Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK/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: 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.