Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Kingspan has confirmed that a limited amount of its Kooltherm K15 phenolic insulation product was used in Grenfell Tower. In response to a report by Channel 4 News the insulation producer said that a ‘very small quantity’ of the product had been used without its knowledge in a façade refurbishment of the high-rise tower. The building subsequently suffered a fire in June 2017 in which at least 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing.

“Kingspan had no involvement in either the design or the specification of the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower facade, and neither Kingspan insulated panels nor Kingspan façade systems were used on Grenfell Tower,” said Kingspan in a statement. It added that following the fire it became aware that a limited quantity of Kingspan Kooltherm K15, less than 5% of the estimated total amount of insulation used on the building façade, was sourced by a third party distributer and supplied to contractors involved in the refurbishment. It impressed that, “It appears that Kooltherm K15 has been used without our knowledge, as part of a combination for which it was not designed, and which Kingspan would never recommend.”

The majority of the insulation purchased for use in the building refurbishment was Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board. This product has been stopped for use in rainscreen cladding systems for buildings over 18m tall whilst the investigation into the Grenfell fire continues.

France: Lafarge France and Euromac 2 have signed a national partnership contract to bring to market insulating concrete form products. The deal will see Euromac 2 use Agilia concrete from Lafarge to fill its expanded polystyrene blocks. The two companies will then approve a network of companies to bring the product to the market.

US: Rockwool is planning to build a US$150m mineral wool plant at Ranson in West Virginia. Construction is scheduled to start in October 2017 with production expected to commence in the first quarter of 2020. The new unit will have an area of 43,000m² and employ 150 workers.

“This new production site places us close to major population centres in the north-eastern, mid-Atlantic, and mid-western US. We’re growing along with the market, and we look forward to serving our customers’ needs from this new facility,” said Trent Ogilvie, president of Roxul, Rockwool Group’s subsidiary in North America.

Russia: TechnoNicol has completed the construction of a Euro5.4m briquetting unit at its mineral wool plant in Rostov. The new unit will produce briquettes of waste fibres and smelt from the main production line. These will then be used to produce mineral wool. In addition to improving the plant’s environmental credentials the use of briquettes is also expected to reduce costs.

China: Javier Gimeno, head of Saint-Gobain’s business in Asia-Pacific, has blamed production overcapacity for the company’s decision to stop manufacturing glass wool. He said that overcapacity had forced prices down and lowered margins, according to the Wall Street Journal. He added that the company is targeting profits over 10% and that it wants its business in China to grow faster than the national economy. Subsequently, the group has focused on products such as mortars, plastics and car windows. Gimeno also raised the issue of environmental regulations being stricter for foreign firms in China, although this is changing.

UK: SIG’s revenue grew by 8.1% to Euro1.6bn in the first half of 2017 due to favourable currency exchange rates and sales in Mainland Europe. Sales in Mainland Europe rose by 42% in the period boosted by recovery in the construction markets particularly in France.

China: Luyang Energy-Saving Materials plans to spend US$11m towards upgrading its mineral wool insulation plant in the Yiyuan Economic Development Zone in Shandong. The upgrade will add 25,000t/yr production capacity to the plant, increasing its total output to 50,000t/yr, according to Reuters. Construction is scheduled to start in July 2017 with completion in June 2018.

US: Owens Cornings has completed its purchase of Pittsburgh Corning for around US$560m. Originally the insulation producer expected the transaction and its regulatory approval to be completed in the third quarter of 2017. Pittsburgh Corning produces cellular glass insulation products, including Foamglas, and it has operations in the US, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and China.

UK: Celotex has stopped supplying its RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product in rainscreen cladding systems for buildings over 18m tall. The decision is a temporary one whilst an investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire continues. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain previously confirmed that its product was purchased for use in a refurbishment project at the building. The fire is believed to have killed 79 people.

The insulation producer said that safety testing had been undertaken on its RS5000 product as part of a ‘particular’ rainscreen cladding system. It added that, “…any changes to components of the cladding system or construction methods used need to be considered by the relevant building designer.”

The decision by Celotex follows an announcement by the Metropolitan Police that insulation samples collected from Grenfell Tower combusted quickly in tests. The authorities are examining aluminium composite tiles, the insulation behind it and how these tiles were fixed to the building as well as how they were installed. The aluminium composite tiles have also failed initial safety tests.

Finland: Recticel plans to build a new Euro23m polyurethane (PUR) foam insulation board plant. Production at the site is scheduled to start in the second half of 2018. The site will manufacture thermal insulation products for sale in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltic countries

“This investment is an additional step in the execution of the growth strategy of our Insulation business. It offers an attractive expansion in the Nordic region, which is a growing market for high performance insulation materials,” said Olivier Chapelle the company’s chief executive officer (CEO).