Lapitec Gains CE Mark
VEDELAGO, Italy – Lapitec is now the first surface product in Europe to receive official designation as sintered stone.
The company announced last week that its product now carries the CE (Conformité Européene) mark after meeting requirements set by the European Commission.
Lapitec surfaces are the first and, at this point, only materials recognized as sintered stone under the European guidelines.
The CE designation comes shortly after the commission and and European Organisation for Technical Assessment (EOTA) adopted a new EAD (European Assessment Document) that defines the sintered-stone product category.
“Today we celebrate a great milestone,” declares Lapitec sales executive Francesco Giannini. “While the CE mark certifies the truth of Lapitec’s performance claims that we have always shared, it also defines once and for all when a surface can be called sintered stone.”
Under the EAD, sintered stone is a 100% mineral ecological core that does not use petroleum derivatives and features a special formula free of crystalline silica. The defined process of manufacturing also requires refining minerals at 1,500°C and compacting them under vacuum, followed by sintering at 1,200°C to produce large, full body slabs.
Following tests and the completion of an appropriate DoP (Declaration of Performance), Lapitec is the only material that currently meets all the requirements of the EAD and carries the CE mark for building categories in the EU.
“All too often, other materials are wrongly promoted as sintered stone, and this new step will shed light on a long-standing problem that undermines the market niche that we have been presiding over for more than a decade,” Giannini added.
