Review: 18th Global Insulation Conference and Exhibition 2025

19 - 20 November 2025, Baveno, Italy

The 18^th Global Insulation Conference, Exhibition and Awards has taken place in Baveno, Italy, with 160 delegates, 29 exhibitors, 18 presentations, 12 hours of official networking and a spectacular awards dinner at a local historical villa. The 19^th Global Insulation Conference will take place in November 2026 in Dublin, Ireland.

View the Global Insulation Conference 2025 Photo Gallery

Below: 'Ladies of Global Insulation 2025'

Grazyna Mitchener started the conference with a presentation on the role of AI in the insulation industry, first giving a review of the development of AI so far. “Computers have learned to recognise patterns in data, how to make decisions based on the data and to predict outcomes based on the data they’ve been given,” siad Mitchener. Large Language Models have been trained on text, speech and graphics, in order to communicate with humans more easily. Facial recognition, AI medical imaging and self-driving cars have already arrived. Generative AI (such as ChatGPT for text generation and DALL-E for image generation) seems to create new content - based on all the data that has been fed into it. ChatGPT was launched on 30 November 2022, and since then more than a dozen other chatbots have been launched. Now ‘agentic’ AI will work autonomously to solve complex problems - for example to plan and book everything for an entire business trip; to detect a supply chain disruption and fix it; or to monitor a cyber network and repel attacks. However, the next step will be general AI - Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which will be able to cope with any situation. Grazyna suggested that AI will change the insulation industry in myriad ways. However, AI will cost to implement, and must be applied in sensible ways. Your data should be digitised to be AI-friendly, and labelled with relevant meta-data, as well as being secure and up-to-date data. Data engineers and prompt engineers may be required to optimise your AI. Grazyna suggested that companies should work with AI, using it as a tool to help staff to do mundane tasks, and leaving staff to do more sophisticated tasks. Humanoid robots powered by AI may be on the horizon, but humans are still more reliable and cheaper (for now). Grazyna concluded that future insulation factories will be run by AI agents, which can cope with any situation. Beyond the factory, the advent of AI will transform insulation business models, while AI will turbocharge the development of new insulation materials. She concluded, “AI is not perfect - look out for the pitfalls.”

Arnaud Pinatel of OnField Investment Research next gave an overview of future trends in insulation markets. Housing starts in Europe have collapsed, with only a few bright spots. In the long term, European population is expected to progressively fall due to low birth rates. However, in the medium term, housing starts are expected to improve in many countries in the EU and UK, partly due to pent-up demand for housing. An end to the war in Ukraine could lead to a strong rebound in Eastern Europe, and potentially wider effects due to a drop in energy prices. European renovation regulations will strongly drive energy performance in the 4% of EU buildings per year that will require renovation, with a concomitant boost to insulation demand. Germany, the UK, Spain, France and Italy account for 53% of Europe’s insulation demand, with non-combustible insulation now in the ascendent. Arnaud suggested that demand for insulation may increase at a rate of 3-5% in 2026, and onwards into the future. The European insulation industries managed to offset input price rises post-Covid and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so that margins remain solid. Many producers are now attempting to become system suppliers, while routes to market are becoming more complex, with many more stakeholders involved, while at the same time building lifecycles have to be taken into account.

Bitta Nilsson of Stora Enso next spoke about a bio-based formaldehyde-free binder for insulation. Regulators and consumers, she said, are demanding that formaldehyde be phased out of use: insulation will only be allowed to contain a maximum of 0.08mg/m3 of formaldehyde, and specifiers must demand a Proof of Compliance certificate for the product. Bitta stated that “everything made from fossil-based materials can be made from a tree tomorrow.” Stora Enso itself is based in Finland and Sweden, and its business is based on trees. Lignin is the ‘glue’ in trees and can already replace phenols in phenolic resins (and has a potential future in batteries and other future technologies). Stora Enso’s NeoLigno is a thermal set binder, fitting in with existing production lines and with strong humidity and fire performance.

