Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) has appointed Stacy Fitzgerald-Redd as its director of communications. Fitzgerald-Redd is responsible for developing and implementing marketing and communications initiatives designed in support of the mission of NAIMA for fiberglass, rock wool and slag wool insulation products.

Fitzgerald-Redd was most recently with the USA Rice Federation, where she spent six years developing and implementing communication strategies, writing and editing reports, publications and newsletters, managing social media outreach and serving as a media spokesperson. She also worked in employee and customer communications at AMTRAK and spent 13 years working in research, communications and education for the Food Marketing Institute, the international trade association of the supermarket industry. Fitzgerald-Redd holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Virginia State University.

US/Canada: According to a survey by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA), US producers used over 0.70Mt of recycled glass in the production of residential, commercial, industrial and air-handling thermal and acoustical insulation in 2012. Canadian members used around 0.14Mt of recycled glass. The survey investigated members' use of pre- and post-consumer recycled materials in insulation products in 2012.

US and Canadian facilities used over 0.22Mt of recycled blast furnace slag in the production of thermal and acoustical insulation. Since the industry's recycling programme began in 1992, NAIMA members' plants have diverted around 20Mt of recycled materials from the waste stream.

"NAIMA members are committed to promoting sustainability by using recycled materials to produce energy-saving insulation products that improve a building's energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact," said Kate Offringa, President and CEO of NAIMA.

Denmark/US: The Danish insulation group Rockwool Group has announced that it has entered into an agreement, on behalf of its RockfonGroup affiliate, to acquire the American ceiling company Chicago Metallic Corporation (CMC). CMC, headquartered in Chicago, is a global provider of architectural building products and services, including metal panels and ceiling systems, suspended grid systems and acoustical and sustainable ceiling panels. It has a network of sales and distribution channels throughout North America, Europe and Asia supported by production facilities in China, Malaysia, Belgium and the US.

Founded in 1893, CMC has been owned by the Jahn family since 1937. Current Chairman and CEO, Charles Jahn commented, "The complementary product and service offerings of Rockfon and CMC will provide our mutual customers with a wider choice throughout the world. The values of the Jahn and Kähler founding families are strongly aligned and will provide an excellent platform to continue to serve our customers well into the future. We look forward to the exciting growth opportunities to come from this transaction."

Commenting on the acquisition, Division Managing Director of the Rockwool Group's Systems Division, Herman Voortman, said, "This acquisition complements well the existing Rockfon business concept. It will allow us to offer and develop more complete solutions to our customers by offering not only ceiling panels but also the metallic grid which is a key element in the suspended ceiling system."

US: A fire was reported at an Owens Corning insulation warehouse in Newark, Ohio on 14 August 2013. According to the Newark Advocate, a fire broke out in the building materials producer's No. 77 warehouse containing bales of insulation.

Chuck Hartlage, senior communications leader at Owens Corning, confirmed that 30 employees were working in the building at the time and left the site safely. Production in the pipe insulation and mineral wool insulation plants was unaffected. Loading the operation in the main warehouse resumed on the same day. No cause for the fire has been found.

US: Johns Manville (JM) has earned a significant rebate from Energizing Indiana, Richmond Power & Light (RP&L) and the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) for energy-efficiency improvements to its Richmond Insulation Systems facility in Indiana.

Through its participation in Energizing Indiana's Commercial & Industrial Prescriptive Rebate Programme, JM received a US$68,554 rebate for implementing energy-efficient lighting improvements designed to help the facility reduce its energy usage and promote cost savings. The rebate is the largest issued thus far to any of IMPA's 59 member communities involved in the Energizing Indiana programme. The retrofit project cut the facility's lighting energy consumption by approximately 80% and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1800t/yr of carbon dioxide, over 9t/yr of sulfur dioxide, and approximately 2.25t/yr of nitrogen oxide. 



Zane Carpenter, JM's manager for Energy Engineering, said that the project is a good example of JM's commitment to sustainability, saying, "This retrofit project provides a reduction in energy usage that helps the utility curtail the need to add capacity to the grid. It helps reduce greenhouse gas emission derived from electricity production. It helps the community by injecting money into the economy and putting people to work, including the lighting designers, manufacturers and local contractors. It also helps the business maintain a healthy bottom line by reducing overall operating costs. It's really a win for the company, the community, the utility and the environment."

