FEP Launches Brand-New Certification Program

The European Parquet Federation (FEP) has launched a parquet refinishable certification program.

The voluntary program is designed to identify parquet products with wear/top layers thick enough to be refinished, and produce a list of certified refinishable parquet products to aid manufacturers, distributors, specifiers and end-users in their decision-making processes.

The goal of the program is to promote parquet and its inherent advantages compared to other floor coverings. For instance, parquet is at least twice re-sandable because of its minimum 2.5-millimetre real wood top layer. Refinishing also allows renovation to update colour and style.

The program was developed in cooperation with the National Wood Flooring Association, which recently launched its engineered wood flooring refinishable program. In order to encourage an international norm, both programs are aligned.

To be eligible for certification, the manufacturer must be a member of FEP in good standing, and their headquarters and production facility should be in Europe. The manufacturer must also prove that it has a sufficiently large production and it manufactures parquet floors in accordance with approved European standards.

FEP may offer certification reciprocity for products certified by associations outside of Europe that administer similar refinishability programs. For instance, manufacturers that certify products to the NWFA’s engineered wood flooring refinishable program can apply to participate in the FEP’s parquet refinishable program and reversely.