Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Michael Darr has been appointed as the operations manager of Firestone Building Products’ plant in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He previously worked as the plant manager for Bridgestone’s tyre plant in Wilson, North Carolina, according to the Wilson Daily Times newspaper. Firestone, a subsidiary of Bridgestone, purchased Gaco Western, a producer of insulation and roofing products, in April 2017 including the Waukesha site.

UK: Knauf Insulation has appointed Vanessa Rae as Marketing Director to lead all Northern European marketing activities. She brings over 20 years experience in business-to-business marketing roles in Belgium, Germany and the UK. Previously she worked as the head of marketing and communications for the digital organisation at Rolls-Royce. Prior to this, Rae managed international marketing teams at Kingspan Insulated Panels and NSG Group (Pilkington Glass).

Germany: Xella International has announced changes to the management of its subsidiary Ursa. Jochen Friedrichs has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of its subsidiary Ursa. He will also join the Xella Group Executive Committee. Xella said Friedrichs was responsible for the acquisition of Ursa on the Xella side of and therefore holds ‘detailed’ knowledge of both Ursa and Xella.

Other appointments include the assignment of Björn Baum as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Ursa. He will also remain as the Head of Xella Group’s Energy Management. Joaquín Lozano Agramunt will retain his position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Ursa. In addition, Ana Lluch Martinez, Chief Legal and HR, and Gonzalo de las Alas-Pumariño, Head of Technology and Projects, will become members of the Ursa Executive Committee.

Xella International announced that it was buying Spain’s Ursa in August 2017. The European Commission approved the acquisition of the insulation producer by Xella in October 2017. The acquisition is expected to compete by the end of 2017.

UK: SIG has appointed Andrew Allner as its chairman with effect from 1 November 2017. He will also take the role as a non-executive director. He succeeds Leslie Van De Walle who first announced his intention to retire in March 2017. Van De Walle will now step down as chairman and retire as a director on 31 October 2017.

Allner is currently the chairman of Marshalls, the Go-Ahead Group and Fox Marble Holdings, and a non-executive director at Northgate. Marshalls has announced that it will now start the process to recruit a successor to Allner and
that he will resign from the Marshall's board, once the new chairman is established in position. He was previously Non-Executive Director of AZ Electronic Materials, until 2014, and CSR, until 2013. Previous executive roles include Group Finance Director of RHM and chief executive officer (CEO) of Enodis. He also held senior executive positions with Dalgety, Amersham International and Guinness. Allner is a chartered accountant, former partner of Price Waterhouse and graduate of the University of Oxford.

UK: Knauf Insulation has appointed Lisa Richardson as a new product manager to lead the development of its glass mineral wool range. She will be responsible for working with customers to grow Knauf Insulation’s glass product range, which includes Supafil, its blowing glass mineral wool, OmniFit, its multi-application product, and its DriTherm cavity slabs.

Richardson joins the insulation producer from ladder manufacturer Werner. Prior to that, she worked with a number of product categories, including hand tools, personal protective equipment, security and plumbing fittings.

Germany: Matthias Hau has been appointed as the Regional President Eastern Europe for Evonik. He succeeds Thomas Müller, who has been leading the activities of the European Region since 2011 and has now retired.

Hau joined Evonik in 1982 while completing a vocational training at the former Degussa, followed by a commercial trainee program in Germany and the UK. After working as a sales employee in Melbourne, Australia he was delegated to Singapore and Malaysia. Afterwards he held various responsibilities in sales, product management, and marketing, before he took over as head of the BioActives Business Unit. In 2005 he became the president of the India Region. After being head of the Agrochemicals & Polymer Additives Business Line at Performance Materials, he became responsible in 2016 for a sales programme across the group.

US: Johns Manville (JM) has appointed Marcia Howes as its Vice President of Global Supply Chain. She will be responsible for leading JM’s global supply chain organisation and for developing and implementing the company’s supply chain strategy.

Howes previously worked for BJC HealthCare in St Louis in a similar role. He brings over 20 years of supply chain experience. Before that she worked at Ecolab where she was vice president of global supply chain and head of global planning for both the medical device health care division and the water process systems businesses. Howes has also held a number of senior level positions in supply chain operations with Amgen, Honeywell and Rhodia (now Solvay).

Howes holds master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland, and both a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. She is a Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing practitioner and an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional member.

US: Johns Manville has appointed Bob Wamboldt, currently the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Roofing Systems, as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Insulation Systems. He will succeed Fred Stephan, who is leaving the company.

Wamboldt joined Johns Manville in 2003 and has held leadership positions in the company’s Engineered Products business and in Roofing Systems. He began as Strategic Accounts Manager and later worked as Vice President and General Manager of Engineered Products North America and as Leader for the North American Fibers business in the Engineered Products Group. He has led the Roofing Systems business since 2011. Before joining Johns Manville, Wamboldt worked for 16 years at PPG with roles in their Fiber Glass and Coatings divisions. He holds a degree in chemistry from Lehigh University and is a certified Black Belt in the Six Sigma process improvement methodology.

UK: Simon Storer has been appointed as the chief executive of the British Rigid Urethane Manufacturers Association (BRUFMA) with effect from 9 January 2017. Previously, Storer was the Head of Communications at BACTA, the trade body representing the British amusement industry. Before this he worked as the External Affairs Director at the Construction Products Association (CPA) for seven years. He has also worked for the architect Levitt Bernstein, Shoreditch New Deal for Communities project and for the Channel Tunnel project during its construction phase.

US: The Reflective Insulation Manufacturers Association International (RIMA-I) has elected four new directors following its autumn meeting in 2016. Lynn Walters of STS Coatings, Doug Kinninger of Fi-Foil Company, Peter Highfill of Oracle Packaging (LL Flex) and Sergio Luconi of Prodex (Costa Rica) have all been appointed directors for a two-year term starting on 1 January 2017. RIMA-I is a trade organisation that represents the reflective insulation, radiant barrier, and low-e reflective coatings industries.