Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland/UK: Kingspan has launched a range of reduced-CO₂ insulation panels called QuadCore LEC. The producer says that a 100mm-thick QuadCore AWP panel has 40% lower embodied CO₂ than an EN15804-A2 standard insulation panel of the same thickness.

Kingspan’s head of innovation Mike Stenson said “As a business we are committed to developing high performing, energy efficient building envelope solutions that help minimise the carbon footprint of buildings over the whole life cycle.” He added “QuadCore is already one of the highest performing insulation technologies in terms of thermal efficiency (underpinned by a 25-year thermal warranty), which could enable higher energy and carbon savings through the operational life of the building. This is the first step on our journey to reducing the embodied carbon of our products, and we anticipate some major milestones by 2030 to drive that down even further.”

Ireland: Kingspan’s sales rose by 33% year-on-year to Euro6.25bn in the first nine months of 2022. It said that insulated panel sales grew by 29% and insulation board sales grew by 48%. Panel sales were reported as holding up ‘reasonably well’ in the Americas, Germany and the UK but as being weaker elsewhere in Europe. Board sales increases were led by a rise in price.

UK: Insulation and cladding companies have blamed each other in a public inquiry investigating the Grenfell Tower Fire that took place in 2017 that led to 72 deaths. During closing statements to the inquiry the Press Association reports that the legal representation for Ireland-based Kingspan said, "In its phase one report the inquiry concluded that the cladding system on Grenfell Tower did not comply with the building regulations and that the PE ACM [polyethylene cladding] manufactured by Arconic was the principal reason for the rapid fire spread." The lawyer went on to summarise that Kingspan’s Kooltherm K15 phenolic insulation product was safe when used appropriately and not relevant to the nature and speed of the spread of the fire in this instance.

In a written statement though Arconic blamed the cause of the fire upon the failure by those involved in the refurbishment of the tower in assessing the fire performance of the building materials used and their configuration. It added, "A failure which was in significant part the result of the efforts made by the manufacturers of the insulation, Celotex and Kingspan, to hide or downplay the combustible and hence (under the prevailing regulatory regime) non-compliant nature of their product, an awareness of which would otherwise and in any event have led inexorably to the choice and configuration of the components being re-visited and amended."

The majority of the insulation purchased for use in a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower prior to the fire in June 2017 was Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board. However, Kingspan confirmed in July 2017 that a small amount of its Kooltherm K15 product had also been used without its knowledge and that it had no involvement in the design or specification of the refurbishment.

Germany: Ireland-based Kingspan has concluded a deal to acquire mineral wool-based sandwich panels producer Calostat from speciality chemicals company Evonik. Calostat's boards have Cradle to Cradle Gold certification for sustainability and employ a unique moisture management concept.

Kingspan said that the acquisition complements its portfolio and enhances its ability to offer the right type of insulation for every application.

Spain: Ireland-based Kingspan has acquires mineral wool-based sandwich panel producer Invespanel. Invespanel’s panels include extruded polystyrene (XPS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS)-core refrigeration panels, and the company continually develops new sandwich panels for various applications. Invespanel recorded a turnover of Euro11m in 2021.

Kingspan’s Southern Europe insulated panels director Josep Jordan said “The integration of Invespanel into Kingspan is a great opportunity to complement our offerings with customised products for even the most demanding applications. The synergies with the Kingspan group, together with Invespanel's technological know-how and human capital, will be the key tool to drive the growth of our project in Southern Europe.”

France: Ireland-based Kingspan has closed its acquisition of Ondura Group. The group consists of light roofing producer Onduline, membranes producer CB and waterproofing systems producer Alwitra. It operates plants in four European countries, as well as Brazil, Malaysia, Turkey and the US. Law firm Clifford Chance, a long-term partner of Kingspan, advised the insulation group through the deal.

On 27 September 2022, Kingspan acquired waterproofing membranes producer Derbigum in neighbouring Belgium. Derbigum has recycled 30,000t of bitumen in its operations to date.

Ireland: Kingspan says that it expects to record a profit of Euro415m in the first half of 2022, up by 26% year-on-year from Euro329m in the first half of 2021. The company noted that its global backlog of insulated panels orders fell by 2% year-on-year in volume on 31 May 2022, having previously been up by 19% year-on-year on 31 March 2022. It said that order volumes nonetheless remained above 2019 levels.

Ukraine: Ireland-based Kingspan plans to spend Euro200m towards building a ‘Building Technology Campus’ in Ukraine. The site will be used to manufacture insulation and district heating products. Development of the project is due to start immediately with eventually commissioning forecast for 2027. The insulation company has appointed a project team to identify a suitable site, likely to be in the west of the country, and is liaising with the Ukrainian Government. Over 600 jobs are expected to be created when the site opens.

Gene Murtagh, the chief executive officer of Kingspan Group, said “This investment sits at the crossroads of three crises: the climate crisis, the energy security crisis, and the crisis caused by the Russian war against Ukraine. The new Building Technology Campus we are planning will make positive contributions on all three fronts, supporting Ukraine as it rebuilds its economy, meeting demand across central and Eastern Europe for energy efficient buildings, and helping Europe to reduce reliance on oil and gas imports.”

Kingspan previously said it had exited the Russian market and divested its operations to local management in April 2022 following a decision made in March 2022.

Russia: Ireland-based Kingspan says it has exited the Russian market and divested its operations to local management. The decision was made in early March 2022 but it took several weeks to carry out. The company said that Russia accounted for less than 1% its global operations. Following the departure Kingspan products will no longer be available for sale in Russia.

The insulation producer added that it was “Deeply saddened by the growing humanitarian crisis as a result of Russia’s unjustified attack on Ukraine and its people.” It has made a US$750,000 donation to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for the setup of five Blue Dot Centres to assist refugees on the Ukrainian border.

France/Denmark: Ireland-based Kingspan has signed deals for two diversifying acquisitions. On 18 February 2022, it agreed to buy France-based roofing and building waterproofing company Ondura from France-based Naxicap Partners for Euro550m. Meanwhile, in Denmark, the group has also agreed to acquire wood-based acoustic board producer Troldtekt. Troldtekt produces its boards from ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and shredded Norway spruce wood.

Speaking of the latter deal, Kingspan Insulation managing director Alan Lawlor said "I am delighted to welcome Troldtekt to the Kingspan family. As the global leader in high-performance insulation and building envelope solutions, we have the capacity to help them expand beyond their core markets, whilst bringing acoustic and decorative boards and natural insulation materials into our portfolio. Troldtekt has been able to continuously innovate and it sets the bar impressively high in the field of the circular economy.” He concluded "We will invest significantly in the company's production facilities to set them up for geographic growth."