Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: Kingspan’s revenue rose by 12% year-on-year to Euro2.24bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro2.01bn in the same period in 2018. Its profit grew by 18% to Euro173m from Euro147m. Sales of its panel and boards products increased but panel sales growth was faster, supported by most territories with the exception of the Middle East.

“We have delivered a record first half with revenue growth in all our business units and a strong trading profit performance. We continue to expand our global production footprint with new facilities under construction in the US, Brazil and Sweden. The near-term outlook is solid although the political uncertainty in the UK, weakness in Serling, and weaker German economy are amongst risks we are monitoring closely,” said Gene Murtagh, the chief executive of Kingspan.

The building materials company is close to completing a new insulation panel plant at Modesto, California in the US. A new panel plant is also being considered in Pennsylvania, US and a new panel plant in Cambuí, Brazil is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2019. A new board plant in Sweden is scheduled to start production in mid-2020.

Sweden: Kingspan to build a new plant near Jönköping to produce products in its Kooltherm phenolic insulation range. Work on the project is scheduled to start immediately and the unit is expected to be operational by the second half of 2019. The plant will initially employ around 20 people and this will grow to up to 80 people once the site is fully operational. The new plant is intended to take advantage of demand for Kooltherm products in Sweden, Denmark and other countries in Scandinavia and the Baltics.

“Kooltherm is the cornerstone of our growth strategy in all these markets, and having this new facility will help to meet the increasing demand for our products,” said Henk Bessie, Managing Director of Kingspan Insulation Continental Europe.

Sweden: Denmark’s Rockwool has purchased 180,000m² of land in the eastern Swedish municipality of Eskilstuna. The acquisition is intended for future growth and to allow the mineral wool producer to meet any potential rise in demand for its products. At present the company supplies the Swedish market with products manufactured at plants in Denmark and Norway.

Finland: Recticel plans to build a new Euro23m polyurethane (PUR) foam insulation board plant. Production at the site is scheduled to start in the second half of 2018. The site will manufacture thermal insulation products for sale in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Baltic countries

“This investment is an additional step in the execution of the growth strategy of our Insulation business. It offers an attractive expansion in the Nordic region, which is a growing market for high performance insulation materials,” said Olivier Chapelle the company’s chief executive officer (CEO).

Finland/Sweden: Stone wool producer Paroc Group intends to relocate its manufacturing of technical insulation and acoustic products from Lappeenranta, Finland to its plants in Hällekis and Skövde, Sweden creating 40 new jobs in Sweden. The company is investing approximagtely Euro8.06m in Hällekis and Skövde, according to the Finish business news service Esmerk.

Sweden: ECO Byggolit, a Swedish producer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, has applied for corporate reconstruction due to reduced demand from the construction industry. The company, which was established in 2009, has 13 employees and annual sales of Euro6.73m. The company's products are mainly used for insulation of buildings and as a filler in roads.