Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

France/Denmark: Ireland-based Kingspan has signed deals for two diversifying acquisitions. On 18 February 2022, it agreed to buy France-based roofing and building waterproofing company Ondura from France-based Naxicap Partners for Euro550m. Meanwhile, in Denmark, the group has also agreed to acquire wood-based acoustic board producer Troldtekt. Troldtekt produces its boards from ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and shredded Norway spruce wood.

Speaking of the latter deal, Kingspan Insulation managing director Alan Lawlor said "I am delighted to welcome Troldtekt to the Kingspan family. As the global leader in high-performance insulation and building envelope solutions, we have the capacity to help them expand beyond their core markets, whilst bringing acoustic and decorative boards and natural insulation materials into our portfolio. Troldtekt has been able to continuously innovate and it sets the bar impressively high in the field of the circular economy.” He concluded "We will invest significantly in the company's production facilities to set them up for geographic growth."

Denmark: Rockwool says that high construction and renovation activity in the residential sector mainly drove its insulation sales in 2021. Insulation business sales grew by 20% year-on-year to Euro2.29bn in 2021 from Euro1.91bn. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 17% to Euro275m from Euro236m. Strong growth was reported in Europe, solid sales in North America but some parts of China and elsewhere in Asia were negatively affected by coronavirus-related closures of some markets. The producer commented that its insulation sales increased ‘significantly’ in 2021 even compared to 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic started. However, it warned that “sales prices and productivity gains did not fully offset the accelerating inflation on production materials, energy and logistic costs.”

“The surprising speed of the 2021 economic rebound also brought challenges, including inventory and material shortages in some markets as well as logistics challenges that required creative solutions. Special thanks go to our customers for their patience and especially our people working in the factories and across the commercial, technical, procurement, and support teams, who worked together to reduce customer delays,” said chair Thomas Kähler and chief executive officer Jens Birgersson in a statement. Overall, group net sales grew by 19% to Euro3.09bn from Euro2.60bn. EBITDA increased by 15% to Euro602m from Euro522m.

Denmark: Rockwool’s nine-month sales rose by 18% year-on-year in 2021 to Euro2.25bn. Its earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation and amortisation (EBITDA) were Euro456m over the same period. The company said that strong demand for non-combustible insulation and our other stone wool products resulted in double-digit growth in all of its business areas in the third quarter of 2021.

Chief executive officer Jens Birgersson “With construction activity booming in many markets, we achieved double-digit sales growth in all business areas and good profitability despite soaring energy and input costs, a tight labour market and material shortages. We are working hard to meet customer demand and overall managing supply chain and logistics challenges well.” He added “Nevertheless, the high cost increases we are seeing on energy, production material and logistics are negatively affecting margins, necessitating additional and more rapid price increases, which are likely to continue in the coming months.”

Denmark: Rockwool has won the Long Term Value Creation prize at construction company EY and the Danish Chamber of Commerce’s Sustainability Awards 2021. The judges chose Rockwool for its clear ambitions for operating as a responsible businesse that positively impacts the sustainable transition, with demonstrated progress towards fulfilling those ambitions.

CEO Jens Birgersson said “Sustainability is firmly integrated into our overall business strategy. We pursue a fact-based, auditable approach to document progress in maximising our products’ positive impact while minimising the negative impact of our operations. Sustained long-term value creation is precisely what we seek to achieve.”

Denmark: Rockwool recorded first-half consolidated sales of Euro1.45bn in 2021, up by 18% year-on-year from Euro1.23m in the first half of 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 31% to Euro299m from Euro229m. The group’s net profit was Euro152m, up by 50% from Euro101m. Its insulation segment’s sales were Euro1.07bn, up by 16% from Euro921m. The producer said that all markets and businesses contributed positively to the result.

Chief executive officer Jens Birgersson said, “Robust economic activity combined with productivity gains helped us achieve second-quarter and first-half sales and earnings above pre-pandemic levels. We secured double-digit growth across all major business areas and geographic regions, with both insulation and systems segments contributing substantially to the positive overall results. As we expect the high demand in key markets to continue, we have upgraded our sales and earnings forecast. We foresee input cost pressures to persist in the coming months as well as some industry risks involving material and manpower constraints that could impact building activity.”

Denmark: Rockwool has signed a new revolving credit facility worth Euro600m. The facility replaced its existing facilities and has a built-in pricing mechanism connecting its costs to three externally-assured sustainability goals. The goals are CO₂ emission reduction, increasing the number of countries in which it offers its recycling schemes and reducing factory waste. The purposes of the facility are to strengthen capital structure and support long-term growth.

Chief Financial Officer Kim Junge Andersen said, “While we already are a net-carbon-negative company, we have committed ourselves to ambitious sustainability targets to reduce our carbon footprint and waste from operations and to expand our recycling offerings. To measure our progress, it is important for us to have a fact-based and auditable approach to how we maximise our products’ positive impact while minimising the environmental impact of our operations.”

France: Denmark-based Rockwool plans to begin building a new stone wool insulation plant at Soissons, Aisne department in 2022. The new plant will use an 80%-reduced-CO₂ electric melting production method previously employed at Rockwool’s Moss insulation plant in Norway in 2020. The company says that, when commissioned in 2024, the new plant will generate 130 jobs.

France and Southern Europe regional managing director Rafael Rodriguez said, “We are pleased that our investment in Soissons will enable us to better support the government’s ambitious efforts as well as the social and economic development of the local communities. With our more than 40-year history in France, this new facility is a natural next step for us in a market that continues growing in importance.”

Denmark: Rockwool recorded consolidated net sales of Euro671m in the first quarter of 2021, up by 3% year-on-year from Euro649m in the first quarter of 2020. The group’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11% to Euro139m from Euro125m, while net profit rose by 11% to Euro68.0m from Euro61.0m. Its insulation segment’s net sales were Euro498m, up by 3% from Euro483m.

The producer said that increased construction activity and strong stone wool insulation demand drove its overall sales development. It forecast strong market conditions for the full year in 2021, resulting in sales growth of 10 – 12%. It added that productivity improvements and a moderate price increase would likely offset an expected rise in input costs.

Denmark: Rockwool has detailed its sustainability achievements for 2020 in its Sustainability Reports 2020. During the year, assessment agency S&P Trucost certified all of Rockwool’s products as ‘positively impactful’ in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The company said that its insulation sold in 2020 saved 874,000GWh of heating energy. It said that the lifetime CO₂ emissions savings of its products are more than 100 times greater than their production emissions. It halved its production waste going to landfill compared to 2019, against reduction targets of 40% by 2022 and 85%. It achieved another of its interim sustainability goals early by increasing water efficiency by 10%, against a targeted 10% by 2022 and 20% by 2030.

Denmark: Rockwool’s stone wool ceiling and wall products subsidiary Rockfon has partnered with designer Akuart to develop acoustic products. The producer says that the partnership combines the strengths of both companies in design, innovation and manufacturing to deliver more value for the end customer. Rockwool has also acquired a minority stake in Akuart to further strengthen the relationship.

Rockfon Europe and Asia managing director Parik Chopra, “Akuart is a strong Danish brand with skilled people, high quality design and products that fit any interior space. With this partnership, Rockfon expands its footprint into designing and manufacturing functional and aesthetic acoustic solutions that can improve the wellbeing of people in offices, schools, hospitals, and leisure venues across Europe.”