Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Uzbekistan: Russia-based TechnoNICOL to invest US$13.1m in the construction of a new extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation plant in Angren. AK&M News has reported that the plant will have a capacity of 300,000m²/yr. It will produce TechnoNICOL’s range of 20 – 120mm-thick XPS insulation. Construction will commence in 2024 and the plant will employ 50 people when operational.

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.

Germany: Austria's Austrotherm has inaugurated its first manufacturing base in Wittenberge, Brandenburg, Germany. The new plant for extruded polystyrene (XPS) required a Euro40m investment and will employ 70 people. The production capacity was not disclosed. The Austrotherm Group, which has 18 production units in 11 countries, reported a turnover of Euro250m in 2013.

UAE: Strong demand for its products in the GCC states has prompted Emirates Extruded Polystyrene (EEP), a subsidiary of Dubai Investments, to announce plans to expand its production capacity within the next two years. The company currently exports to other GCC states and to regions beyond including India, Southeast Asia and Africa.

The upgrade will increase total capacity to approximately 2.4Mm²/yr and enable EEP to meet the 'burgeoning demand' in the export market for its unique extruded polystyrene sheets. The company has witnessed a phenomenal surge in demand amidst the ongoing construction activity in the UAE and other GCC markets, making its current production of around 1.2Mm²/yr of extruded polystyrene sheets quite inadequate to take care of future requirements.

EEP currently utilises 80% of its capacity and will have to step up production to catch up with demand. The additional capacity will come from a new production line that will cater to the predicted surge in demand for insulation materials once the Expo 2020 projects are activated in the next two years. The new line will be set up at EEP's 6235m² plot in Dubai Investments Park.

Thanks to a UAE Federal Law that enforces the use of energy-saving and environment-friendly building materials in the construction industry, it has become mandatory for many companies to use extruded polystyrene sheets for the insulation of roofs, walls and foundations.