Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Cal Dooley, the president and chief executive officer of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), has warned that a proposed Chinese response to US-imposed tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminium could have negative implications for US exports of products including polyethylene.

“China is one of the US chemical industry’s most important trading partners, importing 11%, or US$3.2bn, of all US plastic resins in 2017. We are particularly concerned that 40% of the products to which China has assigned new tariffs are chemicals, including polyethylene, PVC, polycarbonates, acrylates, and others,” said Dooley in a statement. He added that nearly US$185bn in new chemical factories, expansions and restarts of facilities around the US are predicated on current tariff schedules, and market shifts caused by tariff increases may convince investors to do business elsewhere. He ‘strongly’ urged the US and China to reach an agreement.

US: Owens Corning has appointed Marcio Sandri as President, Composites with effect from 25 May 2018. Sandri will report to chairman and chief executive officer Mike Thaman. He succeeds Arnaud Genis who has decided to retire.

Sandri currently serves as Vice President, Global Strategy and Operations for the company’s Composites business. Prior to this role, he was Vice President and Managing Director of Glass Reinforcements, encompassing core glass fibre production, technical fabrics and specialty glass within the Composites business. He also had enterprise-wide responsibility for operations and supply chain activity. Since joining Owens Corning in 2000, Sandri had several commercial roles with responsibility for the US, Latin America, Canada, and Asia Pacific. Before Owens Corning, he worked at Dow Chemical in Latin America and the US.

Sandri holds a degree in chemical engineering from the Federal University of Parana and studied business administration at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

US: Huntsman Corporation has acquired Demilec, a manufacturer and distributor of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation systems for residential and commercial applications, from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners for US$350m. The transaction is expected to close by the end of second quarter of 2018.

“Demilec has pioneered MDI SPF insulation and coating technologies for over 30 years, building a strong market reputation with architects, builders and designers. Demilec and the entire SPF industry has delivered strong double digit growth, which we expect to be sustained as their technology provides outstanding insulation performance in a world which is increasingly concerned with improving energy efficiency," said Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman's Polyurethanes division. He added that the company would be used to ‘aggressively’ expand the business into international markets.

Demilec has revenues of approximately US$170m/yr and two manufacturing plants located in Arlington, Texas and Boisbriand, Quebec where it produces a products from methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) based SPF formulations. It markets these directly to applicators as well as through distributors. Demilec specialises in both closed cell and open cell formulations, with a focus on products with renewable and recyclable content.

US: Owens Corning’s net sales rose by 12.5% year-on-year to US$6.38bn in 2017 from US$5.68bn in 2016. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 5.4% to US$737m from US$699m. The building materials producer’s sales from its insulation division rose by 14.5% to US$2.00bn from US$1.75bn and its EBIT rose by 40.5% to US$177m from US$126m.

“Owens Corning had another great year. We were pleased by the continued momentum in our three businesses and the addition of Paroc and Foamglas to our portfolio,” said chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Mike Thaman.

US: Johns Manville (JM) has appointed Eric Cremer is the company’s new Chief Human Resources Officer with immediate effect. Cremer has worked for the past two years as Director of Human Resources for JM’s Engineered Products business. In his new role, Cremer will be responsible for all aspects of JM’s global human resources and communications organisation.

Cremer worked at Merck & Co, Agilent Technologies and Kraft Foods before joining Johns Manville in 2004. Over the next eight years he held a variety of human resource (HR) positions, including North America Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Senior HR Manager and Regional HR Manager in McPherson, Kansas. Cremer left JM in 2012 to work as Vice President of Human Resources at Vistar in Centennial, Colo. He returned to JM in 2016 and became a member of the Engineered Products leadership team. He holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Labour and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

US: Owens Corning has completed its acquisition of Finland’s Paroc Group for Euro900m. Completion followed the US company obtaining all the necessary regulatory clearances to buy the mineral wool producer.

“We’ve had a strategic goal to broaden our product portfolio and diversify our geographic scope to better address our customers’ needs and support their growth. The acquisition of Paroc does both. We now have a leading position in Europe and in the global mineral wool business,” said Julian Francis, president of Owens Corning’s Insulation Business.

US: Owens Corning has appointed Adrienne D Elsner to its board of directors. Elsner joined Kellogg Company in August 2015. Prior to joining Kellogg Company, she served more than 20 years at Kraft Foods, including Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Her experience also includes sales roles at Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. Elsner has served on the Board of Directors of the Ad Council as well as the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. She holds a bachelor's degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Studies from the University of Arizona and a MBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Chicago.

US: Germany’s BASF plans to start building a methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) synthesis unit at its Verbund plant in Geismar, Louisiana in the second quarter of 2018. Planning and engineering for the new unit started in 2016 and were recently completed. The upgrade is expected to double the company’s MDI production capacity to nearly 0.6Mt/yr from 0.3Mt/yr. The investment is planned to support the growth of BASF’s North American business.

US: The German vacuum panel insulation product manufacturer Va-Q-tec has opened its new headquarters in the UY at Langhorne, Pennsylvania. The new site will become the US welcome and innovation centre and showcase Va-Q-tec’s latest products. In addition, Va-Q-tec will also manufacture its small box containers in Langhorne and will use the location as a hub for its rental and repair station. Although the new site will focus on thermal packaging products for industries such as the pharmaceutical sector the company also manufactures vacuum panel insulation products for the construction industry.

Ireland/US: Ireland’s Kingspan has invested US$10m to buy a minority stake in Invicara, US-based a provider of software for the construction industry. Invicara has developed products that integrate with Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology, allowing collaboration between partners on construction projects such as architects, engineers and contractors. Louise Foody, Kingspan's Director of Digital and Brand, and Mike Stenson, Head of Innovation at Kingspan, will also join Invicara’s board of directors.

"For manufacturers of building systems and solutions, digitalisation enabled by technologies like BIM is a game changer. At Kingspan, we aim to leverage digital technologies to further align our offerings with our customer's needs and more efficiently collaborate with owners, designers, and contractors at every stage of the building lifecycle," said Foody.

BIM Assure, the first product built on the Invicara platform allows owners to access, validate, and report on model data. The product is currently in use on projects in North America, Ireland, the UK, Australia and Singapore.