Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Johns Manville open cell spray foam product meets requirements for application without an ignition barrier in attics
06 March 2017US: Johns Manville’s Corbond open cell spray foam (oc SPF) has met the requirements for application without a prescriptive ignition barrier in sealed unoccupied attics for commercial and residential projects. The approval eliminates the need to apply a separate fire protective coating. The achievement is detailed in a code compliant research report, CCRR-1079, from Intertek.
“We are committed to providing the highest quality service and products to our customers, which is why we are constantly improving upon our broad range of insulation solutions,” said Bob Wamboldt, senior vice president and general manager of Insulation Systems at Johns Manville. “By optimising JM Corbond oc SPF to achieve new code compliance, we are helping our customers achieve performance goals in less time and with fewer materials.”
JM Corbond oc SPF is a two-component, low-density, non-structural insulation system designed for commercial, residential and industrial applications.
Bob Wamboldt appointed as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Insulation Systems at Johns Manville
14 February 2017US: Johns Manville has appointed Bob Wamboldt, currently the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Roofing Systems, as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Insulation Systems. He will succeed Fred Stephan, who is leaving the company.
Wamboldt joined Johns Manville in 2003 and has held leadership positions in the company’s Engineered Products business and in Roofing Systems. He began as Strategic Accounts Manager and later worked as Vice President and General Manager of Engineered Products North America and as Leader for the North American Fibers business in the Engineered Products Group. He has led the Roofing Systems business since 2011. Before joining Johns Manville, Wamboldt worked for 16 years at PPG with roles in their Fiber Glass and Coatings divisions. He holds a degree in chemistry from Lehigh University and is a certified Black Belt in the Six Sigma process improvement methodology.
Johns Manville received 24-Karat Gold Challenge Award from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
29 October 2015US: Johns Manville (JM) was recently honoured with the 24-Karat Gold Challenge Award by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for 'above and beyond' efforts in creating and implementing a programme that has made a measurable contribution to the environment, the economy and society. JM was nominated to receive the award by 97 Gold Leader peer companies within the Environmental Leadership Programme.
The Environmental Leadership Programme, administered by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, recognises organisations that go beyond compliance with environmental regulations and strive toward a goal of sustainability. Members work through three levels of partnership: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Programme membership stands at 160 organisations, representing a variety of sectors from manufacturing and agriculture to schools and service providers.
JM was presented with the 24-Karat Gold Challenge Award at an annual awards dinner on 16 October 2015. It won the award thanks to recent activities at the Johns Manville / Industrial Insulation Group manufacturing facility in Fruita, Colorado. Staff reinvented, redesigned and reconstructed its manufacturing process, resulting in the elimination of approximately 863t/yr of material from landfill waste by diverting that material into a new energy-conserving product stream. As a result, the facility eliminated 40 years of reliance on a 12,141m2 waste impoundment complex. Additionally, the product made from this reclaimed material is conservatively estimated to reduce end user CO2 emissions by over 270,000t/yr of CO2.
According to Fred Stephan, Senior Vice President of JM's Insulation Systems business, a team of employees from Fruita and Denver proposed and implemented the changes and truly exceeded everyone's expectations. "The team really did an outstanding job," said Stephan. "In the process of meeting our environmental requirements, they were able to make our manufacturing process more efficient and productive. Their hard work, as well as their perseverance, has been very impressive."
US: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company, has announced that it will increase its glass microfibre capacity by early 2016 at its plant in Waterville, Ohio.
"We have initiated several productivity projects and line modifications that will noticeably increase our microfibre capacity," said Martin Kleinebrecht, marketing and portfolio management leader for JM Engineered Products. "We continue to experience a strong global demand for glass microfibre and we fully expect this trend to continue over the next several years." Kleinebrecht added that JM is exploring a number of additional investments in its glass microfibre business and plans to announce more details in the near future.
JM has maintained a large presence in Waterville since 1958. In addition to glass microfibre, JM manufacturers a variety of premium-quality products at this location, including wet and dry chop glass fibres, single-end rovings and nonwoven fibreglass mat. These materials are used in roofing, gypsum wallboard and specialty applications, as well as in plastic reinforcement and weaving. Glass microfibre products are widely used in filtration and advanced lead-acid battery applications.
Germany: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company, has celebrated the inauguration of a state-of-the-art polyester spunbond production line at its plant in Berlin, Germany.
The new Euro32m line is part of a strategic plan to support the growing demand for high-end polyester filtration media. The new line utilises newly-developed proprietary spinning technology and will increase the Berlin plant's spunbond lightweight capacity by more than 40%.
