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11/03/11 - CHEAP ALUMINIUM POOL FENCE PANELS
TO OUR CUSTOMERS RE CHEAP CHINESE POOL FENCE IMPORTS
We have been in the pool fencing industry for over 20 years and have seen many changes in this time.
The requirements have never been more stringent in regard to the manufacture of aluminium pool fencing panels than they are now.
We take the safety of children and families very serious so before AS1926.1 – 2007 was implemented, we made a large investment in the design and commissioning of a robotic welding cell to make certain that all panels exceed the tests as part of the Loading Requirements outlined in this standard.
The robotic welding cell and positioner took over 10 months to commission. It ensures that all panels we sell are exactly the same and have the required amount of weld so that our panels easily pass 3.1 and 3.3 of AS1926.1 – 2007. We have had our panels tested by a NATA testing laboratory and they pass by over 30% but we are forced to compete against cheap Chinese imported panels with vastly inferior components and in most cases, no certification.
Most imported panels could not possibly pass AS1926.1 -2007 requirements and in many instances, the importers don’t even attempt to get certification, they rely on selling large quantities of panels at prices below our material cost and bugger the purchaser, let them worry about the ramifications.
A typical 2.475m imported panel has approximately .500mm of weld if all spot welds were laid end to end. Our panels have 1.6m of weld laid end to end with higher tensile vertical bars.
I know of at least two factories in Queensland, full of imported panels, they are selling them at prices that would not have been possible even 24 years ago when I started in this industry.
Very few certifiers are performing the correct tests on the verticals; they are dangerous to children and are not certifiable. Most certifier’s are not checking the Strength and Rigidity of Openings under the standard except occasionally with a simple "squeeze test using their hand". The trouble with that is one persons hand might have half the strength of the next or their right had may be stronger than their left.
- What sort of test is that?
- How much wear and tear will these flimsy panels withstand?
- How safe will the fence be in 3 or 4 years time after a constant battering by children?
- Who will accept responsibility when a child drowns in a pool fenced with these cheap imports if it hasn’t already happened?
These panels could not have passed the relevant tests conducted by a NATA testing laboratory therefore they are selling illegal panels, some even providing a form 15 with no test report to support it.
We have gone to great expense to make sure our aluminium pool fence panels are fully tested and certified. The end users safety and longevity of our product are paramount, yet no one in authority is policing the massive influx of cheap Chinese panels that we have to compete with.
The other issue is of course the powder coating, what pre treatment process do they use if any, what is the quality of the powder they use? I can assure you it is not Dulux or Interpon, It cannot be done to the Australian Standard for the price they are importing them. We know, we have our own powder coating plant and we know the process and cost involved. Expect the powder coating to start flaking off in the next few years. It won’t help you going back to the supplier for warranty either as he will be long gone.
We too could import cheap pool fence panels and pass them off as the real deal after all, whose to stop us? We could then compete with our opposition but we chose to do what is right and comply with the relevant standard to warrant that the product we supply is safe and fit for purpose. We have children, we like to sleep at night.
This is not to say that some things that come out of China are not of excellent quality, but in this case it is buyer beware of these cheap imitations and the cowboys selling them.
A typical example is F.... D.... at Stapylton, after I received their brochure I rang to enquire as to the cost of their pool fencing, he told me $65 per panel, I asked him the price of his gates, he said $109 so I asked him if that included a latch and hinges, he said "no, you can buy them at B……s". I asked him which Australian Standard applied to the pool fence panels, he couldn’t tell me. I then asked him if he had certification and he said "no, I sell it as a balustrade but you can use it around your pool, all the certifier will look at is the installation".
I told him that was not correct and that the certifier required a Form 15 which references AS1926.1 - 2007 and a test report number. He replied "well I told you I sell it as a balustrade but plenty of people use it as a pool fence and get away with it".
I then said "balustrade has to comply with AS1170 and this clearly does not so you should not be selling it as a balustrade or a pool fence should you?" He then told me "I don’t need this crap, go to B…..s and buy your fence".
People like him are the COWBOYS of the industry and should be ashamed of themselves, it is you the consumer who will pay the price in the end if you deal with these unscrupulous people when you cannot get your pool fence certified, as a result, you cannot get your pool filled or finished!
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