Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Romania: Alpin Szig és Szerkezet Építőipari subsidiary Mineral Insulation plans to build a €20m, 30,000t/yr-capacity mineral wool plant in Miercurea-Ciuc, Harghita County. Romania-Insider News has reported that construction will commence in mid-2025, with the plant scheduled to enter production in late 2026. The upcoming plant will occupy a former mining site, chosen for its proximity to sources of all required raw materials within 100km, as well as for its centrality in Romania. It is expected to create 70 new jobs.

Director Orban Zoltan said that the plant should enable Harghita County to become mineral wool self-sufficient.

Romania: Knauf Insulation România announced the start of operations at its new Târnăveni glasswool insulation plant in Mureș County on 22 January 2025. Transilvania Business News has reported that the plant will produce up to 75,000t/yr of insulation for local and export markets. Knauf Insulation România invested €140m in construction of the plant, which first commenced in March 2023. The producer acquired another, existing plant at the site in May 2022, investing €4m in its modernisation.

Knauf Europe, Middle East and Asia Regional CEO Dominique Bossan noted the growth of demand for insulation in South East Europe.

Romania: Knauf Insulation has announced the completion of its new 100Mm²/yr mineral glass wool plant in Târnăveni, scheduled for inauguration by the end of 2024. With an investment of approximately €140m, the facility has a capacity of 75,000t/yr of mineral glass wool. This output will meet both domestic and regional market demands and create 100 jobs.

Adrian Garofeanu, general manager of Knauf Insulation Romania and Bulgaria said “In the second half of 2024, we are inaugurating the new Knauf Insulation unit in Romania. It is a remarkable success of the team, which will turn Târnăveni into a key location on the map of the international production of mineral glass wool.”

Romania: Saint-Gobain Romania has launched the Saint-Gobain National Trophy contest. The contest recognises exceptional projects due for completion by the end of 2024 which incorporate materials supplied by Saint-Gobain Romania. Local press has reported that judges will evaluate projects’ excellence in execution, sustainability and effective utilisation of their incorporated Saint-Gobain products. The company will receive submissions until 31 October 2024.

Romania: Switzerland-based Swisspor Group has concluded a deal to acquire extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation producer BriothermXPS. BriothermXPS sells its insulation across Central and Southeast Europe. Swisspor Group thanked its deal coordinator Concilium Consulting for helping it to conclude the agreement ‘despite a challenging market environment and complex transaction structure.’

Romania: Knauf Insulation has broken ground on the construction of a second insulation plant at the site of its existing Târnăveni mineral wool insulation plant. SeeNews has reported that, when commissioned in 2024, the new plant will have a production capacity of 100Mm²/yr of mineral wool insulation. It will also create 100 new jobs. Knauf Insulation said that the project will bring its total investments in the Târnăveni site to Euro135m.

Romania: Knauf Insulation’s revenue grew by 40% year-on-year to Euro27.2m in 2022 from Euro19.4m in 2021. It attributed this to increased sales volumes and higher pricing, according to the Ziarul Financiar newspaper. The subsidiary of Germany-based Knauf acquired the Târnăveni glass wool insulation plant from Gecsat in mid-2022. It later announced plans for a Euro135m upgrade to the site including expanding the existing unit and building a new plant adjacent to it. Construction work on the project was schedule in start in January 2023.

Romania: Austrotherm has commissioned its third Romanian insulation plant in Calan, near Deva, Hunedoara County. The new Euro6m facility will produce the company's Austrotherm EPS and Austrotherm EPS-Plus expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation, and also houses office spaces and storehouses. Sales manager Roxana Ghioca said that the storage capacity will enable the site to supply the Transylvanian market with Austrotherm's EPS and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation product offering.

Austrotherm managing director Klaus Haberfellner said “Transylvania is among the Central and Northwestern Romanian regions currently with a good economic situation. One third of Austrotherm Romania's topwinds are generated in this region. The existing EPS plants - which are situated a long distance from this have already reached their capacity limit." Addressing Romania's need for insulation, Haberfellner said "If not now, when does saving energy make more sense? The dramatic increase in energy prices has long since arrived in Romania."

Romania: Austria-based Austrotherm has concluded an agreement to acquire 100% ownership of extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation panels producer Zentyss. Zentyss operates a plant in Arad, Transylvania.

Austrotherm managing director Klaus Haberfellner said "This acquisition increases the security of supply and the range of products for customers in Romania and neighboring countries. The central location of Arad enables the optimisation of transport routes to customers, which means that CO₂ emissions can be massively reduced." He concluded "Our leadership position in XPS in Romania is now well secured. I am particularly pleased to welcome 106 new colleagues to our company."

Romania: Knauf Insulation will invest Euro135m in expanding its Târnăveni glass wool insulation plant and building a new adjacent plant at the site. Knauf Insulation says that the major expansion will advance the Romanian government's 'energy savings offensive' by supporting a renovation drive for the country’s housing stock. The government aims to increase the national area of modern renovated properties by a factor of six, with a Euro30bn allocation from its Recovery and Resilience Fund.

Germany-based Knauf's managing partner Alexander Knauf said “The commitment demonstrates our trust and confidence in the country and our employees. We look forward to becoming part of the local community. Together, we are setting new standards for building and living in Romania.”

Operations at the original Târnăveni glass wool insulation plant recently recommenced following a Euro4m upgrade by Knauf Insulation, which completed its acquisition of the plant in May 2022. Previous owner Gecsat produced insulation at the site from 2008.