Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Russia: Grigory Protosenya, the general director of Penoplex, has forecast that the demand for the company's products will decline until late 2015 or the middle of 2016 due to the inertia of the construction market. The demand reduction will affect all manufacturers, but mostly small companies.

Penoplex plans to raise its prices by about 30% in the spring of 2015 due to increasing costs of equipment and raw materials. It has no plans to cut production. Moreover, it will launch a new 2000kg/hr capacity line at its plant in Novomoskovsk, Tula region, in 2015.

So far, Penoplex has not shelved its plant construction project in the Volga region. Protosenya believes that the company will meet the current crisis in a 'steady state.' Weakening of the Russian Ruble will also allow it to start exporting products, primarily to Finland and Norway. However, shipments will be small at 20,000 - 30,000m³ and exports of around 2.50Mm³/yr.

Russia: Danish insulation materials producer Rockwool is among the companies that are reportedly channelling funds out of Russia for fear of a collapse of the Russian Ruble. Rockwool deputy officer for finance and tax, Jens Krogsgaard, fears that Russia will introduce currency restrictions to protect the Ruble. Russia is currently the fourth biggest market for Rockwool.

Russia: TechnoNicol Corp, a manufacturer of roofing, waterproofing and thermal insulation materials, has agreed to acquire an additional 54.1% stake in Russia’s Krovlya Ooo, a building materials company. After the transaction, TechnoNicol will own a 98.25% stake in Krovlya.

Russia: TechnoNicol plans to invest US$62.2m in the construction of two plants to produce insulation products in the Karaganda region of Russia. The company intends to invest US$48m in the construction of a 80,000t/yr capacity basalt insulation plant and US$13.1m in the construction of a 300,000m²/yr capacity extruded polystyrene insulation plant.

The two projects are to be implemented in 2014 - 2016 in the Saryarka special economic zone in Karaganda, creating a total of 285 jobs. The relevant memorandum has been signed by the governor of Karaganda Region Nurmukhambet Abdibekov and TechnoNicol's president Sergei Kolesnikov.

Russia: The St Petersburg market for sound insulation has been estimated at Euro78.5m at the end of 2013. The largest growth in demand was recorded for mineral wool at 7-10%/yr and for polystyrene at >10%/yr. Sound insulation demand is expected to grow by 15-20% in 2014.

Russia: TechnoNicol Corporation is expanding its insulation materials capacity at an existing plant in Yurga in the Kemerovo Region of southern Russia with investments totalling Euro18.6m. This includes the launch, which is due in 2015, of a new 200,000m³/yr XPS line. The line cost around Euro7.45m and will produce the company's full range of TechnoNicol XPS products. Its installation is set to meet growing demand for insulation products associated with major regional infrastructure projects, including the 29th Winter Universiade being held in Krasnoyarsk in 2019, as well as road construction and oil and gas industry infrastructure schemes.

In September 2014 TechnoNocil is due to complete another Euro9.4m investment at Yurga plant with the upgrade of its basalt wool insulation, leading to a 29% increase in output. Products from the plant will be targeted at Russian regions including western and eastern Siberia and the central Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous region, as well as eastern Kazakhstan, north-western China and Mongolia, according to TechNicol's CEO Vladimir Markov.

Russia: Germany's Knauf has launched a new insulation materials plant in the Tyumen Region of the Urals Federal District in Russia at a total investment cost of US$83m. The installed capacity of the enterprise is 45,000t/yr. It will create 200 jobs.

Kazakhstan/China/Russia: Russia's TechnoNicol will invest Euro12.4m to build a 300,000m²/yr capacity extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) insulation plant in the Karaganda Region of Kazakhstan. The plant will start production in 2016. Its products will be supplied to all regions of Kazakhstan and south Asia.

France: Saint-Gobain and EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) have signed an agreement whereby EBRD will increase its participation in Saint-Gobain Construction Products Rus LLC from its current stake of 11% to 33%.

The EBRD equity injection will contribute to financing Saint-Gobain Construction Products' planned investments in Russia for the next three years, including projects in the gypsum, industrial mortars and insulation activities in several regions.

The investments will reflect the Environmental and Social Action Plan that was agreed with EBRD, thereby reaffirming the commitment of Saint-Gobain Group to the highest standards in environmental performance, corporate governance and business conduct.

This operation will contribute to the acceleration of Saint-Gobain's development in Russia, in alignment with the Group's strategy of strengthening its position in fast growing markets.

Russia: Knauf Insulation expects its mineral wool insulation factory in Tyumen Oblast, Russia to reach its design capacity of 45,000t/yr in late 2014. More than Euro64.3m was invested in the project. The plant sells its products in the Ural district, Siberia, the Far East and Kazakhstan.