Amaresh Panda of Supreme Petrochemical Ltd next spoke about the contribution of EPS and XPS to the insulation landscape of India. The growth in the urban population of India is expected to lead to demand for over 100 million housing units, many of which will be prefabricated due to a shortage of skilled labour. This housing demand is likely to drive demand for insulation, particularly for high-performance EPS. Amaresh showed that EPS and XPS-equipped air-conditioned test rooms saved 40-45% in energy costs over the course of a year.

Matthias Hagen of Dürr, a provider of clean technology systems, next spoke about air pollution control for insulation. He stated that electrification will come, reducing natural gas use, and promoting electric melters and oxyfuel use. New best available techniques reference documents (BREFs) are expected in the coming years, which will have much lower emission values that will be stipulated for insulation manufacture (and which will be enacted within four years of BREF promulgation). For glass industries, a new BREF will be published in 2032, with flue gas treatments required to fulfil new standards by 2036. To cope with VOCs, formaldehyde, dust, NH3, SOx and CO at high temperatures coming from electric arc furnaces used for raw material melting, Matthias suggested the use of ceramic candle filters and then electrically-heated regenerative thermal oxidation. A sugar-based aqueous solution is used to retain formaldehyde in the process water for subsequent regeneration.

Sebastian Hohmann and Andreas Göb, Grenzebach, spoke about wood-fibre-based insulation. Just 9% of German insulation is made from renewable sources, but this is growing. Wood-fibre-based insulation has a comparable U-value to other insulation materials, but also a high specific heat capacity, which enhances indoor comfort in hot weather. Wood-fibre-based insulation often has a negative CO₂ footprint, can be installed without PPE and - counterintuitively - is fire-resistant. The presenters explained the capabilities of Grenzebach’s pilot testing facility for wood-fibre-based insulation products. Key steps include chipping, screening of wood fractions, and the defibration, drying and analysis of the fibres produced. The pilot line can produce boards of 600mm x 1200mm at thicknesses of 20-200mm and densities of 45-200kg/m³, in line with the range of products typically made at full-scale plants.

Martina Pellegrino, Bocedi, spoke about her company’s end-of-line packaging solutions for insulation, including the largest stretch-hooder on the market (3.6m x 2.3m). Stretch hooding uses a low-density polyethylene tube, with 3-7 layers. When film is stretched around a load, it tries to go back to its original dimensions due to elastic forces in all directions. Martina presented a case-study from Fibran’s Targovishte plant in Bulgaria, in which an FRB2000XXL stretch-hooder was installed. This provided the plant with fully-automated packaging activities, faster loading (due to stable loads) and increased branding space on Fibran’s products. Full plastic coverage with UV-protection enables products to be stored outside. Different load sizes are automatically detected by the system, which chooses one of four films of different widths. The FRB2000XXL can accommodate films with up to 30-50% recycled polymers, which can be recycled once again after use.

Lari-Matti Kuvaja, Valmet, discussed how insulation producers can prepare for tightening emissions regulations. Kuvaja’s pre-treatment concept for carbon capture in the sector involves using an electrostatic precipitator for dust removal, low dust selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for NO_x removal, a direct contact cooler (DCC) and scrubber for SO₂ removal and cooling and heat recovery with a heat exchanger to improve energy efficiency for the process. Particular challenges are posed by the removal of NO_x and acid gases. Focusing on Valmet’s current products, Kuvaja then looked at ammonia and dust removal using his company’s Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) product and presented its sales case.

Frank Yang, Liatris, gave an update of his company’s product development roadmap and outlined how changing environmental factors are driving demand for non-combustible building materials. Highlighting wildfires in the US and building fires in Europe, Yang noted that government adoption, housing insurance and updated building codes are all drivers for change. Liatris has three products in development, with a foamed cement insulation ready today, an aerogel fibre composite planned for 2026 and a bio-based foam board by 2028. The company officially opened its expanded pilot manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland in mid-2025. The site is preparing to produce 4500m²/yr of its foamed cement board insulation by 2027. 

Dinner and Awards

After the first day’s conference programme, delegates boarded buses for the short trip to the historic Villa Muggia in the lakeside town of Stresa, for a drinks reception and Italian-style gala dinner under the chandeliers, while being serenaded by a string quartet.

