Building safety requirements are increasingly strict. As such, investors today expect products and services to be highly-reliable, with lifetime guarantees and complete property protection. 

To meet new guidelines, manufacturers of construction materials are required to conduct more stringent product tests and upgrade their parameters. Only a few sandwich panel producers can guarantee the highest level of safety confirmed by FM Approvals: an independent testing arm of the American insurer FM Global. They use scientific research and testing to make sure products conform to the highest standards for safety and property loss prevention. 

We are proud to tell you that Ruukki’s sandwich panels with X-PIR and mineral wool core have been granted FM Approvals Global Certification.  

Though FM Global are based in the USA, they are the world’s largest American insurance company. Therefore, being awarded their product and services certification is hugely significant for our UK customers. It provides peace of mind (the validity of an FM certificate is assessed via regular production site audits, confirming the maintenance of quality standards) and contributes significantly to minimising the risk of loss (through building destruction or business disruption).

Ruukki’s sandwich panels were certified in a multi-step process. After an initial audit at Ruukki’s plant in Poland, which produces the panels, the next stage included complex fire resistance and strength tests. Large-scale fire safety tests were carried out in the USA to evaluate combustibility of an envelope’s elements in real-fire conditions. This is significantly more extensive than the tests undertaken for the recognised CE certification for Europe, which typically uses specimen samples in small laboratories. For Ruukki, therefore, the FM testing was crucial for optimal UK consumer safety. 

The tests in the FM Approvals laboratories consisted of the simulation of real hazards, including fire, to which a building may be exposed. The aim of the tests was to verify the ability of the sandwich panel partitions to withstand these harsh scenarios. The results of the fire and strength tests on our sandwich panels were impressive, and highly competitive in comparison to other sandwich panel manufacturers. As such, a positive performance in all tests meant our sandwich panels were awarded an FM certificate for a given construction product. Ruukki’s panels were awarded the widest possible scope of application, including no limitations as to the admissible height of a building.

The certificate allows the use of the panels both as internal partitions (walls and ceilings) and external partitions, in accordance with FM Approvals requirements. As our sandwich panels are designed for external walls, unlike many others on the market, they have longer lifespans and can withstand significant wind pressure and suction. 

We look forward to publishing our FM certificate and supporting information. We’ll be sharing this with our UK customers via our website and marketing materials, as well as through labelling on the packages of panels covered by the certificate. 

To find out more, contact your Ruukki UK sales representative Māris Vīksne: maris.viksne@ruukki.com