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Mattias Hopkins
Tjänsteansvarig Säkerhet och Brand
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Dafo is passionate about fire protection – now reigniting together with RISE
Since the 1970s, Dafo Brand has partnered with RISE many times, as a natural part of developing tomorrow’s fire protection and rescue equipment.
“With the support of RISE, our analyses carry more weight,” says Dafo’s Quality and Sustainability Manager, Josefin Holmström.
Dafo Brand is a Swedish family-owned company operating in the Nordic region. With 100 years of industry experience, Dafo is today one of the largest suppliers of fire protection and rescue equipment.
The collaboration between Dafo and the research institute that is now RISE began back in the 1970s. At that time, it could involve testing fire extinguishers according to Swedish standards. In the 1980s, a large forestry machine was purchased and placed in the institute’s test and demonstration environment in Borås, where it was exposed to various fire scenarios. The background was new research showing that halons in extinguishing agents of that era were harmful to the ozone layer.
“We are facing a similar journey today as we transition and phase out PFAS. Our sister company, Dafo Fomtec, is working with RISE to develop effective fluorine-free firefighting foam,” continues Josefin Holmström.
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Leveraging Fire Testing Labs
Testing to ensure functionality and quality, or to identify areas for improvement, is relevant for anyone developing or selling products. But perhaps it is especially important when it comes to life-saving products?
Dafo has a long history of conducting tests together with RISE, which operates one of the world’s largest fire technology facilities, with two major fire halls in Sweden and Norway. Ahead of launching a new kitchen fire suppression system, Dafo chose to perform extinguishing tests with RISE in the fire hall in Trondheim.
Now, the parties have decided to deepen their collaboration further, says Josefin Holmström.
“We decided to transfer the review of our ISO certifications—environmental management system 14001 and quality management system 9001—as well as installer and personnel certifications according to the Swedish Fire Protection Association’s standards, to RISE. It’s always valuable to get a fresh perspective on your work, and we wanted new input.”
Sustainability can still feel a bit vague and hard to grasp. That’s why I strongly believe in supporting it with a scientific perspective and making data-driven decisions.
You’re also adding a holistic perspective through life cycle analysis—why?
“The reason we’re working with RISE on life cycle analyses is partly because it was a natural continuation of our expanded collaboration, and partly because regulations are moving in that direction. We will need to show emissions data for our products in the future, even if it’s not mandatory today,” says Josefin Holmström, and continues:
“Sustainability can still feel a bit vague and hard to grasp. That’s why I strongly believe in supporting it with a scientific perspective and making data-driven decisions. We see a need to highlight more sustainable alternatives, and customers need to see concretely how much more sustainable it is to choose a new product or solution over another.”
Mattias Hopkins, Service Manager for Safety and Fire at RISE, describes the benefits of combining testing and certification in one place:
“We’ve become a one-stop shop for Dafo, and we can take on that role because we cover the entire chain—from product development, testing, and product certification to training and other competence-building initiatives within RISE. The collaboration on life cycle analyses, for example, started when I connected a colleague internally who is a researcher in LCA and circular economy,” says Mattias Hopkins.
Josefin Holmström places high value on the broadened partnership:
“RISE works with established models, and there’s professionalism in that. We’ve done LCA analyses on our own before, but with the support of an external party like RISE, it carries more weight. Certifications have value in themselves, as proof that Dafo is doing the right things. In addition, it’s valuable to access specialist expertise—especially for a company operating in a strictly regulated industry with the ambition to save lives and property,” she concludes.