The Global Insulation Awards were presented at the dinner, after a global voting round. Global Insulation company of the year was Rockwool International, while the Global Insulation supplier of the year (equipment) was Izoteh d.o.o.. The Global Insulation plant of the year was named as Steinull’s Sauðárkrókur Plant (Iceland), for using entirely renewable energy in its production process. Global Insulation product of the year was V1.0 Foamed clay/Cement Insulation Board from Liatris, while the Global Insulation technical innovation of the year was named as electrical curing ovens from Münstermann. Three Global Insulation Personalities of the year were named: Stefan Kowatsch, Prefere Resins Austria; Roberto Massini, STM Technologies; and Christian Hautkappe, Bernd Münstermann GmbH & Co. KG.

Conference second day

Maximilian Hanf of Grenzebach started off the second day of the conference by looking at gas cupola technology for mineral wool production. The company started working on this in 2016, has sold several furnaces of this type since then and is currently commissioning a new line with just such a cupola. Mineral wool made in this way has similar thermal conductivity and compressive strength to comparable products, and has a brown colour from iron oxides. Grenzebach forecasts that gas cupolas have a cost advantage over electric melters at an EU ETS price up to around €120/t, despite emitting more CO₂. Gas-based-energy prices are anticipated to remain below electricity-based-energy to 2050.

Wei-Chun Wang, Procesni Inženiring, presented how his company’s thermochemical recuperation process could save mineral wool plants up to 40% in gas consumption. The core method uses steam methane reformation combined with waste heat recovery to improve energy efficiency. However, the process is complicated by unwanted reactions that create byproducts such as carbon. Procesni Inženiring is currently conducting a pilot with a mineral wool producer to test the technology. Wang expects it to deliver lower energy usage, energy costs and CO₂ emissions than gas-only and electric approaches.

Ignacio Carcaño and Norman Mautz, ITW Diagraph GmbH, presented their company’s direct printing solutions for insulation products. Conventional labelling systems require large numbers of labels, which lead to label waste and may cause compliance issues through incorrectly labelled products. Labels can also become stuck to machinery, potentially causing loss of production. ITW Diagraph’s solution eliminates labels entirely, enabling QR / barcodes, compliance information and other relevant information to be thermally printed directly on the plastic packaging. This provides reliable coding, no label waste, full integration in product design and full automation, which, in turn, leads to lower reprocessing costs, lower recycling costs, lower cost per printed product and less need for (often costly) human oversight.

Marcus Flügel, Fagus GreCon, spoke about how his company’s technology can detect – and help prevent – emerging fires in mineral wool curing ovens before they can develop. Curing oven fires may arise from friction, accumulated loose fibres, hot lubricants, organic binders and dust or dirt. While fires can be suppressed in the curing oven due to insufficient oxygen, the exit presents something of a flash point, with more than 60% of curing oven fires taking hold at the exit. Fagus-GreCon’s equipment has three detection modes. In prevention mode, temperature detection is combined with fine water nozzles to decrease temperatures in specific areas. Extinguishing mode combines infra-red spark detection and (larger) extinguishing nozzles. Deluge mode, a final backstop against catastrophic damage, involves large volumes of water and production will need to be halted, after which equipment can be restarted.

Morten Seeberg, Qubiqa, spoke about the drivers behind ‘tomorrow’s solutions’ for insulation packaging. Current drivers include climate protection, digitisation and politicians who are increasingly prioritising security and protection of their own markets. To be competitive, the insulation packaging industry must do more with less. This includes using less power, using less compressed air (or none at all), using less plastic film (ideally recycled and recyclable), prioritising printing over labelling, and focusing on total cost of ownership in all considerations. Qubiqa’s packaging solutions act on all of these fronts, as well as reducing the footprint of packaging installations. The company is also investigating the use of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and AI solutions for process simplification and optimisation. Its support systems involve less operator involvement, faster training for new staff and full service and support for the client.

