Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Advanced Insulation (AI) has acquired Manuplas, which specialises in the manufacture and supply of floatation and protection products for the global marine and offshore energy markets.

"The acquisition of Manuplas enhances AI's market diversification by providing further penetration into our existing offshore markets while simultaneously increasing our presence and breadth of product offerings in the marine sector," said AI's managing director Andrew Bennion. AI's turnover has increased from Euro3.68m in 2008 to Euro24.5m in 2013.

Manuplas has over 50 employees at its two manufacturing plants in Plymouth, Devon, the second of which was acquired in early 2013 to accommodate the increase in production of offshore products and to further improve general productivity. As a result of the acquisition, Manuplas has dissolved its commercial reseller and distribution agreements with Fendercare Marine.

UAE: Bayer Pearl, a polyurethane systems house joint venture between Bayer MaterialScience AG and Pearl Insulation Materials Industries LLC that was established in 2007, plans a significant investment including new technology and production.

Following the relocation of the regional offices and production facilities to Dubai Investment Park, Bayer Pearl has now engaged Amana Contracting and Steel Buildings to build a new state-of-the-art facility at the Investment Park. The new facility is expected to be complete in 2015 and will feature research, development and application laboratories, advanced manufacturing technologies and a demonstration centre.

"The Middle East is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Dubai serves as the ideal base for Bayer Pearl to further strengthen its presence in the region," said Thorsten Eschmeier, CEO of Bayer Pearl. "The site will host offices and operations and is strategically located close to Jebel Ali Port and the new Dubai World Central airport. Furthermore, the new site allows us to expand our competence in developing new applications and manufacturing processes for our materials in close collaboration with our customers."

Denmark: Danish insulation materials producer Rockwool plans to invest Euro67m to modernise its plant in Øster Doense in Jutland. No further details have been released.

US: To cater to industry demands, Trelleborg's offshore operation has consolidated its range of high performance thermal insulation materials to house them all under one brand, Vikotherm™.

"As sub-sea environments become more demanding, going deeper and further than ever before, temperatures and hydrostatic pressure become much greater," said Ben Wait, customer group manager with Trelleborg Offshore and Construction. "The demand for more sophisticated products that can cope with harsher environments is growing. This is certainly the case with our thermal insulation materials, so we've taken the strategic decision to group all of our solutions together to allow for easier product selection and ensure that all customer needs can be met in one place."

Trelleborg has supplied the subsea oil and gas industry for three decades, continuously researching to ensure that its products consistently meet the growing demands placed on them. As such, all solutions in the Vikotherm™ range will guarantee maintained flow rates, optimum productivity, reduced costs and protection against wax and hydrate formations. The featured products in the new portfolio include R2 and S1 materials, E1 and E2 epoxy syntactic foams, P7 non-mercury catalysed polyurethane, PT syntactic polypropylene tape, and G3 non-mercury syntactic polyurethane.

US: Installed Building Products Inc (IBP) has announced that Todd R Fry has joined the company as chief accounting officer and principal accounting officer, reporting directly to Michael Miller, the chief financial officer. Fry was formerly chief financial officer of Champion Industries during 1999 – 2014.

"I am pleased to welcome Fry to IBP as we continue to expand our operations," said Miller. "Todd is a highly accomplished financial professional and we believe his over 20 years of experience in key leadership positions, including 17 years at publicly traded companies, will help continue to strengthen our financial management. We look forward to leveraging his financial expertise as we continue to grow our business."

UK: Energy savings of 63% have been achieved following the installation of multiple Saint-Gobain systems in a world-first retrofit research project.

Saint-Gobain worked with the Energy House at Salford University, Greater Manchester, UK to prove that whole-house, fabric first retrofitting of homes can deliver significantly reduced energy costs, lower CO₂ emissions and remove 50% of air leakage.

The Energy House at Salford University is a typical 1919 terraced house that has been reconstructed in a fully environmentally controllable chamber, in which climatic conditions can be maintained, varied, repeated and patterns monitored. The type of building used in the study represents 21% of UK housing stock and is classed as a hard-to-treat property due to its poor energy efficiency derived from solid wall construction.