US: Owens Corning has reported a rise in adjusted earnings of 5% to US$69m in the second quarter of 2013 compared to US$67m in the same period of 2012.

The company's consolidated net sales fell slightly to US$1.35bn from US$1.39bn. The building materials manufacturer's adjusted earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) improved by 6% to US$124m in the second quarter of 2013 from US$17m in the same period in 2012. Also of note in the quarter, in June 2013 Owens Corning acquired Thermafiber, a mineral wool insulation manufacturer.

"We are pleased with our progress in the second quarter and the first half of 2013, with strong margin performance in our Roofing business, price increases and operating leverage in Insulation and improved performance in Composites," said chairman and chief executive officer Mike Thaman.

In its outlook the company expected profitability to improve in 2013 compared to 2012 due to company action, an improving US housing market and moderate global growth. The company expects stronger insulation volumes in the second-half of 2013 driven by residential construction, high capacity utilisation and improved pricing.

US: Owens Corning has met all seven of its self-declared environmental footprint goals, the company announced as it released its seventh Sustainability Report. The fibre-glass manufacturer is now reporting against its 2020 goals.

"Our accomplishments are representative of the progress we have made this past year, but we clearly recognise that we have much more to do on the path to becoming a more sustainable, and preferably, a net-positive company," said Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Frank O'Brien-Bernini. "Across our company, these goals inspire innovation, creativity, external collaboration and broad engagement."

Progress towards the 2020 goals include the completion of several greenhouse gas reduction projects whilst preparing for others, including diesel-to-natural gas transportation fuel-switching, fuel cells, waste heat recovery, biomass, solar, and combined heat and power. The company has partnered with the World Resources Institute on its Aqueduct project to conduct a global water stress assessment of Owens Corning's global operations and completed several successful major water use reduction projects in stressed areas. It has released the first Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for fibreglass insulation in North America. It has also highlighted sustainability expectations in its Supplier and Employee Code of Conducts.

US: Owens Corning has appointed Edward Lonergan, the CEO of Chiquita, to its board of directors. The appointment is effective from 18 September 2013.

"We welcome Ed to our board of directors," said Owens Corning chairman and chief executive officer Mike Thaman. "His global experience and strong commercial background make him a valuable addition to the board. We are delighted to have recruited such an outstanding director."

Lonergan was named CEO of Chiquita in 2012 and currently serves on the company's board of directors. Chiquita is a leading international marketer and distributor of bananas, packaged salads and other fresh produce. He previously served as director, president and CEO of Diversey, a leading global provider of sustainable cleaning, sanitation and hygiene solutions, from February 2006 through the sale of the company to Sealed Air Corporation in October 2011.

Lonergan has also held positions at the Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble from 1981 to 2002. He is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York.

US: Roxul, a subsidiary of Denmark-based Rockwool International, has officially broken ground on its US$160m, 183,000m²/yr mineral wool plant in Byhalia, Mississippi. The facility, which was announced in June 2012, will create 150 jobs when it is completed in 2014. The location will be Roxul's first plant outside of Canada.

"Rockwool and Roxul are delighted to be locating and constructing our first United States plant and believe that this will enable us to meet the growing demand for our stone wool insulation product," said president of Roxul, Trent Ogilvie in a statement. He added that the company had analysed several possible sites in the south-eastern US before selecting Byhalia.

US: Owens Corning has reported consolidated net sales of US$1.3bn in the first quarter of 2013, little change from the same period of 2012. However, the company reported net earnings of US$22m in the first quarter of 2013, compared to a net loss of US$46m in 2012.

"Insulation demonstrated strong price execution and is on track for full-year profitability and double-digit revenue growth in 2013," said chairman and chief executive Officer Mike Thaman. He added that the company remains reliant on

the pace of the US housing recovery and its impact on the margin performance of the Building Materials businesses for future performance.

For its outlook Owens Corning expects at least US$100m in adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) improvement over 2012 as a result of company actions, an improving US housing market and moderate global growth. It said that the insulation sector will continue to benefit from the growth in US residential new construction, higher asset utilisation rates and better pricing.