Global Insulation Conference and Exhibition 2006
16-17 October, Brussels, Belgium
Reviewed by Dr Regina Krammer, conference organiser
The very first Global Insulation Conference and Exhibition took place at the Renaissance Hotel in Brussels, Belgium, on 16-17 October 2006. The hotel, located in the city centre of Brussels in walking distance to all main tourist attractions like the Grande Place, hosted around 70 delegates from 22 countries.
Welcome cocktails
Already on Sunday the first delegates met at a welcome cocktail reception, held in the exhibition area. This was the first opportunity to make contacts or to greet bussiness partners. Exhibitors at this first Global Insulation Conference represented equipment suppliers from three continents: CNBM from China, ACC La Joncherre from France and Premier Tech Systems from Canada. Throughout the conference, all coffee breaks were held in the exhibition area to enable as much time as possible for networking and making new contacts.
Conference first day
The conference started at 9am on Monday, although many delegates arrived even earlier to meet for a brief chat in the exhibition area.
The first presentation was given by keynote speaker Jürgen Schmoldt from the Bundesfachabteilung der Deutschen Bauindustrie from Berlin, Germany. He discussed passionately the need to revise all EU Directives and the possibilities for changes in the Construction Products Directive (CPD). One of the oldest Directives of the 'New Approach,' the CPD has been in force for well over 25 years, and the number of construction product standards 'harmonised' according to the rules of the CPD and binding for all Member States in the Union, is still very disappointing. He explained the principal philosophy of construction products' standardisation, which a standard would need to follow to be applicable in the entire European Union. Jürgen Schmoldt showed the way in which the existing CPD deals with the principal requirements that must be met by any European Construction Products Directive to be observed in all Member States. Finally, the 'room for change' was briefly addressed.
After the first coffee break of 60 minutes, the second keynote presentation was given by Stephen Long from the European Manufacturers of Expanded Polystyrene (EUMEPS). EUMEPS is a European organisation, representing the concerns and requirements of national associations of manufacturers of expanded polystyrene (EPS). Stephen Long indicated a possible expansion option for the insulation industry into the future. He explained the main drivers for insulation, the so-called 'four Es': energy, environment, economics and EU competitivity. The building industry has an important role to play in helping to meet environmental and political goals. 42% of all European energy is consumed in the building sector and over 25% is consumed in heating and cooling of buildings alone. The ability to reduce energy demand is linked closely to the ability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Stephen Long explained very clearly the impact of improved thermal insulation on reducing CO2 emissions. By renovating insulation in buildings, Europe will also satisfy the need to create local employment and boost local, and hence European, economies. There are several studies available which estimate the impact: figures range of up to 300,000 new jobs generated. Finally, Stephen Long summarised his very interesting presentation by creating the motto for the conference: "Insulation is good for you."
The third presentation was given by Andrey Spitsin from Ogneupor Komplekt (Russia). He presented a short overview of the Russian market of refractories and high temperature insulation. He explained some historical aspects of the Russian refractory industry, including the massive changes after the collapse of the Soviet Union and future trends in the Russian market. The main producers are in the Ural region and the European part of Russia. There are approximately 130 existing production lines of mineral wool, glasswool and polystyrene in Russia, owned by about 30 companies. Since 2000 a slow growth of Russian production is visible and a trend towards a wider usage of lightweight advanced thermal insulation is recognisable. Andrey Spitsin closed his presentation by revealing a local Russian demand for a better and wider range of insulating materials.
After a convivial and delicious lunch in the restaurant of the Renaissance Hotel, Holger Merkel from Dow Germany Anlagenbau GmbH gave a presentation entitled 'high performance thermal insulation for load-bearing applications.' He explained clearly that the implementation of the Energy Performance Directive for Buildings (EPDB) requires new and extended application of thermal insulation products. New construction technologies also demand new thermal insulation solutions. One of the most demanding applications in this field is the load-bearing thermal insulation of parts of the building envelope. The presenter showed that it is essential to achieve the energy efficiency of buildings by implementing a building envelope which is free of thermal bridges. This means load-bearing parts of the building envelope must become thermally insulated. High-performance thermal insulation products made of extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) are applied in the following constructions: walls below ground (including these in ground water), foundation slabs (on ground/below ground, in ground water), high-loaded industrial floors and thermally insulated trafficked area. Finally, Holger Merkel presented some very interesting and spectacular applications of XPS, such as the Sony Center at the 'Potsdamer Platz' in Berlin.
