Insulation manufacturer Celotex has temporarily suspended four of its product lines.
In a statement the company said: “After careful consideration, we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend supply of some of our 5000 product range in light of a recent and unexpected test result.
“This relates to Celotex FR5000, Celotex CG5000, Celotex CF5000 and Celotex SL5000 which share the same insulation core and facer.
“We recognise that this decision could have some practical implications for some of our customers for which we apologise.”
The company said it had taken the decision following unexpected results from fire tests.
In April this year, it sent a sample of RS5000 for independent testing under both Parts 6 and 7 of BS 476. In August, it learnt that whilst the sample continued to meet the standard for Class 1, the sample did not achieve a Class 0 rating.
“A sample of this product was used in a full system test for a rainscreen cladding system in 2014, where the system passed. We understand that in August 2017 a sample of the same product passed the DCLG test 5 for a full rainscreen cladding system.
All the products in the 5000 range share a core which is made of the same material (Polyisocyanurate or PIR). They are marketed under different names according to their intended application (CG5000, FR5000, RS5000 etc.).
The sample tested in 2011 was of the product marketed as FR5000. Celotex applied the 2011 test results in relation to Celotex RS5000, Celotex CG5000, Celotex CF5000 and Celotex SL5000.
“We do not currently know why the RS5000 sample did not achieve a Class 0 rating in these later tests, given the results from 2011 and we are investigating this,” it said. “In light of this test result and the desire to act responsibly, we believe it is right to temporarily suspend supply of these 5000 ranges.
“We would like to reassure all of our customers that we will provide additional information once we are in a position to do so in respect of both the results and the applications of these 5000 ranges, and following engagement with the relevant third parties.”
“We are recommending to our distributors that they do not sell existing stock in this period and we shall collect any relevant 5000 series products in its original packaging and will credit customers seeking to return such product with the purchase price with no restocking charge, regardless of when the product was supplied to the customer.”
