Maker of suspect paneling in London building fire stops selling it
Arconic (ARNC) says it is discontinuing global sales of one type of composite paneling for high-rise buildings following the devastating fire that killed 79 people at Grenfell Tower.
Arconic said in a statement Monday that Reynobond PE, a kind of "cladding" used in the apartment building, would no longer be sold for use in high-rises. The company said that it believes "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 tower's cladding -- panels widely used to insulate buildings and improve their appearance -- may have been a factor in rapidly spreading the June 14 blaze.
In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, an Arconic spokesperson said last week that "one of our products, an aluminum composite material, was used as one component in the overall cladding system of the Tower. We will fully support the authorities as they investigate this tragedy."
Shares in Arconic fell as much as 11 percent and were down 4.4 percent at $24.41 in midday New York trading.
Hospitals and school buildings across Britain will have their exterior cladding tested for flammability as part of an urgent nationwide push to increase fire safety.
A British firm, Celotex, which Scotland Yard has said made the insulation used at in Grenfell Tower, said after the fire that it was halting supplies of the product for any "cladding systems in buildings over 18 meters (59 feet) tall."
The announcement came from Downing Street on Monday, as calls for testing continue to spread across Britain following the June 14 Grenfell Tower fire. The fire, which left 79 dead or missing presumed dead, spread rapidly through the London tower block, which has been blamed by experts on its flammable outside cladding.
Since the fire, cladding on 60 high-rise buildings across he U.K. has been tested for fire safety -- and all have failed. Four towers in London's borough of Camden were evacuated this week after the discovery of numerous fire hazards.
Hospital and school testing will be led by the Department of Health and Department for Education.
Other factors are believed to have contributed to the massive Grenfell Tower blaze. Apartments in the building lacked automatic fire sprinklers, which would have cooled the fire and reduced the amount of smoke. The high-rise also had only one exit staircase, trapping those on the upper floors.