Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Finland/Sweden: Stone wool producer Paroc Group intends to relocate its manufacturing of technical insulation and acoustic products from Lappeenranta, Finland to its plants in Hällekis and Skövde, Sweden creating 40 new jobs in Sweden. The company is investing approximagtely Euro8.06m in Hällekis and Skövde, according to the Finish business news service Esmerk.

China: Bayer MaterialScience intends to increase MDI production from 0.35Mt/yr to 0.50Mt/yr by the middle of 2014, according to polymer news website Gupta Verlag. De-bottlenecking will take place at the polymer manufacturer's MDI production facility at the Bayer Integrated Site Shanghai in Caojing, Shanghai.

"MDI is an important raw material for the production of polyurethane rigid foam, which is an effective insulation material for buildings and refrigerators. The de-bottlenecking will allow the company to further expand its business in China, which is one of the largest markets in the world for Bayer MaterialScience," said Wolfgang Miebach, President of Bayer MaterialScience China.

France: Multinational chemical producer Arkema has patented the use of Forane(R) 1233zd as a blowing agent in the manufacture of polyurethane foams. The new molecule, known in its development phase as AFA-L1, is high purity trans-1-chloro-3,3,3-trifluoropropene, a liquid halogenated olefin. It offers improvements in energy performance and environmental benefits over existing blowing agents.

"In all of these evaluations, in several different polyurethane foam applications, Forane(R) 1233zd blowing agent has consistently demonstrated outstanding ease of use," noted Nancy Storoz, Global Business Manager for Arkema fluorochemicals foams and 134a refrigerants, "It requires minimal equipment modifications and formulation changes, while outperforming HCFCs, HFCs and hydrocarbons in terms of energy efficiency, R value, and vapor pressure."

In trials at a manufacturer of household refrigerators and freezers, an unoptimised system based on Forane(R) 1233zd blowing agent delivered a 3% improvement in energy efficiency versus HFC 245fa and surpassed 2014 DOE energy standards. In other evaluations conducted by Arkema, Forane(R) 1233zd blowing agent provided a 6% improvement in insulation value versus HFC 245fa, a 7% improvement versus HCFC 141b, and a 16% improvement versus hydrocarbons.

Target markets for Forane(R) 1233zd blowing agent include polyurethane foams used in the manufacture of household refrigerators and freezers, commercial refrigeration, spray foam, and polyurethane panels for commercial and residential building and construction applications.

Austria: Wienerberger AG has announced that it has completed the construction of a new production plant in Haiding, Upper Austria. The plant will produce the Porotherm W.i. clay blocks. W.i. stands for 'with thermal insulation', which means the insulating material, natural mineral wool, is already integrated in the clay block.

Sweden: ECO Byggolit, a Swedish producer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, has applied for corporate reconstruction due to reduced demand from the construction industry. The company, which was established in 2009, has 13 employees and annual sales of Euro6.73m. The company's products are mainly used for insulation of buildings and as a filler in roads.

US: Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Oxid, a manufacturer and marketer of specialty urethane polyols in Houston, Texas, for an amount of up to US$75m. According to a press release, Oxid generated revenues of US$86m in 2012.

Oxid's polyols are a key component in the production of polyurethane-based insulation products. The polyols are combined with methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) in which Huntsman's Polyurethanes division is a producer to create polyurethane foam insulation. Oxid markets its product line of specialty polyols under the trademark Terol and distributes products worldwide from its manufacturing facility in Houston.

Commenting on the sale, Anthony P Hankins, President of Huntsman's Polyurethanes division, said, "We are very pleased with the acquisition of Oxid. In the past 18 months we have strengthened our downstream capabilities with the acquisition and establishment of new systems houses in Turkey, Russia and Indonesia; acquired a 20% stake in Nippon Aqua, a Japanese spray polyurethane foam insulation company; we've commissioned a new, state-of-the-art MDI splitter and downstream manufacturing unit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and we've invested in the expansion of our world-scale MDI manufacturing facility in Geismar, Louisiana, USA." He added that the acquisition would strengthen Huntsman's presence in insulation markets in North America and globally.

US: The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) has appointed Stacy Fitzgerald-Redd as its director of communications. Fitzgerald-Redd is responsible for developing and implementing marketing and communications initiatives designed in support of the mission of NAIMA for fiberglass, rock wool and slag wool insulation products.

Fitzgerald-Redd was most recently with the USA Rice Federation, where she spent six years developing and implementing communication strategies, writing and editing reports, publications and newsletters, managing social media outreach and serving as a media spokesperson. She also worked in employee and customer communications at AMTRAK and spent 13 years working in research, communications and education for the Food Marketing Institute, the international trade association of the supermarket industry. Fitzgerald-Redd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Virginia State University.

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.