Carlo Valli, AWS Corporation, comprehensively outlined the decision processes used to select emissions abatement systems for mineral wool production. Mineral wool has three main emissions points: melting furnace / cupola, forming / curing and fugitive material from the cold end. Pollutants include dust, phenols and acidic gases, which all require different mitigation solutions. Dry solids may be filtered in a baghouse or precipitated out in an ESP or cyclones. Wet dust can be removed in a Venturi scrubber, a wet ESP (WESP) or stone wool panel filter, which acts as a large wet gas filter. Gaseous pollutants must be chemically changed to be removed. NO_X can be removed by selective catalytic or non-catalytic reduction. Acidic gases like SO₂ can be scrubbed by using dry lime injection. Volatile organics can be removed by regenerative thermal oxidation. Regardless of the pollutant, the solution must be: 1.  Technically feasible and 2. Economically feasible – both in terms of capex and opex.

Noël Deferm, Hammer-IMS, talked about its sensors that use millimetre wave technology. He asserted that measuring moisture levels matters in manufacturing because it enables a standard product quality and optimises energy usage. Compared to microwave-frequency sensors, Hammer-IMS’ product has a significantly higher measuring gap. It has been trialled industrially on a coating production line. A case study was then detailed for inline-basis weight control with Owens Corning at its Fairburn plant in the US. Subsequent installations followed at Delmar in New York and Edmonton in California.

Udo Goedecke, Wacker Chemie, detailed the material properties that silicone resins in fibre composites can offer. The advantages include fire resistance, electrical insulation and heat resistance compared to organic polymer resins. However, silicone resins are more brittle. Goedecke looked at the performance of silicone resins in electric battery safety tests. Wacker is working on manufacturing silicone laminates via prepregs and compression moulding and the direct production of silicone composites, for example, via infusion, pultrusion, winding and/or wet compression. 

Finally, Emily Yang, Hebei Guangxing Machinery, introduced her company. It started to produce organic insulation production machinery in 1987. Then, in 2001 it built a second factory that manufactures production lines for sandwich panels and rockwool. Yang revealed that the Chinese domestic construction market is currently in a downturn, although it is showing a preference for sandwich panels at present. Hebei Guangxing Machinery is focusing on exporting machinery with a focus on Asia and the Middle East. The eye-opening video she showed displayed an enormous factory, equipped with some state-of-the-art production facilities.

As well as the 18 presentations outlined above, the conference also featured two discussion sessions, one with a specialised invited panel, and one with general audience discussion. Both sessions were popular with the audience, and delegates requested more such sessions in future events.

Prizes and farewells

After the conclusion of the conference programme, delegates met together for the last time to say their farewells, and to discover who had been voted into the top three best presentations. In third place was Bitta Nilsson of Stora Enso for her paper on bio-based binders, while in second place were Sebastian Hohmann and Andreas Göb, of Grenzebach, for their joint presentation on wood-fibre-based insulation. However, in first place, and in his final presentation before his retirement, was Udo Goedecke of Wacker Chemie, for his paper on fire-resistant composites.

The event was strongly praised for its exhibition, for the quality of its networking opportunities and for its technical content. Delegates also lauded the conference for its slick organisation and for its friendly and inclusive atmosphere.

The 19^th Global Insulation Conference will take place on 11-12 November 2026, in Dublin, Ireland, with the Global Insulation Awards Dinner to be held at the Merry Ploughboy pub. Plan to be there!

What did the delegates say about Baveno 2025?

• It was a wonderful experience with good contacts.
• Great job!
• Very good organised. Nice hotel
• Nice event overall
• Great opportunity for networking
• Congratulation for the support you grant to business.
• Great opportunity for networking!
• I will come next year
• Great event! Thank you.
• Good networking opportunity. Open and friendly atmosphere
• It was great.
• Very well organised, beautiful location, nice cozy size for networking
• Nice Presentations
• Very well organised, beautiful place and good human contacts
• Nice people nice location
• Will definitely come back next year
• Loved the location, we need to come back here again! Great venue, dinner and friends in the industry
• Great people, great place, great time
• Good atmosphere to make the first contact step
• Great location, well organised
• Well organised, beautiful place, nice people
• Compliments to the event team, amazing organisation! Thank you all!
• Love you!
• Well organised
• I’m glad I participated
• Our first time here. It is much more than expected. Made absolutely great contacts.
• Extraordinary!
• Good overview of the insulation world
• Excellent
• I feel very comfortable
• Friendly 
  
• Grazie mille!