Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Turkey: Austria’s Austrotherm has opened a 400,000m³/yr expanded polystyrene (EPS) plant in Ankara. It is its third insulation plant in the country. The project cost Euro2m. The site has created 14 jobs. The company entered the Turkish market in 2008 and built its second plant near Izmir in 2013.

Austria: Austrotherm has raised the prices of its extruded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and expanded polystyrene (XPS) insulation products. The price rise will take place on 12 March 2018. It has blamed a ‘very tense’ situation in the raw materials market.

Czech Republic: Sika has agreed to acquire KVK Holding, a manufacturer of waterproofing and roofing systems, including insulation products and a range of mortar products. The transaction is subject to clearance by anti-trust authorities. KVK operates six production sites: three for the manufacture of mortar products, two for bituminous membranes and one for expanded polystyrene insulation (EPS) for building envelope solutions. With these facilities Sika will strengthen its production platform and expand its geographical footprint in the growing Czech market. KVK’s relationships with major builders’ merchants will also allow Sika to enhance its presence in the Czech market.

“KVK is a proven industry leader, with a product portfolio and geographical presence that will increase our market penetration and support our growth strategy. The acquisition also brings us manufacturing expertise for waterproofing and insulation solutions,” said Ivo Schädler, Regional Manager EMEA.

France: Lafarge France and Euromac 2 have signed a national partnership contract to bring to market insulating concrete form products. The deal will see Euromac 2 use Agilia concrete from Lafarge to fill its expanded polystyrene blocks. The two companies will then approve a network of companies to bring the product to the market.

Taiwan: Ming Dih Group is considering cutting output at its expandable polystyrene (EPS) plants in September 2016 due to low demand in the region, according to a company source quoted by ICIS. The company previously lowered output at its plants to around 70% of production capacity in July 2016 due to poor sales. It operates a 180,000t/yr plant in Taiwan and a 50,000t/yr plant in Thailand. Products from its plants are used to make insulation panels.

Czech Republic: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) consumption in the Czech Republic rose by 5% year-on-year to 29,700t in the first half of 2015, according data reported to the Czech News Agency by the Czech EPS Association. The association is expecting EPS consumption to follow the trend in 2014 and also surpass 60,000t in 2015. The increase has been attributed to growth in the construction sector and by state subsidy programmes that support building insulation systems.

"In the second half of the year, the subsidies drawn from the New Green Savings Programme (the Environment Ministry's programme focused on energy savings and renewable energy sources in family houses) should become evident. People are starting working on their insulation and given that the weather is favourable, consumption can be expected to exceed 62,000t," said Pavel Zemene, head of the association.

In 2014, 60,850t of EPS were consumed in the Czech Republic. The highest level of EPS consumption was 66,000t in 2011. The Czech Republic is one of the European Union's leading countries for per capita consumption of EPS, beating Germany, Spain, France and Italy.

Benelux Region: Building insulation and packaging group Synbra is consolidating its position in the Benelux Region, which encompasses Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg, with the acquisition of the local expanded polystyrene (EPS) activities of Knauf Insulation.

Synbra's subsidiary, IsoBouw Systems, is set to take over the region's Knauf manufacturing and sales operations, including an EPS plant in Oosterhout Municipality, Holland, by 1 August 2014. The Oosterhout plant produces EPS and wood wool products, although IsoBouw Systems said that it plans to close the EPS unit.

Synbra's Etten-Leur said that the acquisition is a strategic move for IsoBouw, which will continue to supply EPS insulation products from its own plants in the Wijchen, Someren and Oldenzaal Municipalities in the Netherlands.

"IsoBouw is the EPS specialist in the Benelux Region," said IsoBouw's general manager, Will Kemperman. "The acquired business unit fits perfectly with our current activities. This gives us even more space to focus on innovative product developments." The move will also strengthen the position of its existing customers in the market.

Knauf Insulation retains a glass wool production facility at Visé, Belgium as well as EPS plants in Germany at Wadersloh, Bad Waldsee and Hermeskeil. The firm also operates extruded polystyrene (XPS) plants in France, Italy and the UK.

Sweden: ECO Byggolit, a Swedish producer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, has applied for corporate reconstruction due to reduced demand from the construction industry. The company, which was established in 2009, has 13 employees and annual sales of Euro6.73m. The company's products are mainly used for insulation of buildings and as a filler in roads.