The Energy House at Salford University included Saint-Gobain systems from British Gypsum, Glassolutions, Isover and Weber to bring high levels of thermal efficiency. The approach of the project was to measure the whole-house performance post-installation using off-the-shelf Saint-Gobain systems and standard installation techniques, making the results repeatable across the UK's hard-to-treat housing stock.

US: The insulation company Installed Building Products Inc (IBP) has announced that Robert H Schottenstein has been elected as an independent director to the IBP board of directors.

"I am extremely pleased to welcome Schottenstein to our board," stated Jeff Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer of IBP. "Schottenstein brings a wealth of experience to IBP, particularly related to residential construction markets and corporate management and complements the significant expertise and depth of our current board members."

Saudi Arabia: Thermal insulation in buildings will soon be mandatory in 23 cities and towns across Saudi Arabia. Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Prince Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz, said that the measures would be a pre-requisite when applying for electricity connections.

Municipalities and engineering consultants will coordinate with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to implement the policy. If any building fails to install insulation, it won't be able to subscribe for power supply and the Municipality will also not approve permanent permission. An exclusive integrated system will be developed between Municipalities and SEC to verify the installation.

Thermal insulation is used to protect the buildings from excessive heat during peak summer time. It reduces the pace of heat transfer inside the building through the walls and roof and as a result, saves about 40% of energy in air-conditioning. The decision will increase construction costs, but will reduce power consumption.

Air-conditioners account for about 70% of electricity consumption in Saudi Arabia and with more than 1.5 million new homes needed to keep pace with population growth, domestic energy demand is anticipated to double by 2030, according to the SEC.

US: PPG Industries has announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire almost all of the assets of Hi-Temp Coatings Technology Co Inc, a privately-owned supplier of high-temperature-resistant and insulative coatings, based in Boxborough, Massachusetts. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Hi-Temp is a global supplier of coatings that withstand extreme temperatures to protect both carbon steel and stainless steel substrates. The company's coatings are used widely in refineries, petrochemical plants, pulp and paper mills and power plants.

"PPG looks forward to integrating Hi-Temp coatings into our product offering," said Tim Knavish, PPG vice president, protective and marine coatings. "Hi-Temp's unique technologies bring multiple growth opportunities to PPG, particularly in the petrochemical segment. Combining their excellent corrosion-under-insulation coatings portfolio with PPG's legacy portfolio enables us to provide additional high-quality options to meet more of our customers' coatings needs."

US: The demand for plastic foams is forecast to rise by 4.1%/yr to 3.90bn kg in 2017, valued at US$24.7bn. The market will mount a healthy recovery from the declines posted during the recession-impacted 2007-2012 period, according to a report by The Freedonia Group Inc.

Packaging will remain the leading outlet for plastic foams through 2017, accounting for nearly one-third of total volume. Increased levels of housing construction combined with rising consumer spending levels bode well for foams used in household products such as bedding, furniture and appliances. In the motor vehicle market, advances will be promoted by rising vehicle output and efforts to enhance safety and comfort.

Flexible polyurethane foam, the leading resin in the plastic foams market, will remain the dominant product throughout 2017, outpacing demand for rigid polyurethane, based on especially rapid growth in the bedding and carpet underlay markets. Strong gains for rigid polyurethane foam will be propelled by a healthy rebound in construction activity and by changes in building codes and construction practices that call for structures with increasing energy efficiency. However, polyurethane foam insulation will continue to encounter competition from fibreglass and polystyrene foam.

Polystyrene accounts for almost two-fifths of demand for plastic foam and will maintain a sizable share of the market through 2017 based on its excellent protective and insulating capabilities, moisture resistance and low cost. However, advances in the large packaging sector will be restricted by ongoing solid waste disposal concerns regarding the use of disposable foam products and rising competition from paper-based materials, which are viewed as more eco-friendly. Expanded polystyrene foam is projected to see more rapid gains through 2017, stemming primarily from its use in insulation, molded foam protective packaging and insulated shipping containers. Expanded polystyrene geofoam is predicted to exhibit especially rapid growth, albeit from a relatively small base.