Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: MonolithUK, a new business in North Wales, is set to create 40 new jobs with its launch of an innovative external cladding product for the home insulation market Brick Plus, an alternative type of insulation for older properties, looks and feels like real brick, but it is not a structural product. It is ideally suited to conceal and cover external wall insulation while preserving the appearance of older brick properties. This also helps it to circumnavigate planning permission controls that apply to cavity insulation.

Made from a specialised natural lime product, Brick Plus are lighter than bricks, only 20mm deep and have a thin expanded polystyrene backing. They can be provided as individual bricks, on a mesh sheet and with or without thermal insulation attached.

Steven Waring, who has invested nearly Euro600,000 into the Brick Plus project since 2008, says that the new application is quicker, safer, less costly and lighter than alternative systems on the market. He highlighted that the potential market for Brick Plus was significant, with hundreds of thousands of older properties in the UK not able to install cavity wall insulation due to not having cavity walls.

"Brick Plus is the only system of its type available that can match all brick types and colours, including those that have been out of production for decades. Brick Plus provides a solution to the dilemma of having to finish externally insulated brick buildings with a render coat," said Waring, who also believes that his product will be an ideal product for use under the Green Deal, a UK Government initiative due to come into effect in the autumn of 2012 that is geared to making homes more efficient.

Australia: A company that was engaged under the federal government's former home insulation programme will be prosecuted for allegedly underpaying five Somali teenagers an estimated USD25,700, following a national audit of the scheme. It is understood that the teenagers told federal workplace inspectors they were asked only for their names and mobile phone numbers when employed in 2010 by Louay Soliman and his company, K & L Insulation Pty Ltd. The workers, all Somali immigrants aged 18 and 19 at the time, alleged they were not given training or any protective equipment, apart from masks.

The Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that Mr Soliman and his company, based in the north Melbourne suburb of Campbellfield, underpaid the five employees a total of USD25,700 over several weeks in March and April 2010. Court documents filed by the Fair Work Ombudsman allege the employees worked up to 10 hours a day, six days a week and in some cases were paid flat rates equating to as little as USD10.10/hr.

Under the modern award that applied to their positions, the workers were entitled to hourly rates of USD16.30 for normal hours worked, up to USD31.8/hr for overtime and weekend work and up to USD40.1/hr on public holidays. It is alleged that the employees were underpaid with respect to other entitlements, including accrued annual leave and wages in lieu of notice after their employment was terminated without notice.

The government's insulation scheme came in for heavy criticism in 2009-2010 following a number of worker deaths attributed to electrified foil insulation inside roof cavities and heat-exhaustion. Many were critical of the speed with which the government attempted to implement the plans in order to create jobs at a time of recession, claiming that there were insufficient checks to stop malpractice, unfair treatment of workers and violations of health and safety. The company cited in this case was established in December 2009.

North America: France's Saint-Gobain has announced the appointment of John Crowe as President and CEO of both the Saint-Gobain Corporation, Saint-Gobain's North American holding company, and CertainTeed Corporation, which is Saint-Gobain's largest North American subsidiary.

Crowe will take on these two new roles effective from 1 September 2011. As President and CEO of Saint-Gobain Corporation, he will act as Saint-Gobain's representative in North America, overseeing the company's North American businesses and chairing the company's Executive Committee. In this role, he succeeds Gilles Colas, who will return to Saint-Gobain's Paris headquarters as Senior Vice President in charge of global strategic developments.

In addition, Crowe will assume operational responsibility for CertainTeed, following in the footsteps of Peter Dachowski, who retires today after 35 years of service in a wide variety of senior leadership roles at Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed.

"With more than 30 years of experience in Saint-Gobain's innovative materials businesses, John is an exceptional leader with strong operational skills," said Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, Chairman and CEO of Saint-Gobain. "His appointment underscores Saint-Gobain's focus on leveraging its innovation and technical expertise to develop products and solutions that change the way we think about built environments. John will help CertainTeed and other Saint-Gobain businesses in North America to develop innovative materials that advance the way we build today in order to meet the challenges of tomorrow."

Crowe sees his main role as continuing to drive innovation throughout the company. "CertainTeed has been a leader in the construction industry for over one hundred years, Saint-Gobain for over three centuries, but we have never seen such a rapid pace of change or so many exciting new building technologies," he said.

US: Knauf Insulation, a manufacturer of fibreglass insulation used in new homes, is halting production at its plant in nearby Lanett, Alabama a move that will see layoffs for 146 employees. Joey Viselli, Knauf's vice president of marketing, said that the 800,000ft² facility would be shuttered because of the continued and extreme downturn in demand in the home construction sector.

The workers impacted by the move will be will be paid through to 18 August 2011, according to an official notice filed with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Workers were informed of the closure on 14 June 2011, with most being released from their jobs immediately.

"The building economy has taken a turn for the worse in a fairly dramatic way," said Viselli. "At the peak of the market, (the industry was) starting about 1.7 million homes a year in the US. This year we'll be lucky to start 500,000 homes." A report released last month by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau showed privately owned housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 523,000.

Viselli said severance deals would be offered and that some workers will be given opportunities to relocate to other Knauf facilities in Shasta, California and Shelbyville, Indiana, where Knauf Insulation North America is headquartered. He added that there were no plans to sell the Lanett plant at this time.

"It is a difficult decision to mothball a plant," said Mark Andrews, CEO of Knauf Insulation. "It is our sincere regret that we must take this action at this time. We will re-examine the status of the Lanett facility as market conditions change."