REACH consultancies plan OR professional body

ORO would establish quality standards, represent ORs in policy discussions

16-Jul-2008

Three EU consultancies are inviting others to take part in an initiative aimed at meeting the demand from non-EU firms for help in finding reputable ‘only representative’ (OR) service providers to undertake their REACH registration needs.

Chemservice, Dynasource and Likedeelers are proposing to set up the Only Representative Organisation (ORO). The project is still at a very early stage – it has yet to be established as a legal entity - but the parties hope to take a step forward with the
launch of a website over the summer.

According to Dieter Drohmann, managing director of Chemservice, which is acting as OR for more than 200 substances, experience in the interpretation of OR responsibilities within the REACH guidance shows that an OR voice is urgently needed in the REACH implementation process.

ORO’s main objectives are to:

• Set up OR quality standards;
• Develop a common understanding of REACH requirements for ORs;
• Represent the interests of ORs and non-EU manufacturers;
• Cooperate with regulators and other stakeholder in the REACH process.

A number of non-EU manufacturers have raised concerns about the OR process in recent months (CW European Business Briefing June 2008). While the Regulation specifies what capabilities an OR must possess, there is no mechanism to help companies exporting products to the EU to select reputable service providers.

“We are looking forward that as many as possible serious and interested ORs join to set up a powerful organisation representing the interest of our industry segment,” says Dr Drohmann. He says he is contacting a number of other ORs to find out if there is interest in joining the ORO project and several have shown interest.

Any OR that wants to join the initiative or other interested stakeholders are invited to contact the following:

Thierry Cascale (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Dieter Drohmann (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Marc Kiener (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

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