"The new capacity at our Berlin plant will benefit Johns Manville's global customer base," said Mary Rhinehart, president and CEO. "Customers will have even greater access to our high-quality filtration products and to a new generation of spunbond filter media for cabin air, air pollution control and liquid filtration applications. This new lines also puts Johns Manville in a prime position to handle continued growth and customer demand in the many global markets we serve."
The Berlin site was founded in 1919 as 'Spinnstofffabrik Zehlendorf AG.' In 1960, Hoechst acquired the plant and in 1967 changed the production from Perlon (artificial silk) to spunbond and filaments polyester. In 1999, JM acquired the Berlin plant from Hoechst Trevira. Plant employees produce and market Evalith™ polyester spunbond nonwovens mainly for the filtration, roofing and geotextile industry.
Johns Manville named ‘Supplier of the Year’ by Insulate America for the third consecutive year
10 June 2015US: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company and building products manufacturer, has been named 'Supplier of the Year' for 2015 by Insulate America Inc, a US insulation contractor association.
JM is the first company to receive the award three years in a row, having previously accepted the award in 2013 and 2014. Insulate America's 'Supplier of the Year' award recognises companies for the overall value they provide to the organisation through technical expertise, customer support in the field and lead referrals.
"For the third straight year, Johns Manville has risen to the top of the building products industry by demonstrating an unmatched ability to provide customers with the highest level support and innovative product solutions," said David Beam, president and CEO of Insulate America. "We are proud to recognise the JM team once again and appreciate the company's ongoing support of our organisation."
Insulate America is a cooperative group of locally-owned, independent insulation contractors that provide and install insulation and other building products for residential and commercial construction. It is the largest independent insulation contracting organisation in the US with 200 locations in 46 states. Representatives from each of the locations vote on the 'Supplier of the Year' award.
"Winning this award even once is a tremendous accomplishment and we feel humbled to be the first company ever to be named 'Supplier of the Year' three years in a row," said Fred Stephan, senior vice president and general manager of insulation systems for JM. "This recognition from Insulate America's network of professionals across the country serves as further motivation for our team to provide our customers with the industry-leading insulation products and solutions to meet their ever-changing needs."
US: Johns Manville (JM) has announced plans to expand the capacity at its Scottsboro, Alabama, thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) plant. The state-of-the-art TPO plant was first opened in October 2008. JM will complete the expansion in April 2015, increasing its total TPO production capacity by 20%.
JM's TPO formulation has remained unchanged since its launch and has proven to be durable under real-world conditions of heat and ultra-violet (UV) exposure. "Commercial Roofers Inc began installing TPO more than 10 years ago. We have found it to be installer-friendly and energy compliant. It has a long, useful life expectancy and is cost effective. This provides great benefits for the building owner," said Scott Howard, president of Commercial Roofers Inc.
Johns Manville’s Jennifer Ford-Smith appointed to the 2015 Women in Roofing leadership team
05 March 2015US: Johns Manville has announced that its director of marketing and single ply systems Jennifer Ford-Smith was recently appointed to the 2015 Women in Roofing (WinR) leadership team. WinR is a council of the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA). While the MRCA serves the interests of roofing contractors and the overall industry for the US Midwest region, they are also serving as a national platform for the WinR.
US: Johns Manville (JM) has announced a significant upgrade to its nonwoven glass mat production plant in Waterville, Ohio. Beginning in late 2015, JM will upgrade an existing nonwoven mat line with advanced manufacturing technology that will allow it to better serve customers in growing segments of the global specialty glass mat market. JM anticipates the upgraded production line will be fully operational in early 2016.
"Our upgraded Waterville plant will enable JM to provide global product capability between Europe and the Americas and to deliver global product consistency with regional availability," said Tanya Bradby, portfolio leader of Nonwovens America.
Johns Manville launches Spider® Plus blow-in insulation
15 January 2015US: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company, has launched JM Spider® Plus blow-in insulation, a re-engineered blow-in system. JM Spider Plus replaces JM Spider spray-in fibreglass insulation and JM said that it is ideal for residential, commercial and manufactured buildings.
JM Spider Plus is designed for installation by professionals using a blowing wool machine and features 'Interlocking Fibre Technology,' a new innovation from JM. Interlocking Fibre Technology allows the insulation fibres to spring and lock into cavities with no adhesive or netting. JM Spider Plus achieves an R-value of 15 in a 2x4 cavity and an R-23 in 2x6 walls.
JM Spider Plus is available to customers in North America immediately.