Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Lower sales and production volumes reduced Owens Corning’s earnings in the first quarter of 2019 although it said higher prices partially compensated for this. The net sales for its insulation business fell by 1% year-on-year to US$591m in the first quarter of 2019 from US$596m in the same period in 2018. Its earnings before interest and taxation dropped by 53% to US$15m from US$32m. The company’s overall sales grew slightly but earnings fell.

US: Owens Corning’s insulation sales rose by 36% to US$2.72bn in 2018 from US$2bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 64% to US$290m form US$177m. Overall, across all business lines, its sales and earnings grew in 2018 but slower than the insulation division.

“Owens Corning had another record year in terms of revenue and adjusted EBIT, with all three businesses delivering double-digit EBIT margins,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Thaman.

US: The board of directors of Owens Corning has elected Brian Chambers as chief executive officer (CEO) from 18 April 2019. He will succeed Mike Thaman, who has decided to retire from the role. Thaman will remain with the company as executive chairman.

Chambers, who was promoted to president and chief operating officer (COO) in August 2018, will retain the title of president as he assumes the CEO role. Previously, he served as president of the company’s Roofing business since 2014. Overall, he has 15 years of management experience with Owens Corning in a variety of positions, including roles with the company’s Composites and Building Materials businesses. He also spent over three years as the president of Saint-Gobain’s Distribution business in North America following Owens Corning’s divestiture of the business in which he served as president.

US: Owens Corning has purchased an existing plant in Blythewood, South Carolina where it intends to manufacture coated, non-woven products for a variety of applications within the North American building materials industry. It has spent US$13.6m on the acquisition.

The insulation producer intends to convert an existing line to produce coated, non-woven products. The acquisition is the first step in the creation of a glass non-wovens excellence centre, where the company will continue to invest to expand its capacity with the best available technologies. With existing South Carolina locations in Aiken, Charleston, Duncan and Starr, this will be Owens Corning’s first Richland County presence. Hiring for the new positions is expected to begin in late 2019.

“The Blythewood operation represents a valuable addition to a thriving business. Adding this new capacity and capability for glass-based coating solutions in South Carolina will help us to better serve our residential and commercial building products customers across North America,” said Owens Corning’s Global Non-Wovens Business Vice President Nicolas Del Monaco.

US: Owens Corning has launched a formaldehyde-free perimeter fire containment system product in North America. The offering uses Thermafiber Firespan and Safing mineral wool insulation products to deliver fire resistance performance to help commercial architects, specifiers and contractors. The system is available for specification now and will be on sale later in 2018.

“As a pioneer in fire safety, we know the perimeter in a commercial structure is one of the most complex areas where fire can spread and where building professionals face high-stakes design scenarios,” said Carmelo Carrubba, Owens Corning’s insulation strategic marketing vice president.

Owens Corning says that Thermafiber mineral wool insulation products have been installed in eight of the 20 tallest buildings in the world including the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, UAE. The insulation producer is also promoting the sustainability credentials of its product through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits for specific commercial and residential applications and its certification for a minimum 70% recycled content by the ICC-ES.

US: Weaker market conditions have reduced Owens Corning’s expected growth in the third quarter of 2018. The building materials company’s net sales rose by 11% year-on-year to US$5.33bn in the first nine months of 2018 from US$4.78bn in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 1.5% to US$596m from US$587m. For its insulation business the company said that it had reduced its expected EBIT growth for the year due to weaker market expectations across different regions and products.

“Weaker than expected market conditions across all three businesses, which impacted third-quarter results, are expected to continue during the fourth-quarter. As a result, we have lowered our 2018 outlook and now expect adjusted EBIT to be in line with last year,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Thaman.

US: Owens Corning has presented Premier Tech with an award for Innovative Supplier of the Year – 2018 at its Annual Global Supplier Recognition Day in Toledo, Ohio that took place in late September 2018. The award recognises the engineering team’s contribution to developing high-performance, scalable automated packaging equipment that will allow Owens Corning to boost performance and meet growing workforce challenges.

Premier Tech’s Industrial Equipment Group is a supplier of industrial scalable packaging solutions and it says it is the largest robotic integrator in North America’s packaging industry. It is supported by a team of over 1700 people in 17 countries that serve clients in around 60 countries.

Finland: Paroc has started to introduce new logotype, updated packages and new communication material following its acquisition by Owens Corning. The insulation materials producer said that is was a ‘strong’ brand and that it would continue marketing its products under the red-and-white striped brand image. The company was purchased by US-based Owens Corning in early 2018.

US: Owens Corning has earned a place in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for its sustainability performance for the ninth consecutive year. For the sixth straight year, Owens Corning was named the Industry Leader for the DJSI World Building Products group.

“We are honoured to be recognised on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the ninth straight year and as the Industry Leader for the sixth year,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Thaman. “Our 19,000 employees continue to take action and drive real impact for the betterment of our business, employees, customers, partners and the world around us.”

Owens Corning also earned placement on the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, which includes the top sustainability leaders from the largest 600 North American companies in the S&P Global BMI.

US: Owens Corning has appointed Brian Chambers as its president and chief operating officer (COO). Mike Thaman, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) said that the creation of a COO and Chambers’ appointment would create, “additional senior management capacity to accelerate our progress on growing the company.”

Chambers, aged 51 years, has been president of Owens Corning’s Roofing business since 2014. Prior to his current position, he was vice president and general manager for Roofing, a role he held since 2013. Chambers returned to Owens Corning in April 2011 as vice president and managing director, Engineered Solutions in the Composites business. He had spent almost four years prior as president of Saint-Gobain’s Distribution business in North America after Owens Corning’s divestiture of its Siding Solutions business where he served as president of the Siding and Building Material Distribution businesses. Over the course of his career, Chambers has held a number of senior commercial and operational roles across a range of businesses and geographies.

Gunner Smith will succeed Chambers as President, Roofing. Smith has been with Owens Corning since 2008 and has served in his current role, as Vice President of Sales, Roofing, since 2013. He will report to Chambers and will serve as a member of the company’s executive committee.