Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: The board of directors of Stepan Company has unanimously appointed F Quinn Stepan, Jr, the company's president and CEO and a director, to succeed F Quinn Stepan as chairman. Stepan, Jr will assume the role upon his father’s retirement on 31 December 2016. Stepan, Sr has served as chairman since 1984, and previously served as CEO of the company from November 1984 to December 2005. The company also announced that Edward J Wehmer will serve as lead independent director, effective upon Stepan Sr's retirement.

US: Installed Building Products has purchased East Coast Insulators, a provider of insulation services to residential and commercial customers in the Virginia, West Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland markets through two Virginia locations. "With US$20m of annual revenues, East Coast Insulators has a large presence within strong and growing markets, and this acquisition will help expand our presence in the mid-Atlantic region," said Jeff Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer of Installed Building Products.

US: Kingspan Insulation has launched Kooltherm, its rigid thermoset insulation, in the US. The line offers a range of products for wall, floor, soffit and rainscreen applications. It has a fibre-free rigid thermoset phenolic insulation core that resists both moisture and water vapour ingress.

"Kingspan is committed to bringing its globally-innovative technology to the North American market," said Alswinn Kieboom, managing director, Kingspan Insulation North America. "As part of this continuing effort, we are excited to offer our Kooltherm insulation to the construction marketplace. Our class-leading R-value and fire resistance properties will prove to be beneficial to the construction community."

US: Kingspan Insulation has started an expansion project at its Winchester plant in Virginia. The US$25m investment in the plant will be used to install a new extruded polystyrene insulation (XPS) insulation manufacturing line.

"We are pleased to announce that the installation is proceeding on time and on cost," said Kingspan Insulation North America's Managing Director Alswinn Kieboom.

Once the project is completed, it will allow Kingspan Insulation to continue to service demand for its GreenGuard line of XPS board products. The products feature moisture resistance, an R-value of 5.0 per inch of thickness and are suitable for a range of applications including cavity walls, continuous insulation, roofs, below-grade perimeter foundation and slab-on-grade.

As part of this investment programme, Kingspan Insulation has announced its intent to begin production of high performance, polyiso insulation in North America, providing an even greater choice for specifiers and contractors.

Kingspan Insulation is currently considering locations for three new production lines. Locations under consideration are at its existing plant in Virginia, at its sister company sites in California, Florida, Ohio, as well as sites in Nevada and Texas in the US, plus Ontario and British Columbia.

US: Toray Industries has released plans to increase the production capacity of Toraypef polyolefin foam manufactured at Toray Plastics (America). The Japanese chemical manufacturer will invest US$39m towards building a 3000t/yr unit at its TPA Virginia Plant. The new facility is expected to start operations in the beginning of 2018. The expansion of the production facility will boost TPA's Toraypef production to 7500t/yr.

Toraypef is a polyolefin foam developed using Toray's proprietary manufacturing method, and it is adopted for various purposes including thermal insulation. Principally the product is being targeted at car production.

US: Installed Building Products has acquired Southern Insulators & Specialties, a fibreglass and spray foam insulation installer based in Covington, Louisiana. No value for the purchase was released.

"Southern has a large presence in the state of Louisiana with trailing-12 month revenues of approximately US$5m," said Jeff Edwards, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He added that Installed Building Products has completed six acquisitions, representing nearly US$53m of annual revenue, since the start of 2016.

US: Installed Building Products’ (IBP) net revenue has risen by 40% year-on-year to US$404m in the first half of 2016 from US$290m in the same period of 2015. Its net income more than doubled to US$15.8m from US$7.7m. The insulation installation company attributed the strong result to growth in the residential building market.

"Our results continue to benefit from strength throughout the homebuilding industry, growth at our existing branch locations and the contribution of our recently acquired businesses,” said Jeff Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer of IBP.

US: Owens Corning’s sales revenue has risen by 7% year-on-year to US$2.78bn in the first half of 2016 from US$2.61bn in the same period in 2016. Its net earnings rose by 78% to US$198m from US$111m. However, sales revenue for its insulation business fell by 4% to US$799m from US$830m. No reason for the decline in insulation revenue was given, but the company expects slightly negative revenue growth and relatively flat margins to continue for the full year.

US: Demand for plastic foams in the US is forecast to rise 2.3%/yr to 4Mt in 2020, valued at US$25.2bn, according to a report by the Freedonia Group. A report summary stated that growth will decelerate from the rate posted during the 2010-2015 period and that the construction sector is anticipated to lead growth prospects, which will see additional opportunities for foam insulation products bolstered by increasing construction activity.

Elsewhere, rising consumer spending levels will bode well for foams used in household products such as bedding, furniture and appliances. In the motor vehicle market, advances will slow in tandem with slowing motor vehicle production and by trends towards smaller, more fuel efficient cars that require less foam on a per vehicle basis.

US: USA Insulation has opened a foam insulation plant in Cleveland, Ohio to meet increased demand for its products. The location was chosen because the injection foam franchise has its headquarters in the town.

"With over 50,000 homes insulated to date, our brand is now recognised as one of the premier residential retrofit insulation companies in America," said Patrick Pitrone, president of USA Insulation Franchise Corporation. "USA Insulation's proprietary injection foam has been used in the sidewalls of new and existing homes for over 30 years and boasts some of the highest R-ratings in the insulation industry."