Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UAE: Kingspan Insulation has started manufacturing its PalDuct Hydro System product, panels with a polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation core faced with aluminium foil, at its plant in Dubai. The company has changed its manufacturing process by installing a pentane tank at the plant to make the product, according to Gulf Construction. The panels have a density of 48 - 50kg/m³ and in a thickness of either 20mm and 30mm. A company spokesman said that the product can be specified by engineers for projects required to comply with local regulations such as a Estidama in Abdu Dhabi.

UAE: Hira Industries has launched a polyethylene insulation plant in Al Ghail, Ras Al Khaimah. The factory will produce and export Aerofoam technical foam around the world. It has an area of 11,600m² and employs 150 staff.

"With the wealth of construction projects in the region, the demand for aerofoam products is tremendous and we are seeing rapid growth year on year. Events such as Dubai's Expo 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar have further driven the industry. Our move to set up the new facility is strategically planned," said Manish Hira, managing director of Hira Industries.

Hira Industries operates eight plants in the heating, ventilating and air conditioning sector. It was established in 1980.

UAE: Kingspan Kooltherm and Kingspan KoolDuct products have ben awarded Dubai Central Laboratory (DCL) Product Conformity certification. The insulation products were manufactured at Kingspan’s plant in Pembridge, UK. DCL Product Conformity ensures that manufactured products adhere to requirements set by the Dubai Municipality.

"Having DCL Product Conformity means that the the Kooltherm range and KoolDuct products, alongside the PalDuct portfolio, carry the maximum potential for specification within projects across Dubai," said Sarmad Fakhri, managing director of Kingspan Insulation to Construction Week Online.

UAE: The Ministry of Environment and Water is set to issue a decree to regulate the production of mineral wool and fiberglass industries. The new regulations are intended to increase the environmental sustainability and performance of the industries. They will set out applications and pollution control techniques. Producers will also be required to prepare an environmental management plan specific to their operations.

UAE: Rockwool International has won a new order to supply insulation to Abu Dhabi's Takreer refinery project. The refinery will have a 30,000 barrels/day capacity for crude oil and will produce 40,000t/yr of carbon black. The refinery is due for completion in December 2015.

UAE: Bayer Pearl, a polyurethane systems house joint venture between Bayer MaterialScience AG and Pearl Insulation Materials Industries LLC that was established in 2007, plans a significant investment including new technology and production.

Following the relocation of the regional offices and production facilities to Dubai Investment Park, Bayer Pearl has now engaged Amana Contracting and Steel Buildings to build a new state-of-the-art facility at the Investment Park. The new facility is expected to be complete in 2015 and will feature research, development and application laboratories, advanced manufacturing technologies and a demonstration centre.

"The Middle East is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Dubai serves as the ideal base for Bayer Pearl to further strengthen its presence in the region," said Thorsten Eschmeier, CEO of Bayer Pearl. "The site will host offices and operations and is strategically located close to Jebel Ali Port and the new Dubai World Central airport. Furthermore, the new site allows us to expand our competence in developing new applications and manufacturing processes for our materials in close collaboration with our customers."

UAE: Strong demand for its products in the GCC states has prompted Emirates Extruded Polystyrene (EEP), a subsidiary of Dubai Investments, to announce plans to expand its production capacity within the next two years. The company currently exports to other GCC states and to regions beyond including India, Southeast Asia and Africa.

The upgrade will increase total capacity to approximately 2.4Mm²/yr and enable EEP to meet the 'burgeoning demand' in the export market for its unique extruded polystyrene sheets. The company has witnessed a phenomenal surge in demand amidst the ongoing construction activity in the UAE and other GCC markets, making its current production of around 1.2Mm²/yr of extruded polystyrene sheets quite inadequate to take care of future requirements.

EEP currently utilises 80% of its capacity and will have to step up production to catch up with demand. The additional capacity will come from a new production line that will cater to the predicted surge in demand for insulation materials once the Expo 2020 projects are activated in the next two years. The new line will be set up at EEP's 6235m² plot in Dubai Investments Park.

Thanks to a UAE Federal Law that enforces the use of energy-saving and environment-friendly building materials in the construction industry, it has become mandatory for many companies to use extruded polystyrene sheets for the insulation of roofs, walls and foundations.