Global Insulation speaks to senior figures from the Reflective Insulation Manufacturers Association - International (RIMA-I).
Global Insulation (GI): Please can you introduce RIMA-I to our readers?
Mary Edmondson (ME): The Reflective Insulation Manufacturers’ Association International (RIMA) was founded in 1978 by representatives from three US-based reflective insulation manufacturers. In the early days RIMA was all about establishing and refining codes for reflective insulation, an activity that still absorbs nearly 80% of our budget. Members participated very actively in ASTM, helping to write the testing and installation standards for reflectives.
RIMA went international in 2007 after it held its first international meeting in Paris, France. We realised that there was no equivalent organisation in Europe - or elsewhere - so took a more global stance. It subsequently changed name to RIMA International (RIMA-I) to reflect this. We now host the International Reflective Insulation Manufacturers Conference every two years at various locations around the world.
In 2023, RIMA-I remains the only global trade association that represents the reflective insulation, radiant barrier, and low-emissivity reflective coatings industries. RIMA-I activities are guided by an active board of industry members that participate on national and local levels of building code organisations and governmental agencies.
GI: Who are the members today?
Sergio Luconi (SL): RIMA-I has 22 members, all manufacturers or suppliers of reflective insulation. 19 of these are based in the US and Canada, with other members that have operations in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Chile and France.
GI: What are the main types of reflective insulation?
ME: There are many different products made by our members. They comprise a solid core material - most often an extruded or expanded foam core - which provides support, and a low-emissivity reflective metallic foil. The lower the emissivity, the better the reflective insulation will perform.
Most members manufacture their own cores - in processes similar to regular insulation producers. Then they apply the metallic film via a heating process. The core is sandwiched between two layers of film and pressed together as the foam melts slightly. In the past it was common to use additives in the filming process, but this is very rare nowadays.
GI: What are the main advantages of reflective insulation, compared to non-reflective options?
SL: The main advantage is high R-values at low thickness. For an R-16, you have to use 15 - 20cm of regular insulation, whereas reflective insulation would be just 5 - 10mm thick. This opens up a range of applications, especially where space and weight are at a premium. Indeed, reflective insulation materials have been used in spacecraft since the 1960s.
GI: What are the main applications?
SL: Reflective insulation is most commonly produced in rolls. These are used in roofing applications, ducting, air-conditioning systems and so on to reflect heat back into - or out of - a controlled temperature environment. It works by itself, but is often installed alongside other kinds of insulation, for example, fibreglass lagging in an HVAC system. Packaging is another key area. Some members also work with vacuum insulation panels (VIPs), which opens up a further range of niche applications.
GI: How big is the reflective insulation market?
SL: While we don’t have global figures, the US insulation market is ~US$11bn/yr. According to my numbers, reflective insulation represents around 2.0 - 2.5% of that, an industry of approximately US$220 - 275m/yr.
While that’s a relatively small percentage, 10 years ago the proportion of the US market represented by reflective insulation was less than 1%. Our members’ products are being recognised for their advantages and there is still plenty of room to grow!
GI: What is driving growth for reflective insulation producers?
ME: It is down to the hard work of our members and RIMA-I to educate the market about the benefits of reflective insulation as, unfortunately, there are still products out there that do not meet consumer expectations. Sometimes even bought online, these have damaged the reputation of reflective insulation in the past.
To combat this ‘hangover’, RIMA-I launched a verification scheme for members’ products in 2019. It is backed by ASTM and so has had significant influence on how reflective insulation is viewed, particularly in the US. It is hard to believe that, before 2019, there was no accredication in place and anyone could enter the market.
GI: Do you expect new producers to enter the reflective insulation sector due to the rising popularity of its products?
ME: RIMA-I always welcomes new members in this exciting part of the insulation sector. However, there are some necessarily stringent product tests, which can make the application process quite lengthy.
SL: There’s also the not inconsiderable cost of investing in a reflective insulation line in the first place. It is not easy to develop this kind of line and production expertise. More widely, supply chain management is a major preoccupation for a lot of reflective insulation producers. There are a lot of ingredients - and know-how - that go into getting it right. It is also costly to enter the insulation arena in the first place, particularly now due to the high cost of chemicals and energy.
ME: Something that we do see is an increase in private label distribution, where a distributor re-labels a member’s product as their own. There’s a RIMA-I accreditation protocol for this, of course.
SL: There is also a trend towards new products and new applications from the established producers. This includes the poultry sector, where reflective insulation is being used to provide thin, high R-value insulation in chicken coups. It is an area where nobody would have considered reflective insulation, even a few years ago.
GI: What changes do you see for reflective insulation and RIMA-I members in the future?
SL: With a growing need for sustainable buildings, reflective insulation will become much more widely used in the future, either alone or as a hybrid system. This is great news for our members, old and new. In the next 10 years we are confident that our faster-than-average growth will continue, to double again as a proportion of the market during the next 10 years.
ME: As far as RIMA-I itself goes, we want to become more international to fully bring the benefits of these materials to different global markets. We also have an enthusiastic new committee member for marketing who wants to expand our remit to reflective packaging and reflective fabrics, like those used in sports and military applications.
SL: At the same time, we will remain committed to the promotion of reflective insulation as the insulation of the future and look forward to working with all participants in the industry.
GI: Thank you both for your time today.
ME/SL: You are welcome!
Sergio Luconi
Sergio Luconi has been President of RIMA-I since January 2020. His role is to lead the association in its main aim to promote the use of reflective insulation. He is President of Prodex, a RIMA-I member based in Costa Rica.
Mary Edmonson
Mary Edmonson has been RIMA-I’s Executive Director, in charge of coordinating the association’s board activities, since 1998. She previously worked for another building materials association for 10 years.
