Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Johns Manville (JM) has announced a significant upgrade to its nonwoven glass mat production plant in Waterville, Ohio. Beginning in late 2015, JM will upgrade an existing nonwoven mat line with advanced manufacturing technology that will allow it to better serve customers in growing segments of the global specialty glass mat market. JM anticipates the upgraded production line will be fully operational in early 2016.

"Our upgraded Waterville plant will enable JM to provide global product capability between Europe and the Americas and to deliver global product consistency with regional availability," said Tanya Bradby, portfolio leader of Nonwovens America.

US: The Owens Corning Foundation will donate US$1.1m in cash and gifts-in-kind to Habitat for Humanity International over three years. The partnership will support house construction and revitalisation projects nationwide.

The Owens Corning Foundation has donated US$200,000 for 2015 and pledged US$200,000/yr for 2016 and 2017. Additionally, Owens Corning anticipates gift-in-kind donations of US$500,000 over the three years. These gifts include insulation and roofing products to support Habitat's affordable housing efforts.

"One of the most important benefits of community investment is the positive impact it has on our employees and the communities where they live and work," said Don Rettig, president of the Owens Corning Foundation. "Habitat is an ideal partner for Owens Corning. We provide financial support, donate building materials and encourage employee volunteerism. What's more, Habitat has a presence in nearly every Owens Corning location across the US and Canada."

During 2015 - 2017, Owens Corning will also contribute and install science-supported insulating systems and its Total Protection Roofing System™. These systems are designed to improve the thermal, air and moisture performance in the building envelope of Habitat homes, as well as help protect them from harsh weather conditions.

"We are grateful for Owens Corning's commitment to Habitat for Humanity," said Colleen Finn Ridenhour, deputy director of Corporate, Foundation and Institution Relations for Habitat for Humanity International. "Their support will enable us to help more families have access to safe, decent, affordable homes where they can create a brighter future."

Cash and gifts-in-kind from the Owens Corning Foundation and the company itself totalled more than US$1m in 2012 – 2014. The gifts-in-kind insulated and/or roofed more than 1100 homes. Owens Corning employees participated in more than 30 Habitat builds across the United States and Canada during this period. Owens Corning has supported Habitat for Humanity since 1997.

US: Owens Corning Insulating Systems LLC has announced plans to produce fibreglass insulation with an all-service jacket for Aquatherm metric-sized polypropylene-random (PP-R) piping systems as part of an exclusive agreement with Aquatherm North America.

US: Stepan plans to sell its speciality polyurethanes business to J6 Polymers. In 2014, the business generated sales of US$2.8bn. Stepan expects to make US$2.5 - 2.8m from the deal.
The sale includes intellectual property, formulations and production units, as well as client and supplier lists. Stepan makes polyurethanes at its plant in Millsdale, Illinois. It also uses custom manufacturers. Stepan will continue making polyurethanes on J6 Polymers' behalf at its Millsdale plant during the transition period. Stepan's polyurethanes are used in thermal insulation, coatings, adhesives, insulation materials and elastomers.

US: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company, has launched JM Spider® Plus blow-in insulation, a re-engineered blow-in system. JM Spider Plus replaces JM Spider spray-in fibreglass insulation and JM said that it is ideal for residential, commercial and manufactured buildings.

JM Spider Plus is designed for installation by professionals using a blowing wool machine and features 'Interlocking Fibre Technology,' a new innovation from JM. Interlocking Fibre Technology allows the insulation fibres to spring and lock into cavities with no adhesive or netting. JM Spider Plus achieves an R-value of 15 in a 2x4 cavity and an R-23 in 2x6 walls.

JM Spider Plus is available to customers in North America immediately.

Canada/US: Roxul, a subsidiary of Rockwool International, has adopted a new 'strategic direction' for the North American Industrial, Marine and Offshore business. Effective from 1 January 2015, the Roxul Industrial & Marine team has been integrated into a global platform with Rockwool Technical Insulation (RTI) to create Roxul Technical Insulation.

"With our existing expertise and combined resources, Roxul Technical Insulation can provide improved support to its North American customers by leveraging our global influence, ultimately bringing greater value to our local response," said Mike Kozokowsky, vice president Industrial, Sales. The North American team will continue to be headquartered out of Roxul's Milton offices in Ontario, Canada.

US: Honeywell has launched full-scale commercial production of a low-global-warming-potential (GWP) material for use as an aerosol propellant, insulating agent and refrigerant at its Flourine Products Baton Rouge production facility in Louisiana. The material is known by the industry designation HFO-1234ze and is marketed by Honeywell under its Solstice line of low-global-warming materials.

"Honeywell's Baton Rouge plant is ready to serve customers around the world with this innovative material, which has an ultra-low GWP of less than 1," said Ken Gayer, vice president and general manager of Honeywell's Fluorine Products business. "We are seeing increasing demand for our entire Solstice line of low GWP materials and this new product has already been adopted by a range of customers globally."

In September 2014, Honeywell announced that it would increase production of its low GWP refrigerants, insulation materials, aerosols and solvents and, prior to 2020, will drive a 50%/yr reduction in its production of high GWP hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) on a CO₂ equivalent basis. Honeywell officials project the use of its low GWP Solstice materials to replace HFCs will eliminate more than 350Mt in CO₂ equivalents by 2025, equivalent to removing 70m cars from the road for one year.

HFO-1234ze is a next-generation material that is non-ozone-depleting, non-flammable per ASTM E681 and ISO 10156:2010 testing and has a low-global-warming-potential of <1. It is also not a volatile organic compound (VOC), as determined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resource Board (CARB).

According to officials, HFO-1234ze is considered a preferred replacement for both HFC-134a (which has GWP of 1,300) and HFC-152a (which is flammable and has a GWP of 138) in aerosol applications and thermal insulating foams, including extruded polystyrene board and polyurethane foams. It is also being considered to replace HFC-134a for large stationary and commercial refrigeration applications and, compared to other low GWP refrigerant options, Honeywell's HFO-1234ze provides energy efficiency benefits.

US: NCFI's spray polyurethane foam insulation (SPF) was successfully used in the second stage liquid fuel tank for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Orion spacecraft launch and test flight on 5 December 2014.

"NASA and the United Launch Alliance (ULA - the Boeing and Lockheed consortium), uses our polyurethane foam insulation, specially-formulated for high temperature and extreme pressure applications, on their external liquid fuel tanks to prevent condensation and the formation of ice on the tanks that could come free and harm the main vehicle," said Clarence Tolbert, vice president with NCFI. "The fuel tanks of the Delta IV Heavy three-core rocket contain liquid hydrogen and oxygen and are actually a tank within a tank covered by a skin onto which our foam insulation is spray applied. Nothing covers the foam, so it's pretty obvious as the golden yellow, or slightly orange acreage on the exterior of Orion."

Orion's first test flight took the unmanned vehicle to an altitude of just under 6000km with a re-entry speed of up to 32,000km/hr and temperatures up to 2200°C. Previously NCFI worked on the space shuttle's External Tank Programme.

US: Installed Building Products has acquired Installed Building Solutions (IBS), an installer of fibreglass insulation, spray foam insulation and waterproofing products. IBS primarily serves select markets across Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. Its sales for the 12 months that ended 30 September 2014 were approximately US$17.4m.

US: Element Partners, a growth equity firm focused on investing in businesses providing innovative products, software and services to the energy and industrial markets, has executed a definitive agreement to sell Icynene to FFL Partners.

Established in 1986, Icynene manufactures and supplies spray foam insulation. In the past 25 years, more than 3Bnft² of Icynene spray foam insulation has been installed in nearly 500,000 residential and commercial projects.