Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Germany: BASF has launched Neopor Mcycled expandable polystyrene (EPS) granulate, an EPS insulation raw material containing 10% recycled EPS waste. Building materials producer Karl Bachl collaborated in the product’s development.

Karl Bachl Managing Director Michael Küblbeck said “Today’s EPS insulation materials from the construction and packaging sectors can be fully recycled. At present, the high-quality recycled material is mainly sourced from waste streams from the packaging sector. That means we can already ensure that the recycled material is of the necessary high quality.”

Germany: Knauf Insulation plans to increase the production capacity of its Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt, glasswool insulation plant. The project will also modernise all of the plant’s equipment. The upgraded plant is scheduled for commissioning in 2023.

Central Europe regional managing director Michael Huesmann said "The market hunger for insulating materials necessitates the use all production resources as efficiently as possible. Operational safety has gained additional importance as we maximise capacity utilisation – a process which will likely continue in the future."

Germany: Knauf Insulation has compiled its sustainability targets, progress and related information on its products online. The so-called ‘sustainability chapter’ is intended to highlight how Knauf Insulation products can make buildings more sustainable and also charts the company’s progress to reduce its own environmental impact as part of its ‘For A Better World’ initiative.

Jure Šumi, Knauf Insulation’s Group Digital and Brand Manager, said “The new chapter on sustainability is a showcase of valuable information for anyone who wants to create better buildings while taking care of the environment and society.” He added, “It offers valuable insight into how our solutions can lower the environmental impact of buildings with news and case histories in every section highlighting what Knauf Insulation is doing For A Better World.”

The newly organised section on Knauf Insulation’s website lets interested parties download Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for its products. In addition, the site offers downloadable documents showing how Knauf Insulation products can contribute points to the world’s green building rating systems such as BREEAM, LEED, DGNB and WELL.

The company’s also explains online how it is reducing the environmental impact of its operations in line with its ‘For A Better World’ sustainability strategy. It has set targets for 2025 including sending zero waste to landfill, cutting its accident rate by 55% and reducing the embodied carbon of products by 15%. Knauf Insulation promises regular updates on its progress and initiatives to achieve these targets.

Australia/Germany: Australia-based Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Germany-based Covestro plan to start a long-term agreement for the supply of green hydrogen and its derivatives, including ammonia. According to the memorandum of understanding, FFI and Covestro will formalise an agreement under which FFI will supply Covestro with the equivalent of up to 100,000t/yr of hydrogen. The deal will enable Covestro to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, from using grey hydrogen, by up to 900,000t/yr of CO₂ per year. The deliveries are earmarked for three potential locations – in Asia, North America and Europe - and could commence by 2024.

Green hydrogen is hydrogen made using renewable energy sources. FFI’s ambition is to grow its green hydrogen production to 15Mt/yr of green hydrogen by 2030, accelerating to 50Mt/yr in the following decade.

Covestro uses hydrogen and its derivatives as feedstock in the production of polymers. It produces a wide range of products including those used for thermal insulation in construction.

Spain: Etex has signed a deal with Germany-based Xella Group for the acquisition of its subsidiary URSA. The Belgium-based group says that the move confirms its portfolio shift towards lightweight construction materials. URSA produces its expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS) and glass and mineral wool insulation across a total of 13 sites and has operations in 20 European countries.

Chief executive officer Bernard Delvaux said “The acquisition of URSA confirms the portfolio shift initiated a few years ago by Etex to become a global leader in lightweight and modular construction. This acquisition is a strategic fit for Etex combining a new growth platform with a strong focus on sustainability. I have been truly impressed by both the quality of the management at URSA and its sound business model. I look forward to welcoming our new teammates to Etex and embarking on a prosperous future together.”

Germany: CertainTeed plans to build a 312kW solar power plant at its Berlin insulation centre. Construction is set to begin in 2022. Along with a similar project in its US plastic operations in Wayne, New Jersey, US, the plant’s construction aligns with the aims of parent company Saint-Gobain’s newly announced Grow and Impact sustainable expansion strategy.

CertainTeed CEO Mark Rayfield said “The new solar projects at our sites in Berlin and Wayne will reduce our company’s energy costs at these locations and support the broader transition to renewable, zero-carbon sources of power.”

Norway: Bewi’s shareholders have voted in favour of the company’s acquisition of the remaining 50% of Jackon Holding in order to become sole owner. Bewi will hold an extraordinary general meeting following the completion of due diligence checks to authorise the issuance of Bewi shares as consideration for the deal to Jackon Holdings’ controlling shareholder Haas.

UAE: Pearl Polyurethane has newly appointed Oliver Bruns, Michael Friede and Wilhelm Lamberts to its board. Chemical Industry Digest News has reported that the new board members’ experience collectively spans various sectors and industries, bringing broad and deep expertise to the polyurethane (PUR) producer’s strategic guidance and oversight as it expands internationally and into new verticals.

Bruns has over 10 years’ PUR industry experience with Germany-based Bayer AG and Covestro, formerly known as Bayer MaterialScience. This included a role as managing director of Bayer’s Czech Republic-based PUR system house for Eastern Europe. Bruns currently also holds a full-time CEO position at Neveon, a leading global integrated foam group that supplies PUR flexible and composite foams for a wide range of applications.

Friede started his career at Bayer AG in 2001 and held various senior executive roles at Bayer MaterialScience and then Covestro, including global head of coatings, adhesives and specialities. He then moved to Netherlands-based AkzoNobel, where he worked as chief commercial officer (CCO) of performance coatings.

Lamberts’ career also spans multiple executive roles at Bayer AG and Covestro, most recently as the former’s strategy project manager and senior vice president, head of elastometers and the latter’s innovation project manager.

Germany: Cemex Zement has launched Insularis cement-free concretes, a product range suitable for use in building insulating components. The range includes lightweight concretes Insularis Supra and Insularis Infra. Due to its low bulk density, Insularis Infra currently requires special case-by-case or project-related approval for use in Germany. The company said that it produces Insularis concretes from a mix of recycled and natural raw materials. It added that Insularis is itself 100% recyclable.

UK: SIG’s group revenue fell by 37% year-on-year to Euro154m during March and April 2020 due to disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In its annual report for 2019 the insulation producer said that trading had returned to pre Covid-19 levels in most of its companies as it adapted social distancing measures. It also reported cash reserves of around Euro150m following the sale of its Air Handling division.

In 2019 the group‘s statutory revenue fell by 13% year-on-year to Euro2.4bn in 2019 from Euro2.7bn in 2018. It made an operating loss of Euro97m. This was blamed on loss of market share in the UK and Germany. In response the company’s board says it taken ‘decisive’ action including appointing a new leadership team and developing a new customer-centric strategy that reprioritises sales.