Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Austria: Knauf Insulation will build a €30m, 10,000t/yr mineral wool recycling plant at Ferndorf in Villach, Carinthia. When commissioned in late 2026, the plant will recycle both glass and stone wool insulation. Kleine Zeitung Online News has reported that the process will consist of melting and granulation of the materials for use in subsequent insulation production.

The Austrian government will introduce a landfill ban for mineral wool from January 2027, but the country currently has no recycling plants for the material.

Finland: Saint-Gobain Isover has commenced production at its upgraded Forssa glass wool insulation plant in Kanta-Häme. Financial Wire News has reported that production is powered by a 50:50 energy mix of biogas and hydroelectricity. The producer says that this will reduce the Forssa plant's CO₂ emissions by 1500t/yr.

Saint-Gobain Isover is Finland’s largest consumer of recycled glass, of which the Forssa plant uses 80% in its raw materials mix.

Russia: TechnoNICOL says that it will invest US$219m in new mineral wool plants and plant upgrades in Russia throughout 2025, as part of a drive to raise its capacity to 5Mm³/yr by 2030. Interfax has reported that projects include the upcoming Krasnosulinsky stone wool insulation plant in Rostov, scheduled to open in late 2026. In Moscow, the company is investing US$46.2m to rebuild it Serpukhov glass wool plant, scheduled for completion in April 2026. At its Ryazan plant, meanwhile, TechnoNICOL is installing a 1.25Mm³/yr mineral wool recycling line and captive power plant, with a combined investment of US$29m.

France: Revibat has announced the launch of a new 1.5t/hr glasswool recycling line, featuring recycling equipment supplier Andritz’s NeXline AirLay system. The line, situated near Paris, will receive post-consumer glasswool from around the French capital. Revibat says that it plans to roll out the NeXline AirLay system in order to supply its recycled insulation production operations across France.

Romania: Knauf Insulation România announced the start of operations at its new Târnăveni glasswool insulation plant in Mureș County on 22 January 2025. Transilvania Business News has reported that the plant will produce up to 75,000t/yr of insulation for local and export markets. Knauf Insulation România invested €140m in construction of the plant, which first commenced in March 2023. The producer acquired another, existing plant at the site in May 2022, investing €4m in its modernisation.

Knauf Europe, Middle East and Asia Regional CEO Dominique Bossan noted the growth of demand for insulation in South East Europe.

UK: Knauf Insulation has reopened its St Helens glass wool insulation plant in Merseyside following a 25,000t/yr capacity expansion. Local press has reported that the upgrade included the installation of a larger furnace for melting locally-sourced glass cullet. The new equipment allows for the addition of higher-thickness products to Knauf Insulation’s existing ranges.

Merseyside Mayor Steve Rotheram attended the reopening and noted the plant’s importance in continuing St Helens’ tradition of glass products manufacturing.

Russia: TechnoNICOL has installed a new glass furnace and polymerisation chamber at its Serpukhov glass wool plant in Moscow Oblast. AK&M News has reported that that the upgrade will expand the plant’s glass wool capacity to just under 2Mm³/yr and enable it to produce a total of 300 different types of insulation. TechnoNICOL is investing US$18m in the project, which uses equipment from Russian suppliers and is intended to reduce the sanctioned nation’s reliance on imports.

Romania: Knauf Insulation has announced the completion of its new 100Mm²/yr mineral glass wool plant in Târnăveni, scheduled for inauguration by the end of 2024. With an investment of approximately €140m, the facility has a capacity of 75,000t/yr of mineral glass wool. This output will meet both domestic and regional market demands and create 100 jobs.

Adrian Garofeanu, general manager of Knauf Insulation Romania and Bulgaria said “In the second half of 2024, we are inaugurating the new Knauf Insulation unit in Romania. It is a remarkable success of the team, which will turn Târnăveni into a key location on the map of the international production of mineral glass wool.”

Argentina: The Ministry of Economy has removed anti-dumping tariffs imposed upon imports of glass wool from Mexico. The decision follows an investigation requested by Saint-Gobain, according to Forbes. The government placed a tariff of 67% on the products in 2012 and this was later renewed in 2018 at the prompting of Saint-Gobain Argentina. Reportedly Saint-Gobain reached a glass wool capacity utilisation rate of 93% in 2023 and the company covers two-thirds of the market.

Spain: URSA says it used 35,800t of recycled materials to produce glass wool and extruded polystyrene (XPS) products in 2023. Just under 70% of the raw materials used to manufacture glass wool and XPS came from waste streams from sectors including car and food manufacture.

The subsidiary of Belgium-based Etex has also been granted a new Environmental Quality Assurance certifying that it recycles at least 60% of the raw materials used in its glass wool. Other recent sustainability milestones include an increase in the amount of recycled material the company uses in its packaging. Glass wool products from its El Pla de Santa Maria plant contain a primary sheet with a minimum of 50% of recycled plastic and the packaging of its XPS range includes a primary sheet with up to 30% of recycled plastic.