TECNALIA launches the first large-scale fire testing laboratory for façades

Azpeitia, 25th October 2018. Ensuring fire safety is one of the priorities for companies working in new construction or refurbishment. Therefore, to ensure the future of buildings and guarantee good performance in the event of an exterior fire, the regulation is increasingly demanding and states that the solutions included in building projects must have technical tests and justification.

In this context, the TECNALIA research and technological development centre, a benchmark in product testing, evaluation and certification, has launched its large-scale fire testing laboratory for façades, which is unique in Spain, after obtaining the first ENAC (National Accreditation Entity) accreditation in this field. Companies will be able to test their products and innovative developments there to ensure their viability and effectiveness, obtain the corresponding evaluation of the results of the test report and accelerate their arrival on the market.

The facilities, located in Azpeitia, were opened this morning, presided by Markel Olano, Deputy General for Gipuzkoa; Estibaliz Hernáez, Basque Government Deputy Minister for Technology, Innovation and Competitiveness; Eneko Etxeberria, Mayor of Azpeitia; and Emiliano López Atxurra, Chairman of TECNALIA.

MORE THAN 17 YEARS EXPERIENCE

TECNALIA has more than 17 years experience in this field, after having opened its first fire safety laboratory. Since then, the most demanded services have been the characterisation of fire safety features based on European and international regulations (constantly evolving); obtaining technical approval documents for innovative products for which there are no standards of use, the certification of products under brands that are already on international markets; and guidance in the regulatory requirements to achieve the diversification of business lines towards other sectors or markets.

The large-scale testing methods consist of reproducing the spread of fire on the façade of a building, whether caused by an external source of fire or a fire in a room that spreads through the window gap. Therefore, this test enables the performance of full façade solutions to be determined in the event of the spreading of an exterior fire.

In this way, TECNALIA rounds off its services capacity for the industrial façades sector and its components, which includes structural safety, acoustic, thermal, optical and/or material characterisation tests.

Furthermore, the ENAC accreditation is a mark that implies rigour, independence, commitment and knowledge, and which confirms TECNALIA's technical competence, from the qualifications and experience of its staff, to the state-of-the-art and duly calibrated equipment and excellence in the performance of the tests.

ABOUT TECNALIA

TECNALIA is a leading Research and Technological Development Centre in Europe, with 1,400 experts representing 30 different nationalities, focusing on transforming technology into GDP to improve people's quality of life, by creating business opportunities for companies. www.tecnalia.com