Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Recticel Insulation says that its production plant in Stoke-on-Trent is ‘Covid-19 Secure Certified.’ This confirmation is defined by the UK government and is designed to enhance safety and provide our staff with confidence in their workplace. Measures taken to meet this standard include conducting a risk assessment, implementing cleaning, handwashing and hygiene procedures in line with national guidance, encouraging remote working, maintaining social distancing in the workplace and minimising transmission risks where distancing is not possible.

The company also contracted an independent business risk management company to carry out an independent validation audit of its COVID-19 secure risk assessment. The insulation producer says it will, “continue to monitor the government’s advice, and will update measures as required to ensure safety is maintained for staff and visitors alike.”

US: Johns Manville says that it has begun production of a new specially-developed coated polyester spunbond nonwoven fabric for use in Level 3 medical gowns for healthcare professionals fighting the coronavirus outbreak. It is producing the material, called Evalith, at its Spartanburg special applications building materials plant in South Carolina.

Johns Mansville engineered products president John Vasuta said, “Given the urgent need for action, we quickly decided to build on our own capabilities and develop a coated product to supply the domestic medical gown manufacturing industry. The fabric offers superior liquid barrier performance compared to materials used for Level 1 and Level 2 medical gowns, while also providing comfort and stitch-strength.”

France: Switzerland-based Sika has entered production of facemasks at its Dexel building materials plant in Les Salles du Gardon, Gard department. Sika says that the plant produces 15,000 masks/day ‘almost entirely from Sika products.’ It will distribute the masks around customers and employees and has received an order for 165,000 masks.

Sika Europe, Middle East and Africa regional manager Ivo Schädler said, “We find ourselves in an exceptional situation that confronts us with new challenges on an almost daily basis, especially in those countries worst hit by coronavirus. Our top priority is to protect our employees, their families, and our customers – which also includes finding unconventional ways of helping them.”

US: Huntsman has repurposed its McIntosh, Alabama high performance and speciality epoxy resins plant for the production of hand sanitizer, which it will supply to health care facilities fighting the coronavirus outbreak across the US. The recipient of its first 5.0t batch was its own Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. Huntsman president and CEO Peter Huntsman said, “We thank the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for moving swiftly to issue the guidelines that have enabled us to fast-track our production and distribution of much-needed hand sanitizer in the US.”

Denmark: Rockwool’s post-tax profit for 2019 was Euro285m, up by 7.5% from Euro265m in 2018. Sales rose by 3.2% to Euro2.8bn from Euro2.7bn. The company’s insulation section saw ‘mixed market conditions’ but ‘showed modest growth’ over the period, thanks in particular to state-supported energy efficiency improvement in construction practices generating increased demand in the South-West Europe region.

Rockwool said that it invested in long-term growth, having opened a plant in Romania in late-2019, with a capacity expansion to a German plant due to come online in mid-2020 and a further plant in the US to follow in early 2021. Rockwool Group chairman Henrik Brandt and CEO Jens Birgersson said, “For the fifth year in a row, our customer satisfaction scores increased.” Satisfaction rose by 14% year-on-year.

Sweden: Denmark-based BewiSynbra has announced its acquisition of an extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation plant in Norrköping after its conditional takeover of the owner for Euro5.6m including BewiSynbra’s assumption of its debts. The company says it will expand XPS production and install an expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation line at the plant in late 2020, as a result of which it will close its nearby Norrtälje EPS insulation plant. It expects to conclude the deal in February 2020.

Azerbaijan: Russia’s Penoplex has held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new insulation board plant it is building in Hajigabul district. The project is part of an interstate partnership between Azerbaijan and Russia, according to the Trend News Agency. Penoplex operates eight plants in Russia, one plant in Kazakhstan and one plant in Uzbekistan.

UK: Superglass has completed a Euro43m upgrade to its glass wool plant in Stirling, Scotland. Production capacity at the unit has been doubled to 60,000t/yr, according to the Scotsman newspaper. A new furnace, curing oven and an automatic packing system were installed as part of the upgrade. The project was first announced in 2017 following the acquisition of the company by Russia’s TechnoNicol in 2016.

France: Hirsch France, a partnership consisting of 66% Hirsch and 34% BewiSynbra, has purchased six Saint-Gobain expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation plants and 49.9% of shares in Isossol from Saint-Gobain subsidiary Placoplâtre.

Saint Gobain’s nine-month sales fell by 4.1% year to Euro31.1bn to 30 September 2019 from Euro32.5bn. The group is targeting annual divestment equivalent to Euro3.0bn to cut losses.

Netherlands: Nine-month restated sales for Recitel fell by 7.3% year-on-year to Euro924m in September 2019 compared to Euro997m in the corresponding period of 2018. Despite ‘double-digit’ volume growth, insulation sales over the period fell by 4.5% to Euro193m from Euro202m due to pricing issues stemming from the loss of market share to fibre insulation as a lingering after-effect of the isocyanate shortage of 2017. The company noted the ‘ramping-up’ of production at its new plant in Finland, with all products now certified for sale in the Nordic countries. Recticel CEO Olivier Chapelle noted the continued substantial decrease in debt as a positive in the period.