Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

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/Japan: Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has acquired a 20% stake in Nippon Aqua, a spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation company based in Yokohama, Japan. The chemical manufacturer has entered into a ten-year supply agreement with the company. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Nippon Aqua is the SPF market leader in Japan, with business operations in over 30 locations across the country, and is a subsidiary of leading residential home builder Hinokiya Holdings. Huntsman supplies various advanced MDI-based polyurethanes systems to Nippon Aqua.

"Following the regrettable accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in 2011, there's a great focus on how the country will source its energy needs and a growing demand amongst consumers for more effective insulation. Nippon Aqua is well-positioned to satisfy this demand," said Huntsman's president of its polyurethanes division, Anthony P Hankins.

US: Chemical maker Huntsman Corp has seen revenue from its polyurethane division rise by 10% to US$4.89bn in 2012 from US$4.43bn in 2011. The company attributed this to higher sales of the foam insulation constituent. The polyurethane division also benefitted from increased prices, although this was partly offset by the strength of the US Dollar against the Euro.

Overall revenue stayed stable at US$11.2bn in 2012 compared to US$11.2bn in 2011. Gross profit rose by 11% to US$2.03bn from US$1.84bn. Adjusted earnings before non-recurring items, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 15% to US$1.40bn from US$1.21bn.

"Our 2012 adjusted EBITDA of US$1.40bn represents record earnings for our current configuration of businesses. I am very enthusiastic about the direction in which the company is headed. Within our largest division, Polyurethanes, our MDI business is growing at attractive rates and future prospects are pointing towards tighter market conditions," commented president and CEO Peter R Huntsman.

Turkey: The US-based chemical company Huntsman has acquired Turkey's EMA Kimya Sistemleri Sanayi ve Ticaret for an undisclosed sum. The Istanbul-based company has the capacity to manufacture polyester polyols and blend methyl di-p-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) PU systems used in the insulation, automotive, adhesives, coatings, elastomers and furniture industries. EMI's 2010 revenues were about Euro13m.