Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Romania: Saint-Gobain Isover is upgrading its Ploiesti mineral wool plant. A modernisation and extension project of its stone wool production line is scheduled to start operation in the second half of 2019. The upgrade will increase the plant’s production capacity to 30,000t/yr and extend its range of products for the Romanian market and neighbouring countries.

Saint-Gobain Isover has run operations on its Ploiesti site since 1997, with a glass wool line currently being modernised and due to start up in July 2018, and a stone wool line.

Romania: Saint-Gobain Isover plans to reopen its glass wool production line at its Ploiesti plant in July 2018. The line is expected to restart following a complete furnace rebuild and other upgrades. 50 new jobs will be created in production, logistics and administrative departments.

“The production line allows Isover to adapt its glass wool production capacity to the market demand in the region, given that Romanian market is the largest of the South-East European region. Our decision was generated by the positive trend registered by the construction market in the past year, a trend that is expected to continue over the next years as well,” said Ovidiu Pascutiu, General Manager for Saint-Gobain Rigips and Isover Romania.

Isover has also announced plans to upgrade its stone wool production line at the Ploiesti plant in 2018. The production capacity of the line will be increased by 30,000t/yr in 2019 following the Euro50m upgrade.

Romania: Rockwool Group has announced plans to build a basalt mineral wool production plant in Romania, a project worth an estimated Euro50m. The basalt mineral wool plant, Rockwool Group's first in Romania, will create around 150 jobs, while an additional 300 will be created indirectly in services and logistics, Rockwool said in a press release. The process of issuing permits and authorisations was already initiated, so that production of basalt mineral wool is expected to start in 2019.

The new production unit will spread over approximately 30 hectares in Ariceştii Rahtivani commune near the southern city of Ploiesti. The project will strengthen the group's strong presence in Romania, a market that has been active for almost 20 years through its local sales branch.

The plant will contribute to the growth of the local economy, given that most of the raw materials and logistics services will come from Romania, and most of the workforce directly employed by Rockwool or the subcontractors will be local, the company said.

"This investment will allow us to better support Romania's efforts to increase fire safety and energy efficiency in its buildings,” said Rockwool Group’s Senior Vice President Gilles Maria. “We encourage the government to continue to work with the EU Member States within the Firefighting Information Exchange Platform (FIEP) as well as other initiatives that will improve the fire safety regulations.”

Romania: Austrotherm has opened an insulation plant at Arad. The Austrian company opened its third expanded polystyrene (EPS) plant in the country in early November 2017. The unit is intended to serve Transylvania and other western regions.

The company originally entered the Romanian market in 1999 with an EPS plant in Bucharest. A second plant at Horia was opened in 2006. Production of extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation followed at this site in 2008.

Romania: Hirsch Servo has bought the insulating material division of Arcon. The deal includes two expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation production plants in Bucharest and Sfantu Gheorghe. No price for the transaction has been released. Hirsch Servo will become the second largest insulation producer in the country, following its purchase of the Energoterom insulation plant at Timisoara in July 2016.

Romania: Proinvest Group will complete a Euro10m sandwich panel plant in 2018. The first phase of the project, worth Euro3m, was completed in February 2016 with the commissioning of the first production line for sandwich panels with mineral wool core for roof and walls. The line has a capacity of 1Mm²/yr. The second phase of the project will be completed in 2018 with the commissioning of a new production line of sandwich panels, the company said in a press release.

The Romanian steel processing company is based in Pascani, northeastern Romania. It owns four plants and has more than 350 employees.