Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Spain: Knauf Ibérica has announced the launch of Etiks, a façade system comprised of Aquapanel Outdoor mineral wool and expanded polystyrene boards. Alimarket-Construcción News has reported that the system is compatible with Knauf ColorMix technology, enabling rapid on-site colouring of finishes or primers.

Product manager Isabel Gómez said "The external thermal insulation composite system is very interesting for refurbishing or constructing buildings for energy efficiency, greater comfort and savings in air conditioning."

Spain: Knauf Insulation Iberia has launched a building design competition across Spanish universities and schools. Called Race to Zero, the competition will assess applicants’ designs for energy efficiency, innovation and residential sustainability. The best submission across all three categories will win its designer Euro15,000. The company will additionally invite the winner and runners up for practical training at its headquarters. The submission deadline is 28 May 2021.

General Director Oscar del Rio said, “This contest was born with the vocation of putting the building in its rightful place in the field of sustainability, given the importance it has for the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals according to our company's ‘For A Better World’ strategy.”

Spain/Portugal: Knauf Insulation Iberia met its company growth objective of 5% year-on-year growth in 2019, a year in which it supplied two major developments: the Government of Catalonia’s administrative complex and the VP Plaza Hotel in Madrid. The latter won the US Green Building Council (GBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate, the first hotel to achieve this certification.

Interempresas News has reported that the focus of Knauf Insulation Iberia’s strategy in 2020 will be on maintaining its leadership in the sustainable building sector and in the search for products and solutions aimed at zero energy consumption building conversions and construction. Knauf Insulation Iberia CEO Oscar del Rio said, “Bearing in mind the economic uncertainty derived from the coronavirus crisis, our objective will be to maintain our penetration objectives.”

The company’s growth in 2018 was 10%.

Spain: Óscar del Río has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Knauf Insulation Iberia. He suceeds Daniele Cerutti, according to Alimarket. Del Río has worked for Knauf for 18 years in a variety of different roles. He started at Knauf Industries, one of the subsidiaries of the group dedicated to the manufacture of expanded polystyrene insulation, as a regional commercial manager. Later he becacme head of sales for Knauf Insulation in 2007 and commercial director for the Mediterranean region in 2014. He was appointed as the director general of Knauf Insulation Iberia in November 2017.