Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Slovakia: Johns Manville (JM) has announced plans to expand current fibre insulation production capacities in its Trnava facility in Slovakia. According to JM, an expanded furnace will be installed at the plant, which is due to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2012. It will enable added production flexibility within JM's product families and expand the production of selected products by as much as 40%.

In 2004 JM invested in a greenfield project to produce glass fibres at the site. The company says that its expansion plan clearly demonstrates its commitment to the European composites business.

Enno Henze, JM's vice president and general manager for Engineered Products Europe/Asia stated, "We feel confident that this major investment will continue to support our customers' plans for growth and underscores JM's commitment to growing the composites industry. Additionally, it highlights our drive to enhance customer relationships, product innovation and service excellence."

"With our commitment to innovative growth and the financial stability provided by being a part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses, our fibres business is set to make its mark while supporting the growth agenda of our customers," added Henze.

Belarus: The Caparol group of companies has opened its Diskom plant in the free economic zone at Brest to make up to 20,000t of dry insulation every year. The construction took 18 months to build and cost Euro3.1m. The new plant is equipped with WTB Binder Labortechnik GmbH production facilities. The project has created 21 jobs.

Previously, insulation systems were imported into Belarus but Diskom will be making licensed insulation materials domestically using 80% domestic components. The plant will prioritise the domestic market during the first development phase and then export its products to the Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

India: A new Rockwool insulation plant has been opened up in Dahej, Gujarat. The company claims that the material it produces will have the ability to save 1Bnt/yr of CO₂ if applied.

Frank Jacobs, Managing Director-Rockwool Technical Insulation, said, "If the insulation materials produced in our new facility in India are not installed, a forest with almost the size of the state of Gujarat would need to be planted to compensate for the resulting CO₂ emissions. Effective insulation of technical installations-such as hot pipes, boilers and tanks-can save literally millions of tonnes of CO₂, helping to protect the environment, whilst at the same time saving operators millions of rupees."

India/Denmark: Rockwool International, the world's largest producer of rockwool-based insulation products has opened a new plant in Gujarat province in India. The facility's main task is to supply the India's rapidly growing industrial sector as well as some of India's neighbours with high-tech insulation products for technical installations such as heating pipes, boilers and tanks. The second priority, building insulation, is still at an early stage but the company wants to help India reduce the amount of energy it consumes via air conditioning units.