Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Duna-USA has completed an expansion upgrade to its plant and headquarters in Baytown, Texas. The work, which began in late 2016, included the addition of a new manufacturing building, new office building, automated fabrication department and an additional production line. Work on the project finished in late December 2018.

“We’ve significantly increased production and fabrication capabilities, enhanced quality and expect to reduce lead times, while increasing production efficiency at the same time,” said Marta Brozzi, president of the DUNA Group

Duna-USA manufactures polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams and chemicals for the insulation, aerospace, automotive, marine and construction industries. Italy’s Duna Group, comprised of Duna-Corradini, Duna-USA, and Duna-Emirates, has been manufacturing foams, chemicals and adhesives since 1957. It specialises in the research and development of polyurethane and epoxy systems, with manufacturing locations in the US, Europe and the UAE.

US: Germany’s Covestro plans to spend Euro1.5bn on building a new methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant at Baytown in Texas. The new plant will have a production capacity of 0.5Mt/yr and production is expected to start in 2024. The investment at the existing site in Baytown is the largest single investment in the history of the company. It will replace the 90,000t/yr MDI unit at the site.

“Demand for innovative MDI materials will continue to grow for the foreseeable future and likewise promises attractive capacity utilisation rates. We have already announced a significant increase in capital expenditures, now it’s time to put it into action”, said Markus Steilemann, chief executive officer (CEO) of Covestro. He added that the investment would strengthen the company’s ‘leading position’ in polyurethanes.

Covestro is also running a global investment programme in MDI production capacity, including plans to double its MDI production at Brunsbuettel, Germany to 0.4Mt/yr from 0.2Mt/yr by the second half of 2019. Other parts of this initiative include the continuation and expansion of plants in Tarragona in Spain, Caojing in China and Antwerp in Belgium.