Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

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.