MPI Approval System to be Adopted in Korea

MPI, the Institute that establishes architectural paint standards and quality assurance programs in North America, will partner with the KCL – Korea Conformity Laboratories (formerly Korea Institute of Construction Materials - KICM) to test paints and coatings to MPI standards. Carboline Korea and KCC already have products approved by MPI, and more Korean suppliers are expected to follow, enabling facility owners and specifiers with assets in Korea and throughout Asia to access locally-sourced paints and coatings approved via a well-proven mechanism for verifying their performance.

MPI already has a similar testing agreement with the Paint Research Association in the UK for European paint suppliers, and the combination of the two gives MPI worldwide coverage.

Seoul-based KCL is the designated agency for testing, inspection, and standards for 41 Korean and international organizations, including the Korean Ministry of Land Transport and Maritime Affairs; the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy, the Ministry of the Environment, etc. Founded in 1994, KCL performs construction materials testing and research to assure the safety of architectural structures, employing leading-edge technology as well as a team of highly qualified personnel who work to the most exacting standards available. KCL’s outstanding practices have earned them international certification as a leading materials-testing organization.

Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, MPI publishes standards and quality assurance programs, training, and publications for the architectural paint and coatings sector in the USA and Canada. MPI performance-based paint standards and Approved Products Lists are used by the US Military throughout the world; by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to replace the previous US Federal Paint Specifications; by the AIA MasterSpec, referenced by approximately half of US architects; by NASA for facilities; by US Veterans Administration hospitals; by the Canadian Government’s National Master Specification; and thousands of other North American designers, and facility managers.
MPI’s Green Performance Standard is the only green paint/coatings certification required by both the US and Canadian governments, and referenced by the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The MPI system offers the following benefits:

• Specifiers and property managers benefit by being able to determine which products and systems to select for a particular application on the basis of fitness for purpose, knowing that potential suppliers have had the quality of their products independently verified
• Paint suppliers benefit from knowing that they compete on an even platform based on performance to a minimum required quality level, rather than competing on price
• Contractors benefit by getting tighter control on product quality, and thereby reduce risk of material problems and remedial work.

KCL is running a Reliability Assessment center, which is charge of performance evaluation and reliability certification of paints and coatings.

Further information on MPI approved products, standards, training, and more is available at one of four websites at http://www.mpi.net/