Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Johns Manville (JM), part of Berkshire Hathaway, has named Mary Rhinehart as chairman of the company. Rhinehart was appointed as president and CEO in November 2012.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, selected Rhinehart for this additional role due to her diligent leadership of JM. “With more than three decades of comprehensive experience at JM, Mary Rhinehart has proven not only her ability to succeed at every level, but also her commitment to the business and passion for JM’s employees and customers. Mary is the right choice for chairman of JM,” said Buffett.

Rhinehart has held a variety of roles during her 35-year career, including general managership of several Johns Manville business units. Before being named CEO, she was CFO, providing her breadth of experience in all financial operations of the company. Rhinehart’s wide range of responsibilities have also encompassed global business management and strategic business development. 

“I am proud to assume the role of chairman of Johns Manville and am grateful for the confidence Berkshire Hathaway has placed in me,” said Rhinehart. “Moving forward, JM will continue to win by delivering powerful experiences to our customers and employees, experiences that will create lasting relationships, sustainable competitive advantage and profitable growth.”

US: Johns Manville (JM) has announced that it will merge its American, European and Asian activities for engineered products into one global business unit. JM's engineered products business manufactures glass and polyester nonwoven products for the building and construction industry, filtration and battery separation media, reinforcement glass fibres for composites and specialty industrial glass products. JM said that the reorganisation will enhance its ability to serve increasingly global needs in the composites, filtration and energy storage markets.

"Transitioning to one engineered products organisation furthers our global reach while maintaining the regional support our customers require," said JM's president and CEO, Mary Rhinehart. "The new structure allows us to build on what we already do well in different regions. It will expedite our growth and help us deliver an even more powerful JM experience to our customers and our employees."

Previously, JM operated two engineered products business units: one for the Americas and one for Europe and Asia. The realignment keeps some of the regional components, mostly within the nonwovens business, while the composites, filtration and energy storage businesses will be managed more globally.

Enno Henze, who is responsible for JM's nonwovens, fibres and glass textiles businesses in Europe, as well as its nonwovens business in China, will lead the newly created Engineered Products business as senior vice president and general manager. Henze will relocate to JM's global headquarters in Denver, USA from Germany to lead the Engineered Products business. Henze said that the new organisation is designed to support JM's Engineered Products customers worldwide.

US: Johns Manville (JM) has announced the addition of CI Max® White insulation to its line of building insulation products. Johns Manville CI Max White is a high-efficiency polyiso foam sheathing that is designed specifically for exposed interior applications.

JM says that CI Max is approved for use without a thermal barrier and provides an attractive and durable interior finish. It is suitable for wall or ceiling applications in commercial, residential, agricultural and industrial buildings. CI Max White provides a continuous layer of insulation to reduce thermal bridging. Additionally, it has an acrylic-embossed facer that is aesthetically appealing, hard-wearing and easy to clean.

"Code-compliant, cost-effective and thermally efficient wall assemblies aren't something that can be achieved with just one product. It takes a comprehensive, planned and well-executed insulation system including both cavity and continuous insulation, which is why we continue to invest in expanding our portfolio," said Fred Stephan, senior vice president of Insulation Systems for JM.

Canada: Johns Manville (JM) has added commercial and residential mineral wool to its full spectrum of insulation products in Canada.

JM mineral wool insulation offers a variety of performance benefits in both commercial and residential construction. With a melting point in excess of 1093˚C, mineral wool can help delay fire spread, create quieter buildings and homes, increase privacy between rooms and reduce heating and cooling costs by keeping structures warm in winter and cool in summer.

"Mineral wool has long been a favourite product of Canadian building professionals, but there's no longer just one game in town," said Fred Stephan, senior vice president of Insulation Systems at Johns Manville. "With JM mineral wool, building occupants benefit from acoustically superior environments, moisture protection and increased fire performance, while contractors benefit from JM's full range of product offerings, providing more options and resources across all insulation categories."

US: Johns Manville (JM) has earned a significant rebate from Energizing Indiana, Richmond Power & Light (RP&L) and the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) for energy-efficiency improvements to its Richmond Insulation Systems facility in Indiana.

Through its participation in Energizing Indiana's Commercial & Industrial Prescriptive Rebate Programme, JM received a US$68,554 rebate for implementing energy-efficient lighting improvements designed to help the facility reduce its energy usage and promote cost savings. The rebate is the largest issued thus far to any of IMPA's 59 member communities involved in the Energizing Indiana programme. The retrofit project cut the facility's lighting energy consumption by approximately 80% and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1800t/yr of carbon dioxide, over 9t/yr of sulfur dioxide, and approximately 2.25t/yr of nitrogen oxide. 



Zane Carpenter, JM's manager for Energy Engineering, said that the project is a good example of JM's commitment to sustainability, saying, "This retrofit project provides a reduction in energy usage that helps the utility curtail the need to add capacity to the grid. It helps reduce greenhouse gas emission derived from electricity production. It helps the community by injecting money into the economy and putting people to work, including the lighting designers, manufacturers and local contractors. It also helps the business maintain a healthy bottom line by reducing overall operating costs. It's really a win for the company, the community, the utility and the environment."

US: Johns Manville (JM), the global manufacturer of energy-efficient building products, has announced the publication of its 2012 Sustainability Report, 'We Build Environments.'

