Incorporated in May 2001, ACRS (Australasian Certification Authority for Reinforcing and Structural Steel) is celebrating a significant milestone, being the twenty-fifth anniversary of operations.
Twenty-five years ago, ACRS was incorporated with a single purpose: to ensure public safety through the provision of an independent, expert and rigorous steel certification scheme for the benefit of the Australasian region. Today, that purpose remains unchanged. Over the ensuing years, ACRS has annually issued certificates to numerous steel mills, manufacturers, processors, traders and importers. It developed and obtained endorsement of its product scheme and became a Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) through JASANZ audits.
Recognising the complexity of the market over these twenty-five years, ACRS has continually evolved and introduced new schemes to enhance public confidence in building product safety, traceability and transparency (most recently for Sustainability). It has pushed the global frontiers of verification technology, digital traceability and established the ACRS Cloud digital system.
Since 2001, ACRS has conducted thousands of annual onsite audits visiting steel mills, manufacturers, processors, and importers supplying into the Australasian market under the ACRS banner. Through these audits, conducted by its expert staff, and the ongoing quality surveillance of certified firms, ACRS has held manufacturers to benchmarks set by our national standards and specifications.
The ACRS scheme has, for a long period, been recognised internationally and considered best practice for the supply of structural steels and reinforcing materials into the New Zealand and Australian Markets.
Over the years, ACRS has certified over 350 sites across 28 countries to 23 different standards or specifications. The scheme has provided long-term assurance of compliance for certificate holders, with an average tenure of seven and a half years and a number of facilities having been with ACRS since incorporation.
Most importantly, ACRS has provided confidence in public safety; set an industry benchmark for compliance; and interrogated the performance of the steel it certifies. ACRS has provided the industry with transparency in supply chains, product certainty, and ease in demonstrating compliance through our independent steel certification – which has been recognised and trusted by major developers, governments, and industry bodies.