Ecotile Flooring Ltd is delighted to announce that we have received confirmation that our products conform to the rigorous German standard of the Ü mark. Only products manufactured in accordance with the strictest attention to environmental and health implications qualify for the Ü mark and we see it as yet another proof that Ecotile is the best PVC interlocking floor tile available on the market.

The German Ü mark for construction products is administered by German DIBt (German Institute for Construction Technology) and shows that the Ü marked product conforms with additional specifications if European CE marking does not cover all necessary information for German authorities.

Ü stands for « Übereinstimmung » (compliance).

Successful application for the approval and the Ü mark is a prerequisite for entering the German market with certain products including resilient floor coverings of which PVC interlocking floor tiles are one. The Ü mark of conformity on the basis of the abZ (see below for more information about the abZ) is compulsory for those products for interior use. That means anyone using products without the Ü mark is in contravention of German law.

The Ü mark is an additional standard that construction products are required to meet in Germany as well as the CE mark. The construction products complying with the requirements being stipulated in technical specifications are entitled to be identified with the CE marking and to be traded.

The CE mark was created to guarantee the free movement of goods within the EU with safer products. Only after a conformity assessment procedure has been carried out, in accordance with the applicable EC directives, may a product be marketed and put into service.

The Ü mark is a national symbol of conformity, which is only valid in Germany. It is based on a national standard, a general building authority approval (abZ), a general building authority test certificate (abZ) or an approval which is required in each individual case. The declaration of conformity is to be submitted by the manufacturer by marking the construction product with the conformity symbol (Ü mark). Only then may the product be used in accordance with the information in the approval.

What is the difference between this and the CE mark?

A key difference between products with the CE mark and products with the Ü mark is that, in addition to product property information, information about the application, measurement and design are also included in the abZ. In contrast, products with the CE mark must be tested before use in Germany to check that the specified product property fulfils the national requirements.

General building authority approval (abZ)

General building authority approvals are issued by the German Institute for Construction Technology (DIBt) for such construction products and types of building in the application area of state building codes, for which there are no generally accepted codes of practice, especially DIN standards, or from which there are significant deviations. They are an evaluation of the usability of the approved item in terms of the building authority requirements. General building authority approvals are normally issued for a period of five years. They can be extended on request.

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