"We intend to capitalise on our commitment to sustainability to ensure that we are better prepared to meet both the opportunities and challenges of our dynamic world and that we continue to deliver safe products that delight our customers," said Mary Rhinehart, JM president and CEO. The 2012 report includes 18 fully reported performance indicators applying the Global Reporting Initiative 3.1 guidelines.

Key indicators from JM's 2012 performance summary for the insulation market include a 19% increase of average fibreglass insulation compared to 2011. Total energy use for the company rose by 0.9% and total production fell by 0.4%.

US: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company and global building products manufacturer, has announced that it has hired H MacGregor (Greg) Clarke, aged 52, as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective from 4 April 2013. In this role Clarke will be responsible for JM's global finance and supply chain organisations.

"The position has been vacant since November (2012) when I accepted my current role," said Mary Rhinehart, JM president and CEO. "We took our time to ensure we found exactly the right person to fill this key position."

Clarke most recently was CFO of AeroGrow International, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado. Prior to that he was president and CEO of Ankmar, LLC, and earlier in his career held financial leadership and strategic planning roles with The Coleman Company, Inc., PepsiCo, Inc., and Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company. From 1997 to 2002 Clarke was Director of Finance for JM's Insulation Group, followed by vice president and general manager for JM's Building Insulation and Commercial & Industrial Insulation Divisions.

"We are excited to welcome Greg back to Johns Manville and to add his talents, experience and leadership to the company," said Rhinehart. "He will be critical to driving many of our key initiatives and business strategies for our future. I look forward to re-introducing him to our employees, customers, suppliers and other key stakeholders."

US: After exploring a number of options, building products manufacturer Johns Manville (JM) has signed a new 12-year lease for its global headquarters in the JM Plaza building in downtown Denver, beginning January 2013.



The decision to remain at JM Plaza involved a thorough evaluation of the economics and employee and business logistics of several locations, including alternate sites downtown and in the Denver Technical Center.



"There were several excellent choices in the Denver metro area where we could conduct our headquarters operations," said Mary Rhinehart, JM president and CEO. "However, at the end of the day, our current location provided the greatest benefit across all of the factors we considered."

US: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company and global building products manufacturer, has announced that Todd Raba, its president and CEO, will relinquish his position with the company. Effective 13 November 2012, Mary Rhinehart will be the new president and chief executive officer of JM.

"I thank Todd for his leadership. He has worked diligently during a tough economic environment to effectively position the company for future success. Todd spent the last five years focusing on positioning JM for the future and I thank him for the work he did in moving the business forward," commented Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Rhinehart is currently the senior vice president and chief financial officer of JM. She has been with the company since 1979. Her background includes management and bottom-line responsibility for a business unit, global treasury and strategic business development, including directing a variety of acquisition activities. She has held finance leadership roles in most of JM's businesses. Additionally, during her career at JM, Rhinehart has had responsibility for compensation, benefits management, community relations, global supply chain and organisational planning.

Rhinehart has spent her long and successful career focusing on the interests of JM employees and customers. "I am proud to have worked for this great company for over 30 years," she said. "Throughout it all we have succeeded as a company due to our people and the powerful relationships we have with our customers. I am excited about this new opportunity and am committed to continuing to move us forward. JM is a great company. We could not have a better owner than Berkshire Hathaway and I could not have a better role model than Warren Buffett."

Buffett added, "Mary is exactly the CEO we like to hire. She is passionate, smart and she truly cares about JM customers and employees. She'll add tremendous value to JM going forward, and I couldn't be more enthused to have her taking on this role after all that she's already accomplished at JM."

US: Johns Manville (JM) has announced that it has purchased Industrial Insulation Group, LLC (IIG), a manufacturer of insulation for industrial, commercial and fireproofing applications.

IIG was formed in 2002 as a joint venture between JM and The Calsilite Group. JM previously owned a minority interest in IIG, but will now be wholly-owned by JM. IIG's product line complements JM's portfolio of insulation products, allowing JM to offer an even broader range.

"Expanding JM's interest in IIG is another way we are addressing customers' needs by offering the industry's most complete line of insulation products," said Todd Raba, JM's chairman, president and CEO. "IIG has a consistent track record of product performance, in keeping with the quality our customers expect from JM. We look forward to exploring opportunities to build on IIG's strong market position and expand its product portfolio."

IIG manufactures a wide range of insulation products for use in industrial, commercial and fireproofing applications and offers a portfolio of high-temperature insulation, ranging from mineral wool to perlite to calcium silicate.

"With our increased investment in IIG, JM will be able to offer the most complete line of mechanical insulation solutions to a broader commercial and industrial customer base," said Dave Skelly, director of sales for JM's Performance Materials business. "We look forward to continuing IIG's tradition of superior product performance and customer service."

JM does not plan to significantly change the operations at IIG. JM says that the existing IIG plants located in Brunswick (Georgia), Grambling (Louisiana), Fruita (Colorado), Phenix City (Alabama) and Houston (Texas) are a key part of its future commercial and industrial strategy. IIG chairman and chief executive Philippe Delouvrier will remain involved with the company in an advisory role.

"IIG is pleased to join the Johns Manville and Berkshire Hathaway families," said Delouvrier. "This next chapter in IIG history sets us up for continued success with greater opportunity for growth in existing and new markets."

"Philippe Delouvrier and his team have made IIG a recognised leader in industrial insulation," said Fred Stephan, vice president and general manager of JM's Insulation Systems business. "We're delighted that Philippe will remain involved with the business as we work to build on the success his team has established."