The fifth speaker came all the way from Pakistan to present his recent research. Inamullah Bhatti from the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology presented the thermal properties of insulating materials prepared from coal ash and thermal asphalt. The granular insulation prepared in the Chemical Department of Mehran University is composed of fine particles of fly ash of the Lakhra Coal power plant combined with a thermal asphalt binder.After another coffeebreak with 60 minutes of networking, the last keynote presentation was given by Phalguni Mukhopadhyaya from the Institute for Research in Construction, National Research Council (NRC-IRC) in Canada. First, he presented a short overview and update of the global insulation market and a history of insulating materials' development. He explained the heat transfer mechanisms (conduction, convection and radiation) and their driving forces (air infiltration, air intrusion and moisture accumulation). Subsequently, he presented research into high-performance thermal insulation called vacuum insulation panel (VIP). After explaining the production and properties of this material, he compared VIP with other high performance materials such as cellulose, mineral fibres or polyiso. As a conclusion, Phalguni summarised all advantages of VIP and provided an insight into future studies at the NRC-IRC which focus on cost reduction of vacuum insulation panels.
Gala Dinner
The Global Insulation Gala Dinner took place in one of Belgium's last independent, family-owned breweries. The Cantillon Brewery, near in the city center of Brussels, invited all delegates to experience the traditional handcraft of brewing, followed by a tasting of their famous and very 'special' Belgian beer variety – which was not to everybody's taste. Nevertheless, it was worth to try. The dinner had been set up in the very impressive hall in the brewery accompanied by a virtuoso local jazz trio. After plenty of Belgian beer, wine and delicious food, a bus brought all delegates back to hotel – no, not ALL of them. At this point the author of this article wants to apologise to converence convenor Robert McCaffrey for departing from the brewery without him.
Conference second day
The second day started at 9am sharp – with or without hangover. Stefan Jerrelid was the first of two speakers who presented equipment for quality improvement in insulation manufacture. He presented the LIMAB Dimensional Measurement System for complete control over the measurement of insulation boards, gypsum boards, mdf boards and plywood. He explained clearly the advantages of laser-based non contact measurement such as long lifetime, edge to edge measurement, no moving parts and no mechanical wear.
The second presenter of the day was Bent Hansen, managing director of Simflow Systems. He presented a simulation programme for the insulation industry, which he developed after 25 years of experience in this sector of the industry. Simflow's mission is to provide customers with industry specific simulation models that allow them to optimise the production thoughput, reduce costs, find bottlenecks and evaluate benefits from future investment in production facilities. His presentation made a great visual impact and allowed a virtual flight through different insulation production lines which every single delegate will remember for a long time.
After the coffeebreak, the conference organisers invited to the first Global Insulation Discussion Panel. Participant delegates were Stephen Long from EUMEPS, Phalguni Mukhopadhyaya from the National Research Council Canada, Richard Christjansen from Johns Manville North America, and Andrey Spitsin and Sergey Ageev from Ogneupor Komplekt, Russia. The main topics included recruitment and education, trends and expectations in the insulation market and special demands in the global insulation industry. In the whole, during this very lively discussion, the need for the next Global Insulation Conference became clear. Potential topics for next year's presentations were mentioned which the organisers will keep in mind.
Global Insulation Awards and Farewell
After the end of the panel discussion, delegates filled out their questionnaires and voting forms for the best presentation award and the location of the Global Insulation Conference 2007, and results were announced during the farewell lunch in the hotel restaurant. In third place was Bent Hansen from Simflow Systems for his paper on simulation models. In second place was Phalguni Mukhopadhyaya from the National Research Council Canada for his innovative paper on vacuun insulation panels. In first place – winner of the Global Insulation Presentation Award 2006 – was Stephen Long from EUMEPS, for his paper on the future of the insulation industry with a focus on expanded polystyrene.
Finally, the next year's conference location was announced. The Global Insulation Conference 2007 will take place 15 –16 October in Berlin. More than 60% of all delegates voted for Germany's capital city. The organisers are confident that the 2007 event will be larger, with more delegates and exhibitors, including new technologies and innovations. So, let us start a new tradition and meet each other next year for the second Global Insulation Conference 2007.
Auf Wiedersehen in Berlin!
