Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

North America: Saint-Gobain has signed a 100MW solar power purchase agreement (PPA), called Danish Fields, with TotalEnergies. The Danish Fields PPA will supply Saint-Gobain North America with solar energy for 15 years, commencing in 2024. Saint-Gobain says that it expects the PPA to eliminate 90,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions across its operations. This is the group’s third deal of its kind.

Saint-Gobain North America CEO Mark Rayfield said “With this agreement, Saint-Gobain North America will further reduce its CO₂ emissions, demonstrating how fast the manufacturing industry can transform when long term solutions are at hand. This renewable energy project is a new milestone on the way to meeting Saint-Gobain’s commitment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions by 33% by 2030 compared to 2017, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.”

US: Todd Fister will take over as chief financial officer (CFO) at Owens Corning from 15 September 2023. Fister brings 27 years’ experience at Fortune 500 companies spanning the global building materials, consumer products and packaging industries. This includes working as president of Owens Corning’s Insulation business since 2019, where he leads a team of 8000 people. His work in the role has included developing the producer’s enterprise strategy. Fister also sits on the Owens Corning executive committee. He holds an economics degree from Miami University, and also obtained a PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Owens Corning chair and CEO Brian Chambers said "I've worked closely with Todd over the past several years, and am excited to welcome him to the CFO role. Todd brings a broad set of financial, operational and strategic experiences and capabilities to the new role, along with invaluable customer perspective, that will be critical as we continue to accelerate our growth and expand the earnings power of our company."

Fister will replace Ken Parks, who is stepping down to pursue another professional opportunity. Thanking Parks for his contributions while CFO, Chambers said “Under Ken's leadership, we have strengthened the capability of our global finance team and consistently delivered our financial targets."

US: Saint-Gobain plans to invest a total of US$400m in expansions to its operations including insulation operations at four US sites. The group says that the sites are located in California and the Southeastern US. It said that the new capacities will apply the most advanced available technologies for industrial performance, safety and sustainability. This will reduce waste by 50% and CO2 emissions by 20% from current levels, according to the company.

Saint-Gobain said it hopes that the investments will strengthen its leadership in North America and accelerate its growth in the region by enriching its comprehensive range of solutions for light and sustainable construction.

Denmark/Canada: Rockwool has announced the retirement of long-standing North America regional president Trent Ogilvie and thanked him ‘for the successes he helped create in the North American business’ over his 25 years in the post. The company employed 60 people at a single facility in the region in Toronto, Canada, when Ogilvie took over as president in 1995. Its four facilities in Canada and the US now employ 1000 people and make sales of hundreds and millions of US Dollars.

Rockwool’s fifth stone wool production line, located in West Virginia, is due to open in early 2021.

North America: Sales of thermoplatic polyurethane (TPU) has increased year-on-on year in the six months to 30 June 2019 by 4.0%. The proportion of domestically produced TPU exported fell by 38.3%.

Data from the American Chemistry Council and Vault Consulting indicate American demand responding well to TPU’s tensile strength and grease resitance, even as polyurethanes lose out to substitutes in the Asian and European insulation sectors.

North America: Jeff Templeton has been elected to the position of chairman by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA). He is currently vice president and general manager for CertainTeed Corporation's residential, commercial, lumber and retail insulation business. A graduate of Ball State University Templeton has 35 years' of experience in the building materials industry, holding a wide variety of key roles at CertainTeed, including in residential, commercial, industrial, sales and marketing. He is currently active within CertainTeed's government affairs efforts.

"We are pleased that Mr Templeton has accepted the position," said the CEO and president of NAIMA, Kate Offringa. "He has been an active member of the NAIMA board of governors for several years and brings a wealth of leadership, experience and insight to the table."