Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Kazakhstan: Denmark-based COBOD supplied its BOD2 3D printer for use in BM Partners’ construction of a house in Almaty. BM Partners designed the house, which has enhanced weather and earthquake resistance. It is fitted with expanded polystyrene concrete (EPC) insulating blocks.

Kazakhstan: Russia-based TechnoNICOL has begun building its upcoming US$124m Karaganda insulation plant. Interfax Kazakhstan Newswire has reported that the plant will export 30% of its insulation to Russia. Additionally, it will export some insulation to China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.

Kazakhstan: TechnoNICOL has inaugurated its new US$20m, Almaty extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation plant in the Kairat Industrial Zone. Once fully operational, the plant will have a capacity of 400,000m³/yr, AK&M News has reported. Exports to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will follow the launch of the plant’s products on the Kazakh market later in 2024.

Russia/Kazakhstan: TechnoNICOL plans to invest US$109m in capital expenditure (CAPEX) in Russia and Kazakhstan throughout 2024. The sum is triple TechnoNICOL’s 2023 CAPEX, according to the company. US$27.3m will go towards two projects in Kazakhstan: the completion of the upcoming Almaty insulation plant, scheduled for September 2024, and the start of construction of the upcoming Karaganda insulation plant. The remainder of the sum will fund other projects, including the construction of the upcoming Rostov insulation plant and an expansion to the Chelyabinsk insulation plant, both in Russia.

Kazakhstan: Cormatex and the Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund say that their upcoming insulation plant will come online in 2024. Local press has reported the location of the plant as the city of Aktobe, in the region of the same name.

Kazakhstan: Russia-based TechnoNICOL says that it will invest US$107m in the construction of the upcoming Almaty stone wool insulation plant, up by 82% from its previous estimate of US$59m. The producer began building the plant in August 2023. At that time, it was due to have a production capacity of 1.4Mm³/yr when operational.

Interfax has reported that TechnoNICOL’s head of mineral insulation Vasily Tkachev said "We have fairly big plans for the next three years. We see that the construction sector is growing, construction is being actively supported by the government. We feel the state's support and are moving forward, so that when there is demand there will be product. We're forced to open production earlier, forecasting growing demand."

Kazakhstan/Russia: The government of Kazakhstan says that it now expects Germany-based Knauf Group to relocate its Russian business to Kazakhstan. It says that this is due to the on-going Russian invasion of Ukraine, which initially led Knauf to freeze investments in the sanctioned state and suspend its trade between it and the EU from March 2022.

Deutsche Welle News has reported that Knauf Group ‘did not confirm’ the Kazakh government’s contention. In defending its decision to so far remain in Russia, Knauf Group’s chair Alexander Knauf said “It’s not about money for us, it’s about 4000 employees. Loyalty to these people means to me that I won’t send them off into an uncertain future.” Russia reportedly contributed 10% of the group's turnover in 2022.

Kazakhstan: KazFeltec and Italy-based Cormatex plan to build a Euro10m natural wool insulation plant in Aktobe Region. Kazakhstan General Newsline has reported that the plant will use local coarse sheep’s wool, a waste product of which 3500t/yr is generated currently in Aktobe. The plant is scheduled for commissioning in mid-late 2023.

Russia: TechnoNicol plans to invest around Euro350m towards building two stone wool plants as well as other expanded production in other business areas including agricultural applications. A 1.5Mm³/yr stone wool plant will be built in the Novgorod special economic zone, according to the AK&M Information Agency. Construction of a new 1.4Mm³/yr stone wool plant near Almaty in Kazakhstan is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2022. Both project have a combined an investment of Euro127m. Additionally, the insulation producer is reportedly looking for a site to build an additional stone wool plant in the far east of Russia.

The company also plans in 2022 to launch a new production line for stone wool substrates for use in greenhouse farming at a plant in the Rostov region. Around Euro6m will be spent on the upgrade. Once complete the line will be able to supply the Southern Federal and South Caucasus districts. It will be TechnoNicol’s third production line for mineral wool substrates, joining plants at Ryazan and Tatarstan.

Kazakhstan: Politerm plans to open a mineral wool slab plant in the Bulandy district of the Akmola region in July 2017. The unit will cost US$22m, according to Interfax. The plant will have a production capacity of 34,0000t and the project is expected to create 138 jobs. Politerm produces mineral-based insulation materials and it was founded in 2008 in the Akmola region.