BRE caught up in war over cladding panels

The Building Research Establishment has become embroiled in the increasingly hostile trade war between manufacturers of foam-filled composite cladding panels and their rivals, which supply mineral fibre-filled panels.

In mid-March, Eurisol, the trade body representing mineral wool manufacturers, was forced to make a retraction over photos and statements that it attributed to BRE in a document that sought to extol the fire-resisting properties of mineral wool panels compared with polyurethane-filled panels.

After protests by BRE, Eurisol secretary general Ian Knight issued a statement: "We would like to clarify that this document was published by Eurisol without any BRE involvement in its production, or express approval to use the BRE name. The view expressed in the document were those of Eurisol alone and are not attributable to BRE."

Peter Field of the Fire Research Station, part of BRE, said: "The FRS was happy for the full details of the fire tests we undertook for Eurisol to come out but we are uncomfortable about the way the document was selective in what it included and misrepresented our objectivity and independence."

Last week, foam-filled panel manufacturer Kingspan entered the fray and sent out two documents - one disputing the non-combustibility claims made for mineral wool and the other questioning the thermal performance on mineral wool once it was wet.

Kingspan also sought to further embarrass Eurisol by printing a series of quotes from BRE outlining displeasure with the mineral wool trade body over associating its name with the Eurisol document. Kingspan sent out these quotes on unheaded paper.