Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

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.

UK: The British Rigid Urethane Foam Manufacturers’ Association (BRUFMA) has said that the materials tested so far by BRE Group, following the Grenfell fire in June 2017, do not meet building regulations and would never be recommended or approved for use by the members of BRUFMA in a real building.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has commissioned six BS 8414 tests using a combination of materials, including the make-up of the outer cladding system. The first aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding test, carried out by BRE combined an assembly of polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation used in conjunction with an unmodified polyethylene filled ACM cladding panel. Both PIR foam and mineral wool are being tested with each cladding system.

BRUFMA described the situation as ‘worrying’ that a number of buildings have been identified with this combination, indicating a lack of compliance to existing rules and regulations. However, it has advised that all six tests should be completed satisfactorily before any analysis is drawn and remedial action is proposed by the government. It also highlighted that PIR insulation manufactured in the UK and Ireland that is recommended for use in high-rise buildings is tested with the BS 8414 fire test as part of a complete ventilated rainscreen system.

UK: Kingspan has confirmed that a limited amount of its Kooltherm K15 phenolic insulation product was used in Grenfell Tower. In response to a report by Channel 4 News the insulation producer said that a ‘very small quantity’ of the product had been used without its knowledge in a façade refurbishment of the high-rise tower. The building subsequently suffered a fire in June 2017 in which at least 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing.

“Kingspan had no involvement in either the design or the specification of the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower facade, and neither Kingspan insulated panels nor Kingspan façade systems were used on Grenfell Tower,” said Kingspan in a statement. It added that following the fire it became aware that a limited quantity of Kingspan Kooltherm K15, less than 5% of the estimated total amount of insulation used on the building façade, was sourced by a third party distributer and supplied to contractors involved in the refurbishment. It impressed that, “It appears that Kooltherm K15 has been used without our knowledge, as part of a combination for which it was not designed, and which Kingspan would never recommend.”

The majority of the insulation purchased for use in the building refurbishment was Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board. This product has been stopped for use in rainscreen cladding systems for buildings over 18m tall whilst the investigation into the Grenfell fire continues.

UK: SIG’s revenue grew by 8.1% to Euro1.6bn in the first half of 2017 due to favourable currency exchange rates and sales in Mainland Europe. Sales in Mainland Europe rose by 42% in the period boosted by recovery in the construction markets particularly in France.

UK: The British Rigid Urethane Foam Manufacturers’ Association (BRUFA) has warned against ‘misleading’ claims being made in relation to the Grenfell Tower fire ahead of a government investigation. In a statement the body for the rigid polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) Insulation Industry in the UK said it would challenge and correct any misleading allegations about the incident and provide information to assist an ‘accurate’ analysis. It added that the PIR and PUR insulation industry is an established and responsible one with a usage of over 50 years in the construction sector.

“We have a growing concern that misleading claims, supported by selective data are gaining traction and being reported as facts. If this supposition takes hold before the enquiry has established the truth of the matter, there is a danger it will lead to the wrong conclusions and decisions, that will do nothing to improve the future safety of buildings, including high-rise tower blocks. It may also lead to behavioural changes that could be detrimental to the future welfare of the built environment,” said BRUFA.

The UK government has appointed Martin Moore-Bick, a former judge, to head the public inquiry into the fire. As well as investigating the incident, the inquiry is expected to recommend changes to national building regulations.

UK: Exterior cladding systems have come under scrutiny in the aftermath of a devastating fire at a tower block in west London that has killed at least 17 people. The system was retrofitted in 2016 to the 24-storey building that was originally built in the 1970s, according to Reuters. Concerns have been raised about the speed the fire spread. Suspicions have targeted the flammability of the insulation panels used in the façade and whether fireproof barriers were installed properly at the site. It is believed that wall fixings, exterior zinc panels and insulation panels were used in the cladding according to a planning document relating to the building that was published by the local government in 2012. It is unknown whether the insulation material included any fire retardant chemical additives.

“Without knowledge of the specific materials used we cannot say at this early stage if any of the conclusions above are relevant to this tragic incident, but the increasing use of combustible materials in construction needs to be addressed if further events are to be avoided,” said Jim Glockling, Technical Director at the Fire Protection Agency (FPA). He added that the FPA believes that local building regulations need to be updated to consider, “both the external envelope of the building and its resilience to fire ingress.”

Prime minister Theresa May has ordered a full public inquiry into the incident.

UK: The British Board of Agrément (BBA) has given its approval to Rockwool’s Rainscreen Duo Slab façade insulation product. It is the first stone wool product to gain this for use in ventilated rainscreen systems. As part of the certification process the product was tested for factors such as thermal performance, condensation risk, behaviour in relation to fire, and durability in order to meet national regulations. Rainscreen Duo Slab has achieved certification status for use as a Hybrid frame system and Rainscreen system.

“It is incredibly important to us to put our products through the BBA process, as the certification provides architects with peace of mind when specifying our products” comments Paul Barrett, Product Manager at Rockwool.

Rainscreen Duo Slab is a dual density insulation board that offers weather resistance on its outer surface whilst being installed and an inner surface that is designed to accommodate the substrate to which it is being applied. It is fire resilient and complies with Approved Document B, achieving the Euroclass classification: A1. It also complies with BR135: Fire Performance of External Insulation for Walls of Multi-Storey Buildings.