Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Denmark: Rockwool has reported a 40% increase in third-quarter net profit, helped by a recovery in demand in key European markets, higher sales prices and lower input prices. The group confirmed its nine-month report for 2011 that it still expects sales to increase by 15% for the full year with a net profit of around Euro74m.

For the third quarter of 2011 net sales rose year-on-year by 20% to Euro488m from Euro406m in 2010. This was helped by the inclusion of a recent acquisition and recovery of demand in some of its European key insulation materials markets. Profit rose by 40% year-on-year to Euro26m in 2011 from Euro18m in 2010. For the year to date there was a similar rise in sales of 17% compared to 2010 but a smaller increase in profit at only 10%.

The company said it expects the positive sales development observed during the first nine months of 2011 to continue in the coming quarters and that a downwards curve in raw material prices will continue and start to positively impact margins in the fourth quarter.

Russia: Denmark's Rockwool, the world leader in manufacturing environmental thermal insulation materials, will spend USD150m on the first rockwool production line in Tatarstan's Alabuga special economic zone. The new Alabuga plant, which will have a capacity of about 110,000t/yr of products, represents the largest investment in Rockwool's history. When built, the plant will be the largest of its kind in the world. The plant is even designed for the installation of a second production line, which would increase the capacity to 250,000t/yr. It will be the fourth Rockwool production line in Russia.

The new plant is scheduled for opening in the first quarter 2012, creating at least 200 jobs. It will supply its products to the Volga region, Urals region and Siberia. It will additionally export to Kazakhstan. The roll-out of the new plant will allow Russia to substantially reduce its dependence on thermal insulation imports.

Commenting on the choice of venue for the project, Rockwool's Director General Nick Vince said, "We considered a total of 22 factors. At the top of the list is the full support of the authorities that we found here. The other pluses are tax benefits, a large space (48 hectares), convenient transport system, availability of a hydroelectric station 15km away and that of natural gas. A solid workforce is important. All these factors taken together make Alabuga an ideal venue for our project."

Continuing, Vince said, "We favourably assess the Russian economy's long-term potential. Buildings account for about 40% of the thermal energy produced in the country. There is a vast potential for increasing energy-efficiency and demand for thermal insulation materials."

Denmark: Rockwool International A/S saw its net profit decline slightly to Euro16.5m in the three months to 30 June 2011 from Euro17.2m in the corresponding period of 2010.

Recovery in the company's main European insulation markets, driven by Germany and France, continued and considerable growth was marked in Poland and Russia as well.

Net sales went up to Euro845m from Euro452m. Operating costs expanded by 18% to Euro434m, which led to a reduction in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to Euro57.9m from Euro64.8m in the quarter.

Rockwool foresees that further sales growth will come in the coming quarters. Rockwool anticipates that its net profit after minority interests will be Euro73.8m for 2011.

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."

Denmark/Poland: Rockwool International has signed an agreement to acquire FAST s.p. z o.o., a Polish system holder for external facade insulation. In 2010, FAST generated a turnover of USD 16.73m and employed 90 persons. The transaction is expected to close by the end of October 2011.

The acquisition of FAST allows Rockwool to gain access to capabilities within coating and plaster production as well as colouring techniques. In addition, the acquisition will enable Rockwool to expand the use of stone wool solutions and penetrate into the building insulation market.

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.