Matchtek® - The new standard

To produce matches demands an advanced technology and a great know-how. Quality in match manufacturing is not a coincidence.

At Swedish Match Industries we use our know-how, which dates back to the 19th century, in everything we do.

As the world´s most famous match manufacturer we are dedicated to providing quality products in a responsible manner – recognizing that product responsibility goes beyond delivering products that consumers desire.

To fulfil this commitment, we have developed our own quality standard – the Matchtek® standard. Matchtek® is an extension of the existing European match standard EN 1783:1997 (Matches – Performance requirements, safety and classification). The focus in this standard is product performance, with quality demands far beyond EN 1783:1997.

We hope our Matchtek® standard will become a benchmark for the rest of the world to follow.

• Matchtek® tests for striking and ignition performance goes far beyond those in EN 1783:1997

• The requirements are also more customer oriented – matches are struck with a higher pressure compared to EN 1783:1997

• Matchtek® specifies much lower limits for heavy metals in the head composition than EN 1783:1997

• Matchtek® has stricter threshold limits for Rosin, Chromium VI and Boric Acid compared to EN 1783:1997. These are often added to the match head formulation by other manufacturers to improve the striking properties. However, they are classified as highly toxic / possibly carcinogenic / allergenic