Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

New Zealand: Fletcher Building has appointed Tony Dragicevich as a non-executive director and member of its board of directors, effective from 1 August 2024. Dragicevich previously served as managing director and CEO of aluminium producer Capral, and has held leadership positions at Wattyl Group, GWA Bathrooms and Kitchens, Red Paper Group and Carter Holt Harvey Insulation. He holds a commerce degree from the University of Auckland.

Acting chair Barbara Chapman said "Tony is a highly accomplished CEO and director who brings significant experience in leading distribution and manufacturing businesses across Australia and New Zealand. His successful career in the building products sector, combined with his strong track record of delivering value for shareholders, make him an excellent addition to Fletcher Building's Board."

US: Continental Materials has appointed Ralph Bove as senior vice president strategy and growth. The company newly created the role for Bove, as part of its efforts to enhance its national presence in roofing distribution. Bove’s background includes both branch and executive management levels in national and regional independent roofing distribution. Continental Materials says that his leadership will help to ensure the continuous improvements needed to meet current and future demand and changes in the roofing industry. Continental Materials produces fibre insulation boards for roofing, alongside other materials for roofing systems.

President and CEO Peter Fischer said "We are excited to make this addition to our team. Ralph's experience in the roofing distribution business and his vast industry knowledge makes him a strong asset as we continue to expand our business and product offerings nationally. With the addition of Ralph and his professional capabilities, we continue to show our commitment to the industry with strategic growth and additional support for our valued customers."

US: The National Insulation Association (NIA) has announced its new appointments to its executive committee and board of directors for 2024. Johns Manville’s senior industrial product manager Jack Bittner takes over as NIA president, with Performance Contracting’s senior vice president operations Rick Sutphin serving as president elect. Thermal Solutions’ president John Stevens will be NIA secretary and treasurer, and Systems Undercover’s operations manager Lee Stuckenschmidt will be assistant treasurer.

Representing different regions of the US on the board, Brian Willett of Gribbins Insulation Company will serve the Central States Association, Rick Baptista of Irex Contracting Group will serve the Eastern States Insulation Contractors Association, Matt Hymer of Midwest Materials will serve the Midwest Insulation Contractors Association, Matt Caldwell of Caldwell Insulation will serve the Southeastern Insulation Contractors Association, David Patrick of Specialty Products & Insulation will serve the Southwest Insulation Contractors Association and Shawn Reichenbach of Performance Contracting will serve the Western Insulation Contractors Association.

Germany: Measurement systems supplier Fagus-GreCon has announced the appointment of Mario Haas to its management team. Haas has served as head of the company’s fire protection unit since December 2019 and its head of information technology since December 2020. Haas joined Fagus-GreCon from glass producer SCHOTT in 2019. He has worked in industry since 2005, after gaining his engineering degree from Dortmund University and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Stuttgart Institute of Management and Technology. Mario Haas takes the place of former technical managing director Michael Gawronski on the management team, who has left the company with immediate effect. Uwe Kahmann will remain responsible for commercial management, while Alexander Kuppe continues to head the company’s marketing, sales, after sales and service departments.

Chair Stephan Weber said "The shareholders would like to thank Dr Gawronski for his important achievements and contributions and wish him all the best for the future. At the same time, with the appointment of Mr Haas as the third managing director, we are emphasising the growing importance of the fire prevention business unit in our company."

Belgium: Recticel has appointed Jan Vergote as its chief executive officer (CEO). He succeeds Olivier Chapelle, who will start the handover process in September 2023.

Vergote has worked as the head of a number of European companies notably in the flooring sector. He was the CEO of IVC Group from 2008 to 2021. Prior to this he was the managing director of Balta Group from 2003 to 2008 and Beaulieu International Group from 1996 to 2002.

US: Owens Corning has appointed Nicolas Del Monaco as the president of its insulation business with effect from 15 September 2023. He will succeed Todd Fister in the post, who is taking over the role of chief financial officer. Del Monaco will report directly to chair and chief executive officer Brian Chambers and serve as a member of the company’s executive committee.

Del Monaco joined Owens Corning in 2000 and currently serves as senior vice president and managing director of the company’s European operations, leading a team of 4400 employees spanning both the Insulation and Composites businesses. Prior to that, he served as vice president of non-wovens and glass reinforcements Europe. During his tenure with the company, he has also held a variety of finance, operations and general management roles.

US: Todd Fister will take over as chief financial officer (CFO) at Owens Corning from 15 September 2023. Fister brings 27 years’ experience at Fortune 500 companies spanning the global building materials, consumer products and packaging industries. This includes working as president of Owens Corning’s Insulation business since 2019, where he leads a team of 8000 people. His work in the role has included developing the producer’s enterprise strategy. Fister also sits on the Owens Corning executive committee. He holds an economics degree from Miami University, and also obtained a PhD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Owens Corning chair and CEO Brian Chambers said "I've worked closely with Todd over the past several years, and am excited to welcome him to the CFO role. Todd brings a broad set of financial, operational and strategic experiences and capabilities to the new role, along with invaluable customer perspective, that will be critical as we continue to accelerate our growth and expand the earnings power of our company."

Fister will replace Ken Parks, who is stepping down to pursue another professional opportunity. Thanking Parks for his contributions while CFO, Chambers said “Under Ken's leadership, we have strengthened the capability of our global finance team and consistently delivered our financial targets."

UK/Ireland: Knauf Insulation has appointed Ross Foreman as its National Wood Wool Manager for UK & Ireland. Foreman will support the company’s drive to meet increasing demand for its Heraklith range of wood wool products.

Knauf Insulation offers two core products in the Heraklith range: the Heraklith A2 Decorative Panel, which is a cement-bonded wood wool panel; and the Heraklith Tektalan A2 SmartTec, which is a cement-bonded wood wool panel combined with a rock mineral wool insulation core. Both products are non-combustible with A2 - s1, d0 Euroclass reaction to fire classification.

The Heraklith A2 Decorative Panel is designed for use in residential, recreational, industrial and commercial environments where sound absorption is desired. It is available in three panel thicknesses with thermal conductivity of 0.085W/mK.

Heraklith Tektalan A2 SmartTec is suitable for insulating the soffits of carparks and underground garages, basement ceilings and technical rooms. It has a thermal conductivity of 0.095W/mK and the mineral wool core a thermal conductivity of 0.034W/mK.

UK: Denmark-based Rockwool has appointed Hedley Thompson as Rockwool’s Recladding and Façades Sector Manager in the UK. The position is a newly created role in the company. Thompson’s appointment is the first step in the creation of a new team which will target housing associations, local authorities and housebuilders.

Hedley has worked for Rockwool UK since 2014 in the position of Technical Specification – Façades. Prior to this he held a variety of technical and operations roles with the construction sector.

US: Owens Corning has announced its conclusion of a deal to buy polyurethane (PU) foam insulation producer Natural Polymers. The companies say that Natural Polymers president and CEO Benjamin Brown will take on an innovation leadership role at Owens Corning following the completion of the transaction.