years of CQA

It was the year 1990 when CATAS was the Italian reference laboratory for a product certification concerning formaldehyde emission from panels on behalf of a major German institute. The certification attested that the panels belonged to class E1, which was not yet compulsory in Italy but strongly requested in Germany. Catas was in charge of inspections and tests and then sent all periodic reports to the Nuremberg institute.
However, it was perceived that this model had more than a few shortcomings for the Italian companies involved, with difficulties related in particular to communication, not only in terms of contacts with the German institute (language problem), but above all in relation to the information that certified companies wished to provide to the market. In fact, there was no brand name, and the name of the German institute itself was not so well known in Italy as to arouse immediate recognition of the authoritativeness of the certification obtained.
On the other hand, Catas was working hard on this front, being present above all at the European regulatory tables where the standards for the analysis and control of formaldehyde emissions from panels were being defined. The large number of tests carried out by CATAS meant that the technicians taking part in these tables were considered to be among the most “expert” and were therefore involved in the “ad hoc groups” and in experimental research on the methods being defined. The authority of CATAS, therefore, grew until BAM, the German Federal Institute for Construction, asked in 1991 for the designation of a Catas technician to the group of experts supporting the German government in the definition of national legislation on the emission of formaldehyde from panels.

Thus, the Catas Quality Award (CQA) was born...

From here the road travelled in thirty years has been long and has touched different fields, but always with the desire to instil confidence in all users of Catas certified products... go on reading here!


For info:
Franco Bulian
+39 0432 747231
bulian@catas.com