Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Celotex has found errors in a safety test for its RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product that was used as part of the rainscreen cladding system in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. As part of a review of the product the company has determined that there were differences between the system as tested for BS 8414:2 and the description of that system in the report of the test. The BS 8414:2 safety test was originally conducted prior to the RS5000 product being launched.

The insulation producer is exploring whether any safety issues arise from the differences in the test. It says it has notified the relevant bodies and is contacting its customers.

“It is a matter of real regret for us that this issue has arisen: we fully recognise its potential seriousness and that it will give rise to concern. We are working hard to arrange the further testing as quickly as possible and we will make a further announcement once the results of that testing are available,” said Celotex in a statement.

Celotex suspended supply of RS5000 PIR insulation board in June 2017 following a fire at Grenfell Tower in London that killed 71 people.

UK: SIG has suspended a ‘number of individuals’ from its staff following the discovery of an intentional effort to overstate the company’s profit in 2016. The discovery followed allegations by a whistle-blower concerning financial irregularities whereby the group’s profit was overstated by up to Euro4.2m in 2016. The affected financial statements will be restated following an audit by Deloitte and KPMG.

According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the discrepancies relate to work carried out in 2016 under previous chief executive officer (CEO) Stuart Mitchell. He resigned in November 2016 by ‘mutual agreement’. The group’s former finance director, Doug Robertson, retired in early 2017.

UK: SIG’s revenue from continued operations rose by 7.5% on a like-for-like basis to Euro3.2bn in 2017. This was supported by a rise in the group’s Insulation & Interiors revenue in the UK, bolstered by rising prices. Reviving construction markets in Europe also aided performance. The group will announce its full financial results in March 2018.

UK: Russia’s TechnoNicol is to spend Euro42m towards upgrading its mineral wool plant in Stirling operated by Superglass. The investment will double the plant’s production capacity to 60,000t/yr. The upgrade work will include installing a new 187t furnace and curing ovens. Cooling, cutting and milling equipment will be replaced and an automatic packing system will be installed. Construction will start early in 2018.

“TechnoNicol’s backing is a real vote of confidence in Scottish manufacturing, both in terms of the quality of the work we do here and the expertise of the workforce. It is a validation of our strategy within Superglass over recent years and very personally satisfying for me to see further consolidation of the initial investment at our regional headquarters,” said Ken Munro, chief executive officer (CEO) of TechnoNicol UK, Ireland and USA which incorporates the Superglass business.

TechnoNicol operates 52 manufacturing facilities across Russia and Europe.

UK: Knauf Insulation has appointed Vanessa Rae as Marketing Director to lead all Northern European marketing activities. She brings over 20 years experience in business-to-business marketing roles in Belgium, Germany and the UK. Previously she worked as the head of marketing and communications for the digital organisation at Rolls-Royce. Prior to this, Rae managed international marketing teams at Kingspan Insulated Panels and NSG Group (Pilkington Glass).

UK: SIG has appointed Andrew Allner as its chairman with effect from 1 November 2017. He will also take the role as a non-executive director. He succeeds Leslie Van De Walle who first announced his intention to retire in March 2017. Van De Walle will now step down as chairman and retire as a director on 31 October 2017.

Allner is currently the chairman of Marshalls, the Go-Ahead Group and Fox Marble Holdings, and a non-executive director at Northgate. Marshalls has announced that it will now start the process to recruit a successor to Allner and
that he will resign from the Marshall's board, once the new chairman is established in position. He was previously Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, until 2014, and CSR, until 2013. Previous executive roles include Group Finance Director of RHM and chief executive officer (CEO) of Enodis. He also held senior executive positions with Dalgety, Amersham International and Guinness. Allner is a chartered accountant, former partner of Price Waterhouse and graduate of the University of Oxford.

UK: Knauf Insulation has appointed Lisa Richardson as a new product manager to lead the development of its glass mineral wool range. She will be responsible for working with customers to grow Knauf Insulation’s glass product range, which includes Supafil, its blowing glass mineral wool, OmniFit, its multi-application product, and its DriTherm cavity slabs.

Richardson joins the insulation producer from ladder manufacturer Werner. Prior to that, she worked with a number of product categories, including hand tools, personal protective equipment, security and plumbing fittings.

UK: Gene Murtagh, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Kingspan Group, has called for a number of changes to be made to fire safety regulations for buildings in the UK. He called for large-scale testing under BS8414 to be extended to cover all cladding systems, a strengthening of the way desktop studies are used in fire safety compliance, improved training for installers of building facades and better control of fire safety through the design and construction process of buildings. His comments were made to Building Magazine following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 and at the start of the Public Inquiry into the incident.

“So far as I am aware, polyethylene (PE) cored Aluminium Composite Materials (ACM) have never been successfully tested in a cladding system in a manner consistent with building regulations so it is hard to understand how this product ever ended up on Grenfell Tower,” said Murtagh. “Similarly, given the fire performance characteristics of these ACM cladding panels, it is no surprise in my view that they performed so poorly in combination with a range of insulation types in the recent series of large-scale tests by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).” said Murtagh added that fire safety is an ‘extremely complex’ field and that any investigation needs to consider a wide range of factors.

The majority of the insulation purchased for use in a refurbishment of Grenfell Tower prior to the fire was Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board. However, Kingspan confirmed in July 2017 that a small amount of its Kooltherm K15 phenolic insulation product had also been used without its knowledge and that it had no involvement in the design or specification of the refurbishment.

UK: Knauf Insulation, has achieved the Building Research Establishment’s BES 6001 standard for its responsible sourcing practices. As part of its commitment to sustainability, the insulation producer uses recycled materials across its product range. The business has also developed a sustainable binder for its glass and rock mineral wool products that has no added formaldehyde, acrylics or artificial colours called ECOSE Technology. Knauf Insulation has achieved the standard across its glass and rock mineral wool products manufactured at its production sites in St Helens, Cwmbran and Queensferry.

“As a business that plays a leading role in the built environment, we are continually aiming to minimise risk within our supply chain. BES certification is the latest step towards achieving this and we are pleased to provide an extra level of assurance to our customers,” said John Sinfield, Managing Director at Knauf Insulation.

UK: Knauf Insulation has launched a system to automate the installation of blown glass mineral wool during off-site manufacturing. The new system, called Supafil Frame, is intended to reduce the time required to insulate modular homes. Developed in conjunction with Stewart Milne Timber Systems, it blows un-bonded glass mineral wool into wall panels at the point of manufacture. The insulation producer says that the new system is the first application of its kind in the UK.

Supafil Frame has achieved a Gold rating for indoor air comfort from independent test body Eurofins. It has also been shortlisted in the Product Innovation category of the Structural Timber Awards and Building Awards.