Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: Kingspan has contested the European Commission (EC)'s preliminary findings from its investigation of the company’s abandoned attempt to acquire Slovenia-based Trimo in 2021. The Commission preliminarily found that Kingspan negligently or intentionally provided incorrect, incomplete and misleading information during the merger review. The relevant information reportedly pertained to Kingspan’s internal organisation, market scope, barriers to entry and expansion and competition closeness with Trimo. The Irish Independent newspaper has reported that applicable fines may be up to 1% of Kingspan’s annual global turnover.

Kingspan disputed the preliminary findings and will now formulate a response. In a statement, the company said “Kingspan has fully co-operated with the commission throughout the period relating to the Trimo process, which commenced in September 2020, continued until Kingspan withdrew from the process in April 2022, and was followed by the EC's investigation, which opened in November 2022. This Trimo application was unusual and uniquely onerous given both the level of information sought and the fact that the process occurred during the Covid-19 outbreak. It is in no way representative of the long and productive relationship Kingspan has with the EC. Since the Trimo process began in 2020, Kingspan has secured four successful clearances, supporting investments by Kingspan in energy-efficient and low-carbon buildings that are essential to the EC's green transition."

Belgium: PU Europe has issued a statement to the relevant European bodies responsible for fluorinated gases (F-gases) emphasising the role of low global warming potential (GWP) of F-gases in insulation foam applications.

The association has suggested that, instead of total ban of F-gases, a lowering of the threshold should be considered as an alternative. In its view a lower threshold would allow the users of thermal insulation to continue to benefit from products made from closed-cell polyurethane foam. It warned that a ban on the use of low GWP F-gases in insulation foam would have “significant implications for the Renovation Wave, as approximately 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been constructed.” PU Europe emphasises the need to find solutions that strike the right balance between addressing operating greenhouse gas emissions from the existing building stock and controlling low GWP F-gases.

The European Commission proposed in early 2022, as part of its so-called 'fit for 55' package, to further reduce emissions of F-gases. It wants to change the existing quota system, gradually reducing the supply of hydrofluorocarbons to the European Union market to 2.4 % of 2015 levels by 2048.

PU Europe was founded in 1981 as BING to become the single European voice for the polyurethane insulation industry. The association represents insulation producers, raw material suppliers and component manufacturers from eleven countries with activities covering the entire continent.

Slovakia: Ireland-based Kingspan has stopped an attempt to buy Trimo due to difficulties obtaining approval from the European Commission. Regulatory approval failed to arrive before a deadline set in August 2020 when Kingspan and Polish private equity fund Innova Capital signed a contract for the sale, according to the Finance newspaper and the Slovenian Press Agency. During its investigation the commission expressed concerns that the acquisition could reduce competition and lead to price rises in several countries. It added that the acquisition would have created the largest supplier of mineral wool sandwich panels in Europe.

Trimo was acquired by Innova Capital in 2016. It produces mineral wool sandwich panels and is reportedly the second largest seller of the products in Europe with a 10% market share. It operates production plants in Slovenia and Serbia and most sells panels in Europe. Innova Capital is expected to select a new buyer for Trimo.

Europe/Spain: The European Commission has approved, under the European Union (EU) merger regulation, the acquisition of Spanish insulation producer URSA by Germany’s Xella. The commission concluded that the acquisition would raise no competition concerns because of the limited overlaps between the activities of the companies. The deal was first announced in August 2017 and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

Germany: Va-Q-Tec AG is hosting a research project entitled ‘THECore’ that will examine thermally efficient, cost-reduced nanostructured foams for vacuum insulation panels (VIP). The project is linked to the Society and Enterprise Panel of the Individual Fellowship of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) of the European Union (EU). The main research topic of THECore is the development of new VIP products based on a new generation of core materials. Sumteq, the project’s second supporting company, will supply these.

Va-Q-Tec will carry out product tests and qualifications of the new materials. A starting meeting with both participant institutions was held on 22 June 2017, where researcher Flávia Almeida from Portugal introduced the main objectives of the project. She will lead the research for two years and will be supported by the MSCA.

MSCA are a set of major mobility research grants created by the EU and European Commission to support research in the European Research Area. It is currently financed through the Eighth Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (Horizon 2020) and belongs to the so-called first pillar ‘Excellent Science.’

Europe: The European Commission (EC) has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition by Mondi of two industrial packaging plants currently owned by Walki is in line with the EU Merger Regulation.

Mondi is a vertically integrated packaging and paper manufacturer that operates plants across Europe that manufacture extrusion coating products, such as those used for insulation production. The plants Mondi intends to buy from Walki also manufacture extrusion coating products. The EC has concerns that the removal of a key competitor may lead to less choice and higher prices for customers. The EC now has 90 working days, until 18 January 2016, to investigate whether these initial concerns are confirmed. The opening of an in-depth investigation does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

"The proposed merger could remove a key competitor for several types of packaging material. These are used in everyday items such as food packaging. I am concerned that the merger would lead to higher prices and less choice for these companies' clients and that the price increases could ultimately be passed on to consumers," said commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy.

The EC's initial investigation has shown that the proposed acquisition of Walki's plants may remove a major competitive constraint on Mondi. Remaining competitors would have considerably lower production capacity than the merged entity and may not be able to match its product offering or proximity to key customers. The EC has concerns that these competitors may be unable to exert sufficient competitive constraint on the behaviour of the merged entity. This risks leading to a reduction of choice for customers and potentially to price increases for the products concerned.