Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: CertainTeed has completed an upgrade at its Athens glasswool insulation plant in Georgia. Equipment used in the production of loose-fill insulation has been updated, including modifications to the unit’s loose-fill recycling machine. In addition, the plant has installed several new pieces of equipment, including a new baler, water sub-metering system, three air compressors, efficiency pumps on cooling towers and a cooling wind fan. The modifications are expected to save over 7300MWh/yr of energy and 76Ml/yr of water, and reduce landfill waste by over 5000t/yr.

Jay Bachmann, Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Interior Products Group, said “The work of our insulation plant in Athens is the perfect example of what sustainability looks like for industrial manufacturing operations, where a series of small changes brought together can make a huge impact. I want to thank the entire Athens team for their success.”

The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain North America previously announced in late 2021 that it was spending US$30m towards building a new insulation production line at the Athens plant. At the time it said that increased production was scheduled to start in late 2023.

Denmark: Saint-Gobain’s subsidiaries Isover and Leca have started an agreement with waste management company Norrecco to recycle glass wool insulation. Under the new system, contractors will be able to return used and excess Isover glass wool to Norrecco's waste treatment stations at Prøvestenen in Copenhagen and at Agerskov in Southern Jutland. Norrecco will then pass the glass wool to Leca Denmark’s plant at Hinge near Randers. Here it will be used as a raw material in the production of lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LWA) products. LWA is used in a variety of applications such as insulation or as a structural filler. Leca added that LWA can be recycled repeatedly.

Mona Ammitzbøll Rasmussen, the Sustainability Engineer at Saint-Gobain Denmark, said "From the moment our glass wool leaves the factory, we want to support the idea that the material will one day return and be used in the production of new insulation materials, rather than ending up in landfills. It is an unnecessary waste that we need to eliminate as soon as possible."

Leca Denmark has the capacity to accept around 1000t/yr of used or excess glass wool from the Danish market. The company said that, although it represents a small portion of the total production, it reduces the need to extract a corresponding amount of natural clay, which is the primary raw material in its Leca LWA product. Isover is also working on publishing guides to better help contractors sort between the different types of mineral wool to assess purity ahead of potential recycling.

South Korea: KCC has signed a memorandum of understanding with the local government in Gimcheon concerning an upgrade to its glass wool plant. The company plans to invest around US$75m on building a second production line at the unit by the end of 2023. The project follows a similar upgrade at the Munmak glass wool plant in 2022.

UK/Ireland: Knauf Insulation UK & Ireland has launched ‘OmniFit Slab 32’, a 32 lambda glass mineral wool insulation slab product for use in light steel frame systems (SFS) as part of a rainscreen façade or other external wall build-ups.

Liliya Luke, the Glass Mineral Wool Product Manager at Knauf Insulation, said “We have launched OmniFit Slab 32 to help our customers deliver the low U-values required, without compromising on fire safety, acoustic performance or sustainability.” He added, “Specifiers can now optimise their rainscreen façade systems by adding the benefits of glass mineral wool to their build-up - delivering acoustic performance, and reduced embodied carbon compared to rock-only solutions, with an insulation specification that remains completely non-combustible.”

The new product is primarily designed for use with ‘Rocksilk RainScreen Slab’ when used in rainscreen applications, and is suitable for use in the external wall systems of all residential buildings over 11m tall and relevant residential buildings over 18m tall. It is the latest addition to Knauf Insulation's OmniFit range of glass mineral wool roll and slab products.

Finland/Spain: Finland-based UPM Biochemicals and Spain-based URSA have developed a new type of glass wool insulation that uses a proprietary lignin-resin binder. The companies have worked together to optimise the binder composition for both performance and smooth runnability on URSA’s production lines. UPM Biochemicals says that UPM BioPiva lignin is a “sustainably produced, cost-effective and versatile raw material that has proven valuable in the creation of many value-added industrial applications, especially in lignin-based phenolic resins.”

Christian Hübsch, Director Sales & Marketing at UPM Biochemicals said “We are thrilled about having reached this milestone together with our partners from URSA, as it marks a potentially disruptive innovation for the insulation materials industry in general, and a great achievement for URSA with its long-held vision to go green and to reduce the carbon footprint of its products,”

Wolfgang Marka, Managing Director of URSA-Adria, added “We undertook long-term studies with UPM Biochemicals to assess the viability of replacing synthetic resins with a new bio-based binder and we are excited to produce one of the most sustainable glass wool insulation materials available.”

UPM Biochemicals develops and sells wood-based biochemicals for use in a variety of industries including insulation. It is building an industrial-scale biorefinery in Leuna, Germany to convert solid wood into biochemicals.

URSA produces both mineral wool and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation products in Europe. It is a subsidiary of Etex.

Serbia: Knauf Insulation Serbia has completed a Euro20m upgrade to its Surdulica stone wool plant. Production has restarted at the unit, according to SeeNews. The company has replaced equipment on the production line and chimney, and installed a new palletisation machine and a desulfurisation system, thereby increasing the recycling capacity of the factory. The investment also includes a new logistics building and a truck parking area. The company plans to hire 15 new employees from May 2023 to support the changes.

Malaysia: Knauf Insulation APAC’s Johor Bahru mineral wool plant has made its first export of unfaced glass wool to Japan. The company said that it has obtained Certification for Japanese Industrial Standards and is now able to begin supplying customers in that market. The 75,000t/yr Johor Bahru plant officially opened in mid-2022. However, the unit reportedly started export glass wool products to Australia in 2021.

Hungary: Masterplast has concluded an agreement to acquire Pimco. Pimco is in the process of establishing a Euro35.7m, 20,000t/yr glass wool plant at Szerencs, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. Növekedés News has reported that an advance investment by Masterplast in the company will enable Pimco's Szerencs plant project to move into the implementation phase. It would then enter production in 2024. Masterplast will fund the investment using the proceeds of its Euro23.3m stock market capital raising in October 2022. The upcoming Szerencs plant was previously the subject of a Euro35.7m grant from the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency.

Masterplast employs 1400 people across 10 countries.

Hungary/Serbia: Building products producer Masterplast and construction company Market Epito have entered into a strategic cooperation agreement to build mineral wool plants in Central Europe to meet anticipated demand for insulation. Plans for a first plant to be built in either Hungary or Serbia could be finalised in the first quarter of 2023. Joint-venture companies will be set-up on a 50:50 basis to support the new plants. As part of the deal, both companies would endeavour to purchase mineral wool from the new production units where possible for Market Epito’s construction projects and Masterplast’s commercial activities. The companies also hope to use public funding to support the building of new plants due to their importance to the national economy.

Belarus/Russia: US-based Owens Corning has agreed to sell its Belarusian and Russian assets to materials and technologies company Umatex. Umatex is a subsidiary of Russian state-owned nuclear power provider Rosatom. World Service Wire News has reported that the assets in question include the Gus-Khrustalny glasswool plant in Vladimir Oblast and the Tver mineral wool insulation plant in Tver Oblast, both in Russia.

Owens Corning chair and CEO Brian Chambers said "This announcement represents the final step in our process to fully exit our operations in Russia. I would like to thank our colleagues in Russia for their contributions to our company and customers over the years."