Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Canada: CanWel Building Materials has entered into a multi-year agreement with Knauf Insulation for distribution of its mineral wool insulation products to the Lumber and Building Materials (LBM) channel across Canada.
"We are excited to extend our product offering for the LBM channel to include this high quality product line and to partner with one of the world's largest manufacturer of glasswool insulation," said Marc Seguin, President of CanWel.
Canada: An Owens Corning fiberglass insulation plant in Edmonton has been ordered to monitor its emissions following a fire in early January 2016. The fire on 4 January 2016 damaged the plant's secondary air scrubber on its insulation batting production line.
Without the second scrubber the plant is contravening its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act approval. A remedial solution to replace the curing oven's secondary air scrubber could take more than six months to implement.
As part of an enforcement order Owens Corning must monitor and notify Alberta Environment and Parks of any significant deviation from normal performance of the primary air emission scrubber on the curing oven. If the plant exceeds any air emission limits then production must immediately stop. Additional monitoring on the curing oven stack, including manual stack surveys, and an approved ambient air-monitoring plan are also required.
Ireland/Canada: Kingspan has obtained approval for the acquisition of Vicwest Building Products. The Irish insulation, building fabric and solar-integrated building envelopes company said that it has reached a consent agreement with the Canadian Competition Bureau, which requires the disposal of Kingspan's insulated metal panel facility at Hamilton, Ontario following the completion of the transaction.
In November 2014 Kingspan announced that it was buying the building products division of Vicwest Inc for US$136m in cash, inclusive of debt and reorganisation costs. The total estimated consideration payable is US$307m, of which Kingspan will fund US$126m and AGI will fund US$181m. The transaction is expected to complete imminently.
US/Canada: Armacell International SA, which produces flexible insulation foams for the equipment insulation market, has completed the acquisition of Industrial Thermo Polymers Limited (ITP), a producer of extruded polyethylene (EPS) foam products in North America.
"We are pleased and excited to welcome the employees of ITP into the Armacell family," said Thomas Himmel, vice president of the Americas and engineered foams for Armacell. "The acquisition of ITP supports our strategy to expand our manufacturing capability of polyethylene foam products. The Brampton facility will be the base for our future investment into the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam in North America."
ITP was founded in 1980 and maintains headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Under the brand name Tundra, it manufactures self-sealing pipe insulation, insulating foam filler and water toys. In 2014, ITP generated US$23.5m in revenue.
Roxul integrates units to form Roxul Technical Insulation
08 January 2015Canada/US: Roxul, a subsidiary of Rockwool International, has adopted a new 'strategic direction' for the North American Industrial, Marine and Offshore business. Effective from 1 January 2015, the Roxul Industrial & Marine team has been integrated into a global platform with Rockwool Technical Insulation (RTI) to create Roxul Technical Insulation.
"With our existing expertise and combined resources, Roxul Technical Insulation can provide improved support to its North American customers by leveraging our global influence, ultimately bringing greater value to our local response," said Mike Kozokowsky, vice president Industrial, Sales. The North American team will continue to be headquartered out of Roxul's Milton offices in Ontario, Canada.
Kingspan to buy Vicwest Building Products in two-part deal
13 November 2014UK/Canada: Kingspan Group has announced that it will buy the building products division of Vicwest Inc for US$136m in cash, inclusive of debt and reorganisation costs.
Kingspan said that the acquisition will be structured as the purchase by Kingspan of Vicwest and the simultaneous transfer of the Westeel business and assets to Ag Growth International. The total estimated consideration payable is US$333m, of which Kingspan will fund US$137m and AGI will fund US$196m. The acquisition of the building products business will be funded from Kingspan's existing credit facilities.
The division being bought comprises three insulation panel production plants and a number of profiling facilities across Canada and the US. Revenues for the year that ended 31 December 2013 were US$224m and pro forma earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was US$11.7m. The unit had gross assets of US$111m at 30 June 2014.
Canada: Johns Manville (JM) has added commercial and residential mineral wool to its full spectrum of insulation products in Canada.
JM mineral wool insulation offers a variety of performance benefits in both commercial and residential construction. With a melting point in excess of 1093˚C, mineral wool can help delay fire spread, create quieter buildings and homes, increase privacy between rooms and reduce heating and cooling costs by keeping structures warm in winter and cool in summer.
"Mineral wool has long been a favourite product of Canadian building professionals, but there's no longer just one game in town," said Fred Stephan, senior vice president of Insulation Systems at Johns Manville. "With JM mineral wool, building occupants benefit from acoustically superior environments, moisture protection and increased fire performance, while contractors benefit from JM's full range of product offerings, providing more options and resources across all insulation categories."
US/Canada: According to a survey by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA), US producers used over 0.70Mt of recycled glass in the production of residential, commercial, industrial and air-handling thermal and acoustical insulation in 2012. Canadian members used around 0.14Mt of recycled glass. The survey investigated members' use of pre- and post-consumer recycled materials in insulation products in 2012.
US and Canadian facilities used over 0.22Mt of recycled blast furnace slag in the production of thermal and acoustical insulation. Since the industry's recycling programme began in 1992, NAIMA members' plants have diverted around 20Mt of recycled materials from the waste stream.
"NAIMA members are committed to promoting sustainability by using recycled materials to produce energy-saving insulation products that improve a building's energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact," said Kate Offringa, President and CEO of NAIMA.
Canada blasted over asbestos exports
17 June 2011Canada: Canada's opposition has blasted the national government for ignoring its own scientists' advice to stop mining and exporting the insulating material asbestos, one week before a major UN conference on dangerous products. New Democratic Party MPs also accused the Conservative government of blocking the UN listing of chrysotile asbestos as toxic so that it would be strictly regulated.
The MPs, backed by more than 200 scientists and health organisations from around the world that signed a letter urging the government to act, said that internal government emails revealed that Health Canada had pressed Ottawa to recognise the product mined in Quebec as dangerous.
New Democratic Party MP Pat Martin said, "It's appalling, it's a disgrace, it's an international shame and it gives a big black eye to Canada's boy-scout image around the world if we're dumping this carcinogen into unsuspecting developing nations." India, Indonesia and the Philippines, among others are major importers of Canadian asbestos.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis countered, saying that, "Canada has promoted the safe and secure use of chrysotile asbestos for 30 years both nationwide and internationally." He pointed to scientific reviews that found that it could be used under controlled conditions.