Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Australia: Kingspan Insulation Australia’s Kooltherm K10 Soffit Board FM product has been accredited by FM Approvals. The closed cell phenolic insulation has been accredited with Class 4880 for ceiling applications.
To achieve the FM accreditation, Kingspan’s Kooltherm K10 product was installed in a ceiling for a full scale burn test (UBC 26-3) and set alight. During the test, temperatures, smoke levels and flame spread are all monitored. A burning wood crib was set alight in the corner of the room and left to burn for 15 minutes. During this time, in order to pass the test, the spread of the flame must not exceed the area of the installed K10 test panel.
FM Approvals offers third party testing and certification services including fire tests.
Kingspan secures certification for Somerton insulation plant
16 February 2018Australia: Kingspan Insulation has implemented an integrated management system (IMS) into insulation plant in Somerton. The system has been adopted to comply with ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 50001. The site was audited by SAI Global in July 2017 where it received certification as compliant to all four targeted ISO standards.
Australia: Kingspan says that its Somerton insulation plant near Melbourne is making progress towards gaining a Green Star rating. If it does so it will the first manufacturing plant in the country to do so. Kingspan and the Green Building Council of Australia have collaborated to allow the rating tool to be used for production plants in the country. A Green Star certified rating provides independent verification that a building or community project is sustainable.
Australian insulation reseller optimistic that mineral wool insulation shortage is ending
08 June 2017Australia: Pricewise Insulation says that it is hopeful that a shortage of pink batts mineral wool insulation products will be resolved following the end of a strike at Fletcher Insulation in late May 2017. Workers at the insulation producer started industrial action in mid-February 2017. Pricewise, an insulation distributor noticed falling stock levels of the product during the strike.
Kingspan Australia opens insulation plant in Melbourne
06 April 2017Australia: Kingspan Australia has opened an insulation plant at Somerton near Melbourne. The US$30m plant will manufacture rigid board insulation, including Kingspan Kooltherm a rigid thermoset phenolic insulation. The 14,000m2 unit has created 26 new jobs and 24 additional jobs will be added as production increases. Following the opening of the plant Kingspan aims to export 20% of its production to the Asia Pacific region. This is expected to grow to 35% by 2020.
“The market for high-performance insulation is growing rapidly around the world in response to government policies aimed at making buildings more energy efficient. This facility gives Australia world leading technical capability in a sector that is experiencing significant sustained domestic and international growth,” said Gene Murtagh, the chief executive officer of Kingspan Group.
Architect Tone Wheeler designed the plant with a focus on environmentally sustainable design. It has a 750kW solar system designed into its roof structure which, when installed, will provide most of its daytime shift energy requirements. It also uses Kingspan lighting and insulation products to reduce energy requirements and optimise comfort for employees. Other sustainable features at the site include the use of sustainably sourced or manufactured building materials, the use of energy renewing ventilators and the use of rainwater harvesters for bathroom and landscape use. Kingspan says that the plant is on track to be Australia’s first Green Star-rated manufacturing facility.
Australia: Businesses that suffered when the Home Insulation Program was closed are suing the federal government for more than US$72m in compensation. ACA Lawyers and McLaughlin & Riordan have launched a lawsuit on behalf of more than 100 people in the Victorian Supreme Court that alleges the government's mismanagement of the scheme resulted in business loss or forced them into bankruptcy, according to the Australian Associated Press agency.
The lawyers say that a Royal Commission set up following the closure of the Home Insulation Program failed to compensate businesses sufficiently. They allege that it only compensated companies operating before the insulation program was implemented not ones created afterwards to take advantage of it. 104 claims are believed to have been settled at a cost of US$9.7m despite thousands of businesses being affected.
The Home Insulation Program was shutdown in 2010 following the deaths of four workers.
Fletcher Building net profit rises 51% to US$114m in first half of 2015 – 2016 year
19 February 2016New Zealand: Fletcher Building has reported that its net profit rose by 51% year-on-year to US$114m in the half year that ended on 31 December 2015 from US$75.6m in the same period in 2014. Its sales rose by 2.5% to US$2.94bn from US$2.87bn. It attributed this to growth in its building products and distribution businesses making up for weaker earnings from Formica and New Zealand housing developments.
