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.

US: The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) has awarded R-Value Certification to Johns Manville’s fiberglass batt and narrow roll insulation products. NAIMA’s R-Value Certification program is a voluntary program that allows manufacturers to certify that the R-values for their products comply with the thermal performance requirements of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Home Insulation Rule. The have been tested by an independent, third party laboratory and meet the thermal performance required by the FTC. As per the FTC requirements, materials are tested using a standardised test method designed by ASTM International, an organisation that establishes internationally recognised test methods and standards.

US: Knauf Insulation North America and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) have announced an investment of around US$35m at Knauf’s fibre glass inslation plant at Albion in Michigan. The upgrade is expected to convert and restart an idled production line, increasing production capacity by more than 30% and adding 34 new full-time jobs. It will use recycled bottle glass recovered through the state of Michigan’s Bottle Deposit Law as a raw material. The project is expected to be completed in late 2020.

“Keeping pace with the growing demand in the upper Midwest for quality loose-fill insulation products will be made possible through the expansion of our plant here in Albion,” said Kevin Keen, plant manager at Albion.

The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) has approved a US$200,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant in support of the project. The MSF also approved a 100%, 15-year State Essential Services Act exemption valued at US$780,000.

US: Kingspan Insulated Panels has appointed Quincy McBride as its director of marketing for North America. He will be based out of Kingspan's DeLand headquarters in Florida.

Previously, McBride served as marketing communications manager at Morris Group International. He also worked as a marketing communications manager at Proactive Management Consulting, event sales manager at InterContinental Hotels Group and as an account executive at Pearson.

US: Rockwool’s Comfortboard stone wool insulation product has been certified by the California State Fire Marshall’s Building Materials Listing (BML) Program. The product is resistant to fire up to 1175˚C and has a 0/0 Smoke Development and Flame Spread rating. The BML Program certifies products based upon an evaluation of test results that include an analysis of required product performance and reliability features. The testing was completed with a State Fire Marshall (SFM) accredited laboratory.

“This listing supports our continued commitment in the promotion of fire safe building practices and helps us deliver on products that will help architects and builders meet the California Title 24 thermal and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) requirements,” said Mark Bromiley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, Rockwool (North America).

US: Mohawk Industries says that its insulation business is performing ‘well’ as its polyurethane product takes share from other product types. The flooring manufacturer’s net sales grew slightly to US$4.99bn in the first half of 2019.

US: Owens Corning’s insulation business earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 30% year-on-year to US$57m in the first half of 2019 from US$81m in the same period in 2018. Its net sales dropped by 2% to US$1.25bn from US$1.28bn. Overall sales and EBIT, across all business lines, grew slightly driving by the roofing business.

North America: A survey by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) shows that its members used around 1.17Mt of recycled glass to produce residential, commercial and industrial thermal and acoustical insulation in 2018. The survey included data from both US and Canadian production plants. Producers also used over 0.45Mt of recycled blast furnace slag in the production of thermal and acoustic insulation.

US: IQ Fibers plans to build a cellulose insulation plant at West Easton in Pennsylvania. The project will have an investment from US$5.4m and it will create 43 jobs. The company has received funding from the Department of Community and Economic Development to develop the unit.

“We are extremely proud of our facility and the highly engineered cellulose fibre products we manufacture. With the market demand for more environmentally-friendly solutions, we believe this is the right time and place to launch our company. We greatly appreciate the assistance of the Governor’s Action Team and Governor Wolf’s commitment for business growth,” said George Day, chief executive officer (CEO) of IQ Fibers.

IQ Fibers is a start-up cellulose fibre manufacturer. Its line of products includes high-quality cellulose insulation and absorbents that are sold to distributors, contract installers and end users, as well as government agencies, utility companies, and related programs.

US: Owens Corning has appointed Todd Fister as the president of its insulation division from 15 July 2019. He succeeds Julian Francis, who will become president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Beacon Roofing Supply. Fister will report directly to Brian Chambers, the president and CEO of Owens Corning.

Fister currently serves as Vice President, Global Insulation and Strategy. Prior to this role, he served as Vice President and Managing Director for European Insulation and Global Foamglas. Before joining Owens Corning in 2014, he worked in various marketing, strategy and finance positions at MeadWestvaco and Kimberly-Clark. Fister began his career at Procter & Gamble, where he served in multiple finance roles. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.