Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Lithuania: Russia-based TechnoNicol has divested its Baltic roofing and waterproofing membranes business, Mida, to France-based Soprema. The business includes plants in Lithuania. TechnoNicol acquired Mida in 2001. BNS News has reported that its sales dropped by 17% to €38m in 2023, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mida said "Mida has completely cut off all ties with its former owner, Technonicol. Mida is beginning a new stage in the growth of its business in Europe."

France: Soprema plans to begin building a new polyurethane (PU) insulation plant at Sausheim, near Mulhouse, in mid-late 2024. The producer says that it will invest Euro50m and enter production at the upcoming plant in 2026. When operational, the Sausheim insulation plant will complement Soprema’s existing Saint-Julien-du-Sault and Nîmes plants, and serve Grand Est, Austrian, Germany and Switzerland. The plant will generate 80 direct jobs and a similar number again of indirect jobs.

France: Groupe Berkem and Soprema have launched Pavatex, a wood fibre-based insulation panel. Groupe Berkem says that it developed a bio-based polyphenolic fungicide for use in the panel. The partners say that development of the product took 30 months.

Groupe Berkem chair and CEO Olivier Fahy said “The development of a unique solution that meets the needs of the market is the result of the collaboration between our two groups and the pooling of our technical expertise. For Groupe Berkem, this collaboration agreement is part of our continuous commitment to supporting the transition of chemical substances to eco-responsible and bio-based solutions.”

France: Two workers have been seriously injured by an explosion at Soprema’s Saint-Julien-du-Sault polyurethane insulation plant in Yonne. A third worker was also injured in the accident, according to Le Monde newspaper. An external company was carrying out work at the site when the incident occurred. Sparks from a grinder are believed to have caused a holding tank to explode.

Canada: The governments of Quebec and Canada have awarded France’s Soprema US$6.9m towards building an insulation plant at Sherbrooke in the Estrie region of Quebec. The project has a total budget of US$34.6m and it will produce extruded polystyrene insulation panels.

The Quebec government funding, allocated under the ESSOR program, includes a US$4m loan and a non-repayable financial contribution of US$1.2m. As for the federal government, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) has granted US$1.6m to Soprema, in the form of a repayable contribution.

Headquartered in Strasbourg, France Soprema produces insulation, waterproofing, soundproofing and roofing products for the construction and civil engineering sectors. Its North American head office and research centre are located in Drummondville, in the Centre–du–Québec region. The company runs three plants in Canada at Drummondville, Quebec City and Richmond.

US: The Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA) announced that SOPREMA has joined the group as a manufacturing member.

"The addition of SOPREMA to both the polyiso industry and the PIMA family reflects the continuing growth of polyiso as North America's insulation product of choice," said Jared Blum, President PIMA. "SOPREMA's construction industry leadership role is well acknowledged and the PIMA Board of Directors looks forward to the active involvement of the company."

SOPREMA joins PIMA's six manufacturing members: Atlas Roofing, Firestone Building Products, GAF, Hunter Panels, Johns Manville and Rmax.

SOPREMA is an international manufacturer that specialises in the development and production of innovative products for waterproofing, insulation, soundproofing and vegetated solutions for the roofing, building envelope and civil engineering sectors.

"SOPREMA is proud to join PIMA and contribute to the energy performance of buildings and the reduction of greenhouse gases as a manufacturer of high-performance insulation boards," said Richard Voyer, Executive Vice-President and CEO of SOPREMA North America.