Fagor Industrial laboratory receives European Union authorisation to approve and certify gas appliances

Oñati, Guipzúcoa, 28 May 2013-. Fagor Industrial, a Spanish firm, leader in integral solutions for the hotel and catering and laundry industries, has received the Certigaz certificate, awarding the laboratory a European seal of quality for approving its products.

Located in Oñati, Fagor Industrial's certification and approval laboratory belongs to the R&D Division and has an area of 150 square metres. This division is responsible for constantly updating test methods and standards, and managing the certification processes required to enable the marketing of the products.

Certigaz is one of the most important institutions with which the laboratory has regular contact, and is the body authorised by the European Union to certify gas appliances. At European level, the gas appliance certification tests may either be conducted in independent laboratories appointed by Certigaz (six throughout the world), or by the manufacturer itself, provided that the laboratory has been legally authorised by this body. This is the very authorisation that Fagor Industrial has just received, a seal that comes just one year and a half after the process was started in December 2011, and following three audits of the management system, the control equipment and the installations.

The authorisation is for four years and is subject to an audit in two years time. The authorised laboratory complies with certain characteristics ranging from the impartiality, independence and integrity of the work, to the obligation to have qualified personnel trained in technical knowledge, standardised test methods, registry systems, identification of samples and control elements and specific installations and control. The fact that management of the Fagor Industrial laboratories is also covered by the ISO9001:2008 management system, certified since 1991, was also a complementary factor highly valued by the certifying entity.

"This certification is a very significant landmark for Fagor Industrial, as it determines the quality of our installations and ensures that all the certification and approval tests are carried out at home. The authorisation allows us to simplify considerably the gas appliance tests and will help us to work more efficiently in order to meet the needs of our customers", says Eugenio Urcelay, head of the Fagor Industrial certification and approval laboratory.