Associate Members

With the support of MEP Geoffrey van Orden ? Euralarm has takenthe initiative to found the XPG, the European platform to lobby anddiscuss the interests of the Fire and Security profession with theMembers of European Parliament and authorities within the EuropeanCommission that affect our business.

The XPG platform is offered to all stakeholders of the widerworld of Fire & Security, the support of members will give thisplatform the ability to develop into ?THE? recognized voice onbehalf of the Fire and Security profession within the EUparliament.

?Our intention is to become the ?One Stop Shop? for EuropeanParliamentarians on behalf of the ?Wider World of Fire &Security?.

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GYPSUM INDUSTRY COMMITMENT TO FIRE SAFETY

WHO IS EUROGYPSUM AND WHAT IS THE GYPSUMINDUSTRY?
Founded in 1961,Eurogypsum is a European federation of nationalassociations of producers of gypsum products. Its prime aim is topromote both the products and the interests of these producers.With a turnover of well over 3 billion EURO, the European gypsumand anhydrite industry operates some 220 factories and generatesemployment directly and indirectly for 400.000 people.

One of the main characteristics of this industry is that it isone of the few fully integrated industries within theconstruction products field. The companies that minegypsum also process it and manufacture the value-added products andsystems used extensively in construction and other industries. Sothe industry develops and applies in real life the concept oflife-cycle thinking (from cradle to grave). People spend over 80%of their time in buildings. Gypsum products and systems, which areused extensively in interior applications such as ceilings, walls,partitions and floors, contribute to the safety andwell-being of the users of these buildings.

THE GYPSUM INDUSTRY AND FIRE SAFETY: THE PROTECTIVENATURE OF GYPSUM FROM FIRE
The gypsum plasterboard isper nature fire resistant and offers ahigh qualitative solution to prevent the extension of fire inbuildings and effectively protect the house owner from fire.Indeed, the plasterboard is made of gypsum, the most common mineralfound in sedimentary environments. The chemical formulation ofgypsum is CaSO₄,2H₂O - CalciumSulphate dehydrate - In nature, gypsum has the form of acrystal. Thanks to the presence of water in gypsum (H2O), onesquare meter plasterboard of 15 mm thickness contains 3 litrescrystal water. Through the action of fire, the crystal waterevaporates and a protective layer of gypsum is formed. Behind thislayer the material under fire attack, remains at constanttemperature around 100oC, as long as water is released from thegypsum impeding the extension of fire to other parts of thebuildings for a certain period of time. The inclusion of glassfibres in gypsum boards enhances their fire protection performanceby maintaining the integrity of the board in a fire. So gypsum is apowerful fire retardant element in the construction sector due toits non-combustibility and ability to delay for up to 3 hours?according to the number of plasterboards in the correspondingsystem- the get through of fire.

In accordance with the Construction Products Directive (CPD),The CEN Technical Committee 241 has developed standards for gypsumand gypsum based products with representatives of the GypsumIndustry. In doing so, the CEN Technical Committee 241 has takeninto consideration the development of CEN Technical Committee 127addressing fire safety in buildings (fire reaction and fireresistance test methods). CE marking is applied to gypsum productsmanufactured in accordance to the relevant approved CEN standardsfor gypsum products.

Eurogypsum
Boulevard Sylvain Dupuis 233/124
1070 Brussels

Tel: 32 2 521 38 90
Fax: 32 2 524 45 75
Email : info@eurogypsum.org
Web: http://eurogypsum.org

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EUROFEU represents the Technical and Commercial interests ofactive fire protection supply industry of Europe for over 30years.

Membership consists of national trade associations from 10countries. The four autonomous Sections of Fire Fighting Vehicles(Mobile Equipment), Fixed Extinguishing Installations, PortableFire Extinguishers and Sprinklers have a combined turnover inexcess of 4,5 billion Euro.

Representation drawn from specialists within the membership isactively involved in standards writing in Comité Européen deNormalisation (CEN) and International Standards Organisation (ISO),technical and commercial liaison with insurers through ComitéEuropéen des Assurances (CEA) and sister associations in firedetection and security through Euralarm and European Fire andSecurity Advisory Council (EFSAC).

Respected EUROFEU representatives lobby EC and EuropeanParliament on behalf of Members on issues of importance to eithergrow or protect existing markets. Partnerships developed onplatforms of common issues continue to be created with the keyorganisations with the objective of growing the European Market formembers? quality products and services.

eurofeu
Secretariat General
Bernd Scherer
Lyoner Strasse 18
60528 Frankfurt/Main
GERMANY

Tel: +49 69 66 03 13 05
Fax: +49 69 66 03 14 64
Email: bernd.scherer@vdma.org