Grenfell Tower fire: Cladding company stops all global sales of product to high-rise blocks

Fire caused devastating casualties as it swept through entire building in half an hour

Cladding and insulation material at Grenfell failed fire safety tests carried out after the disaster (Reuters)

The firm which supplied the panels used in the cladding of Grenfell Tower has stopped global sales for high rise blocks.

US company Arconic said on Monday afternoon it would discontinue sales amid growing concern about the safety of its cladding panels following the fire which killed at least 79 people.

The statement said, “Arconic is discontinuing global sales of Reynobond PE for use in high-rise applications.

“We believe this is the right decision because of the inconsistency of building codes across the world and issues that have arisen in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy regarding code compliance of cladding systems in the context of buildings’ overall designs.”

The Government confirmed that 60 high-rise buildings in 25 local authority areas failed fire cladding safety tests.

The Reynobond PE panels used in the cladding of Grenfell was the cheaper option out of three – including panels with a fire resistant core, suitable for buildings up to 30 metres, and panels with a non-combustible core, for buildings above that height, as detailed in the company's leaflet.

Arconic, known as Alcoa Inc until 2016, told Reuters that it knew the panels would be used for the high-rise in Kensington, but it was not responsible for deciding what was compliant or not compliant with local building regulations.

Grenfell Tower was more than 60 metres tall.

“When conceiving a building, it is crucial to choose the adapted products in order to avoid the fire to spread to the whole building. Especially when it comes to facades and roofs, the fire can spread extremely rapidly,” the brochure said.

“As soon as the building is higher than the fire fighters’ ladders, it has to be conceived with an incombustible material.”

The announcement to discontinue sales comes after Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said the Reynobond PE panels were banned for use in high rise buildings in the UK, as well as in Europe and the US.

Omnis Exteriors, the company that cut the Arconic tiles to shape and supplied them to the cladding contractor, said the Reynobond PE panels could be used for high rise buildings as long as the insulation material behind the panels were non-combustible.

The cladding and the insulation material failed fire safety tests after the tragedy.

On Friday evening, around 4,000 people were evacuated from high-rise buildings in Camden after the council had tested the cladding and found it to be unsafe.

Nicholas Holgate, former chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council, was forced to resign following backlash to the council's response to the fire.

The Prime Minister has requested councils carry out swift action regarding safety tests on buildings.

In Croydon, the most populous London borough, the council will start implementing sprinklers in all residential tower blocks of 10 storeys or more in September.

An inquest has been opened into the deaths of some of the victims, including a five-year-old boy.

Emergency workers warned last week that the death toll was likely to rise over the coming weeks and that some victims would never be identified, due to the intensity of the blaze.