What's The Fuss?

There are many Slatwall suppliers in the UK, with the majority offering UK manufactured Slatwall Panels that are of the highest quality. However, there is an increasing trend by smaller independents offering Slatwall Boards imported mainly from China. So what’s the fuss?

Firstly, there is a huge difference in quality – regardless of what the importers tell you!

Our UK manufactured Slatwall Panels have strict specification tolerance and quality control; for example during production of the MDF Board, multiple electronic probes are used at regular intervals to ensure density consistency. This is one of the biggest gripe of imported boards, they are not as dense and therefore heavy as UK manufactured boards. Subsequently, the strength and load bearing of imported panels is much less.

Our Slatwall or Slot Board Panels are also more durable and hard wearing because of their melamine laminate, which is essentially plastic. Subsequently, melamine faced Slatwall Panels provide greater rigidity and durability with a wipe clean surface. In contrast, Chinese imports have thin paper foil bonded surface and will therefore not last as long – they may appear the same at first, but the surface will soon deteriorate.

Perhaps the most important issue here is the Health & Safety aspect. All our Slatwall Panels are made from 18mm depth MDF Board, compliant to BS EN 622. For further information on MDF and the British & European Standard BS EN 622, please visit the government’s Health and Safety Executive website:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/faq-mdf.htm

Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) is made from wood fibres that are ‘bonded’ using a resin, which most commonly contains Formaldehyde. The atmosphere created by cutting or sanding MDF is wood dust, as well as ‘free Formaldehyde’, dust particles onto which Formaldehyde is adsorbed. Under current legislation wood dust and Formaldehyde are considered to be hazardous to health. In the UK and the European Union, Formaldehyde is classified as a carcinogen and it carries the hazard statement ‘suspected of causing cancer’.

It is very difficult to monitor production consistency in China, so even if original samples or some production of MDF Slatwall complies with UK and EU Health & Safety standards – not all can be guaranteed. Therefore imported MDF will have questionable chemical structure and manufacturing process, leading to serious health and safety concerns.

Is this all scaremongering? We don’t think so – the threat is real, and lessons should be learnt from one of America’s major retailers, Lumbar Liquidators. The company sold Chinese MDF flooring, which was found to be unsafe in its levels of Formaldehyde. Please take time to read the following articles:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/02/22/lumber-liquidators-cancer-risk-cdc/80724770/

http://krcomplexlit.com/currentcases/lumber-liquidators-laminate-floors/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35636267

So if a major USA company cannot control the quality and standard of MDF products from China, what chance do small UK importers have?

Do you want to gamble on your health and safety, and those of the installers, your staff and ultimately your customers?

Here at UK Slatwall Panels, we do not believe it is a risk worth taking.