Fletcher Building reported that gypsum wallboard volumes via its Building Products division rose by 9% in the half year. Volumes of performance board rose by 12%. Sales volumes of insulation rose by 12% in New Zealand and 9% in Australia. It noted that its market share has also improved in both insulation markets due to competitive pricing following the strengthening of the US Dollar.
Fletcher Building looks at big asset sale
20 November 2015Australia: Fletcher Building is considering selling its insulation business, which could see the manufacturer of Pink Batts get a new owner. The company said that further asset sales were on the cards, although it did not specify insulation.
"Fletcher Building is undertaking an ongoing review of its business portfolio with a focus on lifting operational and financial performance and pursuing organic growth. The review process invariably leads to speculation on a range of possible outcomes. The company is aware of its continuous disclosure obligations and will promptly communicate to the market if or when there are substantive matters required to be disclosed," said a statement from Fletcher Building.
Fletcher holds its insulation assets, Tasman Insulation and Fletcher Insulation, in its light building products division. Fletcher Building has a market capitalisation of US$3.45bn and it is Australasia's biggest supplier of building and construction materials. These include laminates, cement, pipes and roofing. It has just won the New Zealand International Convention Centre contract in Auckland, as well as the contract to build Precinct Properties' US$396m, 38-level Downtown Tower at the foot of Queen St on the waterfront.
Fletcher Building's Chief Executive Mark Adamson made it clear at the 2015 annual meeting that he had not bought any new assets since starting in the job, but had instead been dealing with the difficult legacy of selling businesses that were either underperforming or not up to expectations. "In my time in the job, we have not made one single acquisition," said Adamson. "I have had to deal with what we have today. Profitability is improving, maybe not as fast as anyone would like."
Boral threatens to close brick plants
07 November 2014Australia: Boral CEO Mike Kane has said that Australia's brick industry will pay the price if the competition regulator sticks to its ‘narrow view’ of the brick market. He warned that plant closures and land sales were likely if the merger of Boral and CSR's brick businesses was blocked.
Boral announced plans to merge its east coast brick business with rival CSR in April 2014 in a bid to boost profitability. In its statement of issues in October 2014, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) rejected Boral and CSR's definition of bricks as part of a broader cladding market and gave the preliminary conclusion that the deal would increase the price of bricks and reduce consumer choice.
Kane said that the ACCC's issues paper was ‘concerning.’ "We are in the fortunate position where the high price of land in Australian eastern metropolitan markets means that value will eventually be delivered for Boral shareholders if an ultimate exit over time is the only remaining option," said Kane. About 550 people work in Boral's brick business. Boral has cut more than 1000 jobs in the last two years. "Sadly for Australia, a narrow view by regulators will see the brick industry on the same trajectory as the auto, oil, refining, steel, aluminium and cement industries," said Kane.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims stressed that the issues paper was a preliminary view and the regulator was seeking more information. "Every time we assess a merger, the merger parties argue that our view is too narrow. Our preliminary view is that most residential houses use bricks, as distinct from other cladding,” he said. The ACCC plans to make its final decision on 18 December 2014.
Tasman Insulation appeals Batt trademark ruling
12 June 2014Australia: Fletcher Building's subsidiary Tasman Insulation, which makes Pink Batts insulation, is appealing against a High Court decision that a rival using the word 'batts' was not in breach of trademarks.
The High Court in Auckland in May 2014 handed down a multi-pronged decision on a long-running dispute between Tasman Insulation and Knauf Insulation, which makes the rival Earthwool products. Justice Brendan Brown ruled that Tasman's claim largely succeeded. However, claims that Tasman's trademarks were infringed by Knauf using the word 'batt' and 'batts' in packaging were not upheld.
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that Tasman has lodged an appeal against the ruling and a hearing date has yet to be set. The dispute canvassed a range of claims, including false advertising and intellectual property breaches. The case has run since 2011.