Brexit Statement

Leviat is the home of Ancon, Halfen, Helifix, Isedio and Plaka brands, and as a business we acknowledge that ensuring security of supply is vital to our customers and ourselves.

The majority of our raw materials are sourced outside the UK, with 80% sourced from within the EU. Our purchasing teams have been working closely with all our key suppliers to formulate contingency plans across our entire product range and have increased our stock levels for key raw materials and components. Most of these raw materials come through well-established supply routes.

We know the UK transition period following the departure from the European Union ends on the 31^st December and we are implementing changes to meet deadline requirements.  We will continue to monitor the situation and react appropriately to minimise disruption. Leviat has complied with all government advice in regards to business readiness for Brexit e.g. we will utilise, through our experienced transport agents the application for EIDR and Simplified Frontier Declarations (SFD). We will review the full declaration submission for goods crossing the border, which will allow the flow of our goods through the UK ports. We also have our EORI and Duty deferment accounts in place.

As part of CRH, a global FTSE 100 company, Leviat has no major cash flow constraints, so we are able to increase stock levels as required with no threats to our financial stability. Further, we use CRH treasury management resources to implement currency-hedging strategies to ensure our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations is minimised.

The majority of our raw materials are ‘generic’, meaning they are standard specifications and thereby not limited to a small number of key suppliers or specific manufacturing patterns. These same materials are used to manufacture a wide variety of products, which gives us additional production flexibility.

We also have within our supply chain the capability to source raw materials and products globally, both from external suppliers and through our links to CRH sister companies, adding flexibility in case of any disruption.

To provide further confidence, we have been in direct contact with our key suppliers to ensure they have contingency plans in place within their own supply chains and logistics functions. Many of our suppliers hold additional buffer stocks within the UK as part of their normal supply chains.

As a global company, we are very experienced in ensuring supply chain security to effectively manage the flow of raw materials and products worldwide. As one of the UK’s largest end users of stainless steel, Leviat has a very strong relationship with all the key mills further guaranteeing our supply chain.

In terms of accreditations, Leviat has been working closely with both EU and UK based notified bodies to ensure compliance is achieved at the earliest possible opportunity. It should be stressed that currently both EU and UK standards are perfectly aligned, therefore, this is primarily an administrative exercise in ensuring paperwork is updated and lodged with the appropriate notified bodies.

As a business, we already hold EN1090 certification by EU and UK Notified bodies. The EN1090 covers products such as Masonry support, Windposts, Shearload Dowels and other fabricated products, so we will be able to offer a CE, UKCA and UKNI mark for these products from 1st Jan 2021. We are currently working through approvals to BS EN 845 on items such as a wall tie range sold into the EU to make the transition as seamless as possible for our customers.

Leviat is registered for the Trader Support Service and our EORI numbers are:

• GB772609510000         - to move goods between Great Britain and the EU.
• XI772609510000          - to move goods between Great Britain and NI.

As you would expect from a market leader, Leviat will maintain its commitment to providing the highest quality compliant products to the market regardless of geographical location.

Signed for and on behalf of Leviat by Peter McDermott, Managing Director (Europe West & APAC)
05.11.2020

Use of the CE Mark and the new UKCA & UKNI marks

On 1 September 2020, the UK Government published new guidance on placing manufactured goods on the market in Great Britain from 1 January 2021, which can be found here. 

On 31 December 2020, the transition period agreed between the UK and the EU will draw to a close and will inevitably have an impact on construction product approvals. At the end of this transition period, the UK will recognise both EU CE marking approvals for a time limited period and the new UK based approval system, which will be known as the UKCA mark. The EU will only recognise CE marking by EU notified bodies as proof of efficacy moving forwards. 

• The UKCA is mandatory for in-scope goods from 1 January 2022 - providing a transition period of one year where the CE mark can continue to be used.
• The UK Government has identified a select group of products that must use the UKCA "immediately after 1 January 2021." This rule will apply to products meeting all three of the following criteria:
  • the product is covered by legislation that requires the UKCA marking
    
    
  • the product requires mandatory third-party conformity assessment
    
    
  • the product conformity assessment has been carried out by a UK conformity assessment body and has not been transferred to an EU recognised body before 1 January 2021

Importantly, the UKCA marking rules do not apply to "existing stock." This means that pre-existing stock fully manufactured before 31 December 2020 and already conformity marked can continue to use the CE Mark. 

CE Marking and UKCA marking from Leviat

Leviat has been working closely with both EU and UK based notified bodies to ensure compliance is achieved at the earliest possible opportunity. It should be stressed that currently both EU and UK standards are perfectly aligned, therefore, this is primarily an administrative exercise in ensuring paperwork is updated and lodged with the appropriate notified bodies. 

As a business, we already hold EN1090 certification by EU and UK Notified bodies. The EN1090 certification covers products such as masonry support, windposts and fabrications and therefore, we will be able to offer a CE, UKCA and UKNI mark for these products from 1st Jan 2021.  

We are currently working through approvals to BS EN 845, on items such as our wall tie range sold into the EU, to make the transition as seamless as possible for our customers, and with full compliance. 

As you would expect from a market leader, Leviat will maintain its commitment to providing the highest quality, compliant products to the market regardless of geographical location. 

We will continue to keep you informed on this important topic as we progress through the final months of the transition period. If you have any further queries on this or a related topic, please contact your account manager or via info.ancon.uk@leviat.com.