Celotex remains committed to cooperating fully with the on-going Grenfell Tower Inquiry and related investigations. The Inquiry is now in Phase 2 of its work during which many issues will be examined including those related to the building’s refurbishment. The hearings have included evidence from a number of individuals who were formerly employed by the company. They have been called by the Inquiry to give their own accounts of relevant events. 

In the course of work carried out by Celotex after the Grenfell Tower fire, certain issues emerged concerning the testing, certification and marketing of Celotex’s products which were previously unknown to Celotex’s current management. Once established, they were promptly and publicly announced in 2017 and 2018 by notices on Celotex’s website and reported to (among others) the relevant testing/certification bodies, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Trading Standards, the Metropolitan Police and the Inquiry. 

These matters involved unacceptable conduct on the part of a number of former employees. They should not have happened and Celotex has taken concerted steps to ensure that no such issues reoccur, including the recruitment of new management to oversee its technical, operational and marketing teams as well as designing and implementing changes to testing processes and quality assurance systems. Celotex’s current management is committed to continuous improvement.

Celotex has undertaken additional fire safety testing of both its 4000 and 5000 ranges of insulation in the period since June 2017. This testing confirmed the test results/ classifications to BS 476, Parts 6 and/ or 7 that products within the ranges were stated to have at the time of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment. In April 2018, a test of a particular rainscreen cladding system to BS8414:2 2005 in which RS5000 was one component was shown to meet the criteria of BR135, which was the test result stated as having been achieved in Celotex’s products literature at the time of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment.

Copies of Celotex’s previous announcements about fire testing can be accessed here and here.