FORMACARE UPDATES

New Formacare Manager

On 1st September, we welcomed Solange Mateo Montalcini as the new Cefic Sector Group Manager for Formacare, replacing Paul Girard. Solange is an experienced professional with a strong background in biology and regulatory affairs. She is up to speed, working closely with Formacare on formaldehyde-related topics and continuing our efforts to promote safe manufacturing and use.

We sincerely thanked Paul for his great work and dedication to Formacare!

New Formacare Executive Committee composition

Members of Formacare were delighted to meet again in November for the Executive Committee and General Assembly held in Valladolid, where important discussions for the future of the formaldehyde industry in Europe took place.

The members also elected new ExCom members. We are pleased to announce that, as mentioned in the introduction, Lars Eric Johansson (Oxea) was renewed as Formacare’s Chair for two years and Ralph Peter Theuer (KremsChem Austria) was elected as the new Vice-Chairman of Formacare, taking over from George Gallagher (Bakelite Synthetics).

During the General Assembly, George Gallacher also announced that he will be retiring at the end of this year. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to George for his exceptional work and unwavering dedication to Formacare along the years. Julian Welfoot is now joining the ExCom, succeeding George.

In addition, the Secretariat received a clear mandate from the group to carry on with their work in 2026. Furthermore, the members have given their approval for the budget for the year 2026.

It is also with great pleasure that we welcomed Oxiquim into our membership. We look forward to the valuable contributions they will bring to our group.

New Analytical Task Force

In 2025, a dedicated task force to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices related to analytical methods was established. This initiative underscores Formacare’s ongoing commitment to advancing scientific expertise.

As the principal expert group for analytical methods involving amino resins, the taskforce provides a collaborative forum for in-house specialists to share best practices and technical knowledge. By fostering this exchange, the group seeks to strengthen collective expertise across Formacare’s membership.

Since its official launch in April, the taskforce has convened three times, and a fourth meeting is already scheduled for the first quarter of 2026. The call for experts to join the group remains open, inviting further participation and contributions from interested professionals within the field.

ADVOCACY UPDATES

Melamine developments

In the July newsletter, we introduced the complex regulatory framework for melamine, an important substance for the aminoplast producing industry. Several parallel processes concerning melamine are underway. Our focus has been on (i) the recommendation for REACH authorisation and (ii) the proposed harmonised re-classification.

Since July, there have been some developments on the recommendation for REACH authorisation. On 18 November 2025, ECHA recommended that the European Commission should add four substances, including melamine, to the REACH Authorisation List (Annex XIV).

Formacare would like to emphasise once again that:

• ECHA’s recommendation for authorisation is a non-binding output for consideration by the European Commission. Only the European Commission has the legal authority to ‘authorise’ a substance, and melamine does not seem to be a priority at this point in time.
• ECHA itself argued that an authorisation procedure does not seem to be the most effective solution to address the issue of melamine presence in the environment.
• The use of melamine in the production of amino resins falls under the REACH intermediate use definition and as such is exempted from authorisation.

There are no updates regarding the planned harmonised re-classification of melamine. ECHA has not yet completed the conformity check, so the dossier has not been officially published. The 60-day public consultation will only begin after the dossier is published, which means it will not start before the first quarter of 2026.

The melamine suppliers gathered under the Melamine REACH Consortium have the lead in this process and will submit scientific information to ECHA. Formacare will continue to provide support to the melamine suppliers in this procedure.

Next steps are expected as follows:

• Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) of ECHA to conduct its assessment of the CLH dossier in 2026, also based on the received evidence from stakeholders.
• European Commission to adopt the re-classification of melamine (based on the RAC final opinion) in 2027.
• 18-month transition period to conclude in 2028-2029.