Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Belgium: Recticel’s Simfocor polyurethane board product has been certified a ‘Solar Impulse Efficient Solution’ by the Solar Impulse Foundation. The label is awarded to products, services or processes combining credible environmental and economic performance. It also means that Simfocor joins the Solar Impulse Foundation’s list of products selected for their contribution to clean economic growth.

Simfocor is part of the ‘Recticel Silence’ insulation range and is currently sold in France and Spain. It is a polyurethane insulation board that is marketed for both its acoustic and thermal insulation properties. The product is made of recycled polyurethane foams sourced from discarded mattresses.

Belgium: Recticel has joined the Science-Based Targets Initiative, reinforcing its commitment to institutional CO₂ emissions reduction grounded in climate science. Under the commitment, it set two new targets, namely to achieve net zero Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions from its operations by 2030, and to achieve net zero Scope 3 CO₂ emissions by 2050.

The insulation producer said "Recticel looks forward to engaging with all partners in its value chain to join forces and drive progress. Our results against targets will be communicated in the annual report."

Belgium: Recticel’s sales revenue grew by 19% year-on-year to Euro274m in the first half of 2022 from Euro230m in the same period in 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11% to Euro24.5m from Euro22.1m.

Olivier Chapelle, the company’s chief executive officer, said “We are satisfied with the sales and profitability development of our Insulation activities, in a highly challenging environment characterised by supply chain disruptions, by historical inflation on raw materials, labour, transportation and energy costs, and by economic uncertainties. Volumes have been slightly higher than in 2021, and our business teams have been able to compensate all inflationary pressures during the period. In parallel, our operations teams have displayed high flexibility to accommodate the supply chain challenges.”

Belgium: The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) has certified Recticel Insulation’s Recticel Eurothane GP, Eurothane Eurodeck and Eurowall Cavity polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) as meeting good forest management standards. This ensures customers that the products’ multilayer paper facings are sustainably sourced.

Head of technical management Dirk Vermeulen said “With the PEFC label on our insulation products, we provide proof of our commitment to sustainability to architects, turnkey companies, project developers and contractors, as well as end-users.”

Belgium: Recticel recorded consolidated sales of Euro295m in the first quarter of 2022, up by 43% year-on-year from Euro206m in the first quarter of 2021. The group attributed the growth partly to a 28% year-on-year increase in its insulation sales in the quarter. It ended the quarter with net financial debt of Euro130m, down by 12% year-on-year from Euro148m. Recticel said that the quarter brought progress towards closing its divestment of its engineered foams business line to US-based Carpenter in mid-2022.

The group said that, despite geopolitical instability and inflationary pressure, its business continues to develop well in 2022. It continues to work on accelerated growth plans in order to double its insulation sales over a period ending in 2025.

Belgium: Recticel’s insulation business has used price rises to compensate for a steep rise in the price of raw chemical input materials. The division’s sales grew by 57% year-on-year to Euro391m in 2021 from Euro249m in 2020. Its adjusted earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) more than doubled to Euro62.4m from Euro27.5m. It said that its Insulation and Engineered Foams businesses performed well in a volatile environment. Chemical raw materials supply reportedly remain tight and prices are showing little signs of stabilisation. Transportation and labour costs are increasing at an “unprecedented” rate. However it added that energy cost inflation has a minor impact given the “very low energy intensity of our business.” Overall the group’s sales and adjusted EBITDA rose by 67.4% to Euro1.03bn and by 134% to Euro89.7m.

“We are happy with the very positive sales and profitability development in 2021, a year marked by deep changes in our company. Changes which were planned and announced, such as the acquisition and integration of FoamPartner and the divestment of the Bedding activities. Changes which came as a consequence of the unsolicited takeover bid by Greiner, such as the divestment of our newly created Engineered Foams business segment,” said chief executive officer Olivier Chapelle.

Belgium: Recticel Insulation has obtained Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) for its multilayer thermal insulation products. It says that it is the first polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) producer to do so. The insulation manufacturer will be selling thermal insulation products, with multilayer paper facings made from wood fibres sourced from a PEFC-certified and sustainably managed forests. The PEFC label will be added to its Recticel Eurowall, Eurothane Silver, Eurothane Silver A, Eurofloor, Euroroof, Eurothane GP, Eurowall Cavity and Eurothane Eurodeck products.

Recticel Insulation already held the PEFC label for some of its insulation products manufactured at its plants in Bourges, France and Stoke-on-Trent, UK. The certification is now being gradually rolled out to more products and to all plants where multilayer facings are used.

Belgium: Plastics producer Greiner has offered to fully acquire Recticel for Euro1.17bn, including debt. Austria-based Greiner currently holds a 27% stake in the company. The group has valued Recticel’s insulation business at Euro411m. However, Recticel has said that the offer undervalues the division. US-based foam and fibres producer Carpenter previously valued the insulation business at Euro656m in its on-going bid to acquire the company’s engineered foams unit.

Recticel has until 17 December 2021 to issue its decision on the Greiner offer. Before then, it will decide on the possible sale of its engineered foams unit to Carpenter at an extraordinary general meeting. It is currently carrying out due diligence checks for the latter deal.

Poland: Belgium-based Recticel has signed a preliminary agreement with Poland-based insulation company Gór-Stal. Under the agreement, the producer will acquire the company’s polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation business for Euro30.0m. The company employs 66 people at its Bochnia plant in Lesser Poland Province. In 2020 it generated net sales Euro16.7m and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro2.50m. Its capacity utilisation rate was 40%.

Chief executive officer Olivier Chapelle said, “The acquisition of the Gór-Stal PIR-based insulation board activities marks an important step in the development of our insulation business. This acquisition perfectly fits our ambition to further expand in the growing thermal insulation markets of Central and Eastern Europe. It meets three fundamental prerequisites: a state-of-the-art asset, a perfect geographical complementarily, and a focus on high performance PIR insulation solutions. We look forward to welcoming our new and highly skilled colleagues from Gór-Stal.”

Recticel expect to close the deal in July 2021.

Belgium: Recticel’s consolidated net sales fell by 6% year-on-year in 2020 to Euro829m from Euro879m in 2019. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 15% to Euro51.6m from Euro60.7m. Sales from its insulation business rose slightly to Euro249m driven by a strong second half of 2020 and higher prices due to higher raw input costs. The group made divestments to businesses held by its flexible foams and automotive divisions on 30 June 2020 significantly improving its sales and earnings in the reporting year.

Chief executive officer Olivier Chapelle said, “After an 18% sales decline in the first half of 2020 caused by the Covid-19 lockdown, the second half of 2020 was marked by significant sales fluctuations varying from one business segment or country to another, influenced by the subsequent waves of the Covid-19 outbreaks and the related precautionary measures taken by national governments. In this difficult context, we managed to generate a robust 7% sales growth in the second half of 2020 and a 10% increase in adjusted EBITDA.”

“Numerous ‘force majeure’ events at the premises of our chemical raw material suppliers have created and continue to create supply shortages of polyols and isocyanates. Our suppliers have used this situation to implement price increases at an historically high pace, leading to new all-time highs. In response to this, we were compelled to mitigate these cost increases through corresponding sale price increases. The situation is expected to normalise as of the third quarter of 2021.”