Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Austria: Multiple actors across the Austrian insulation, construction and environmental management sectors have launched a nationwide expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling pilot. Initiative leader Fraunhofer Austria Research aims for the project, entitled EPSolutely, to establish a circular economy for EPS insulation based on its on-site collection service. Participants include insulation producers Austrotherm, Hirsch Porozell and Steinbacher Dämmstoff. The Kleine Zeitung newspaper has reported that the service provides reuseable bags and manages workflows via an app. The pilot will conclude in December 2024, with the outcomes informing a possible industrial-scale roll-out. Insulation producers have reportedly invested in new separation equipment to meet the requirements of the materials.

Steinbacher Dämmstoff head of research and development Maximilian Bernard said "The biggest challenge is the varying quality of the material delivered. The differences range from different colours to different raw materials such as extruded polystyrene (XPS) to various foreign substances such as screws and plaster residues. Despite these differences, a consistent quality of the new EPS panels must be guaranteed."

Austria: Law firm Schoenherr says that it advised Austrotherm on merger control filings for the latter’s acquisition of the expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation business of building materials producer Brucha. Prior to completion of the deal, Austrotherm employed 1400 people and produces insulation at 26 plants in 12 countries in Central and Southeast Europe and Türkiye.

Czech Republic: Kingspan Czechia’s sales dropped by 22% year-on-year to €142m in 2023. Its profit also declined, by 42% to €6.27m. Throughout the year, the company produced 4.66Mm² of insulation panels, down by 4% from 2022 volumes. It reported total export sales of €108m, down by 23%. The main markets for the producer’s insulation were Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Slovakia. It holds a 25% market share in insulation sandwich panels in its native Czech Republic, up from 22% at the start of 2023. ČTK Business News has reported that Kingspan Czechia plans to begin construction of a new mineral wool insulation panels plant later in 2024.

General manager Stanislav Cihlar said "The new plant will be used to produce world-class insulation panels and will become an important pillar for our future growth.”

Austria: Strabag has acquired hemp insulation producer Naporo Klima Dammstoff from Synthesa. SeeNews has reported that Strabag expects the acquisition to help it to expand its product range in line with its 2040 decarbonisation target. Meanwhile, Naporo Klima Dammstoff says that it will work with Strabag to explore new applications for its products, including in green roofs and as acoustic insulation.

Synthesa managing director Georg Bluemel said “In Strabag, we have found a partner who will continue to write Naporo’s success story in the future. We look forward to additional growth prospects for the company and its employees.”

Austria: Austrotherm plans to raise the prices of its expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation products by up to 15% from 25 September 2023. The insulation producer said earlier in August 2023 that production reductions and unexpected plant shutdowns had increased the costs of its main raw materials.

Austria: Austrotherm has invested Euro20m on an upgrade to its extruded polystyrene (XPS) production capacity at its Purbach insulation plant. The project added a production hall with new extrusion technology supplied by Germany-based KraussMaffei Group. The expansion has also created 20 new jobs at the site. A further upgrade to the plant will be built in 2023 when a photovoltaic system will be installed on the roof of the hall.

Austria: Austrotherm plans to raise the prices of its extruded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and expanded polystyrene (XPS) insulation products in response to “very strong” increases in raw materials, energy and transport costs. The latest round of price increase will take effect in early April 2022. The producer added that it could not rule out re-introducing monthly quantity quotas if order intake remained high.

Austria: Austrotherm has announced its construction of a 226kW solar power installation on the roofs of storage halls 6 and 7 of its Purbach extruded polystyrene insulation plant in Burgenland. The EU’s Regional Development Fund provided funding towards the project.

Austria: Austrotherm has launched a nationwide extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation cut-off collection service. The service will pick up waste XPS insulation from building sites for recycling in production at Austrotherm’s Purbach XPS insulation plant.

Technical director Heimo Pascher said “Our XPS sheets are ideal for recycling and can be fed back into the production process - this enables us to reduce CO₂ emissions and the consumption of resources in production. We are taking an important step in the direction of the circular economy.” He added “We have carefully analysed the savings effect. By recycling we reduce the CO₂ emissions in the disposal of construction site waste by at least 50%. With every tonne of XPS which we recycle, 1.80t of CO₂ can be saved. Or, to put it more impressively, every tonne of XPS that we recycle from construction sites saves as much CO₂ as around 148 European beech trees bind in a year.”

Poland: Austria-based Austrotherm has launched production at its Grodków expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation plant following a capacity expansion. The total cost of the work was Euro5.5m.

Managing director Klaus Haberfellner said “We are particularly proud that, despite the adversities of the coronavirus epidemic, we have now been able to start full operation in Grodków. The demand for our high-quality EPS insulation panels has been growing steadily in Poland for years. This is due on the one hand to rising energy prices and on the other hand to the government smog control renovation subsidies programme launched in 2019.” He added "Thanks to the new plant, we are optimally positioned in terms of capacity to be able to supply our customers promptly."