Nowadays building materials, such as modern windows and entrance doors, is subject to high standards in terms of functionality, design and aesthetics, durability and the protection of man’s environment. The above requirements depend on the designated purpose of the building i.e. on the needs of the user, and have evolved along with the development of technology, contemporary lifestyle, new demands for improved protection of man’s living environment and the need to protect and preserve Earth’s environment. Therefore it is hard for the customer to know and identify in detail the quality standards for windows and entrance doors, and even harder to assess and verify the level of quality and the quality achieved. However, precisely that is vital for the long-term economy of investment, which surely must include the purchase of windows, be it for a new or a retrofitted building.

The first president of the Federal Republic of Germany Therodor Heuss once said, “When I am faced with the frequently asked question what is quality and a simple answer is expected, I simply reply, ‘QUALITY IS WHAT WE VALUE!’ ”

Due to the inherent complexity of various technical requirements and quality criteria, consumers opt for the products that are ‘valued’ i.e. associated with a reputable brand name, market tradition, big share in domestic and export markets, excellence awards and prizes received for quality. International awards, in particular, have a special status and value from consumer perspective. That is no secret to manufacturers who want to make the choice easier for the customer. It is for that reason that suppliers endeavour to win prized ‘excellence awards’ for their products. One of them is also the RAL Mark of Quality, which is awarded by the German non-profit, quality assurance institution RAL. RAL is an ‘umbrella’ organization, which includes about 150 RAL Quality Associations for different industries/product groups. Membership in a RAL association is voluntary and the members are companies that build their future on quality.

On the windows and doors market, in Germany as well, new suppliers are constantly emerging offering cheap, lower quality products. Such products feature various certificates and attestations, which are hard to fully understand for most consumers. Many include standards and criteria, which are significantly lower than the level of quality imposed by RAL.

Being fully aware of the importance of quality for the consumer, RAL has developed rules and regulations i.e. quality assurance systems, specifications and criteria for semi-products, products and manufacturing processes, and of course a mandatory production quality control system. A manufacturer has to make a great deal of effort to comply with all the stated conditions and tests before being awarded the RAL Mark of Quality.

Over the last 30 years, the RAL quality assurance association for windows and entrance doors has also developed and imposed such standards and criteria for materials and products as well as manufacturing processes, and set down a quality assurance system for individual types of windows and entrance doors in relation to the basic material used: wood, vinyl, aluminium and combinations of those materials. The key elements of the RAL quality assurance system are as follows:

• Testing and control of input raw materials and semi-products;
• Evidence that the window/door engineering design complies with the engineering design system and testing system, checked and approved by the RAL-association authorised professional institution i.e. IFT-Rosenheim – the leading German institute for the engineering of windows;
• Regular internal manufacturing quality control audits and protocols being implemented, and external production control being carried out by IFT-Rosenheim.

For the purposes of independent external control, an IFT-Rosenheim appointed expert is sent twice a year, without prior notification, to conduct the relevant inspection checks in the company that has been awarded the RAL Mark of Quality. The expert inspects the internal control system for compliance, alerts the company to any departures from the norm, orders that deficiencies be rectified or, alternatively, proposes sanctions. Finally, the expert also performs the testing of finished windows on a testing device in order to check:

• functionality (closing and opening),
• water tightness, and
• air tightness.

The abovementioned process of production control and the established quality compliance of products make the manufacturer eligible for the German RAL Mark of Quality for the product.

RAL Mark of Quality also has a legal status of a protected brand name registered with the German Patent Office. Separate, albeit similar, are also the specifications and the applicable process for the RAL Plus mark of quality, ‘+Montage’, where the verification required for the ‘+ Montage’ suffix also includes the properly approved and formally registered team/company for the installation of windows and doors. Due to the specifics and differences in market maturity, at present ensuring installation in accordance with the RAL criteria applies primarily on the German market, although accomplishments and experiences are also being transferred to other markets as well as the Slovenian market.

RAL Mark of Quality is the benchmark of high quality and is highly regarded in Germany and in Europe. To the customer, the Mark can be an important element in quality differentiation of windows and doors suppliers. It can also be awarded to manufacturers of other European countries who want to compete successfully on the domestic and the European markets.

Often, the public is being misled that the level of quality is ensured by the ISO 9000 standard. Not true! ISO 9000 does not provide the data on the required product characteristics; it can merely be a good manual for the management and implementation of the process designed to achieve the agreed level of quality, which however can also be below par.

In Germany there are approximately 8,000 small and medium-sized manufacturers of building furniture. Only 600 of those manufacturers, however, have acquired the RAL Mark of Quality. Nevertheless, the 600 hold over 60 % of the German windows market. Outside of Germany, in Europe only a handful of manufacturers of windows and entrance doors have been awarded the RAL Mark of Quality: 6 in Austria, 5 in Italy, 2 in Poland, and 1 each in Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland and also in Slovenia. In Slovenia, the company in question is Inles d.d., Ribnica.
This makes Inles the leading Slovenian manufacturer in the industry who builds its future on premium quality and customer satisfaction, as it is the only one to have acquired not one, but two German RAL Marks of Quality for window excellence:

• for wood windows, on 18 November 1997, and
• for vinyl windows, on 29 March 2000.
• RAL Mark of Quality is the distinguishing mark ensuring a high level of quality to the customer!
• “INVESTMENT IN TRUE QUALITY ALWAYS PAYS DIVIDENDS!”