Global Gypsum Newsletter

Issue: GGM57 / 11 December 2023

Headlines


US: Owens Corning commenced construction of its planned US$60m Russellville extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation plant in Arkansas. When commissioned in 2025, the plant will employ 50 people and produce Owens Corning’s Foamular NGX XPS insulation. Local press has reported that the move represents the company’s third expansion in Arkansas since the start of 2022. It has been present in the state since 1985.

Owens Corning vice president and general manager, foam insulation, Rodney Wideman said "This new plant and today's groundbreaking ceremony represents commitment to our customers' growth and the Russellville community.”


UK: France-based waterproofing and insulation group Soprema has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Celotex. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that Celotex is presently a subsidiary of Soprema’s fellow France-based conglomerate Saint-Gobain. After completion of the deal in early 2024, Saint-Gobain says that it will retain a 25% stake in Celotex.

Celotex controls the Ipswich polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation plant in Suffolk.


India: France-based Saint-Gobain has acquired waterproofing systems producer Menkol Industries. Menkol Industries operates a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) products plant in the Kinfra Industrial And Textile Park in Kanjikkode, Kerala.


Sweden: Saint-Gobain Ecophon has entered into a deal to acquire wood wool products company Träullit. Saint-Gobain Ecophon said that the acquisition will complete its existing portfolio of wall and ceiling products.

Saint-Gobain Ecophon CEO Pierre-Emmanuel Thiard said “Träullit has a Swedish legacy to be proud of, and we are happy to start a new journey together to develop this offer. The integration with Ecophon will broaden Träullit’s current sales focus from Scandinavia into further European markets and accelerate growth thanks to Ecophon’s complete solution portfolio and experienced research and development division.”


Belgium: Knauf Insulation has released its ‘Sustainability Journey: 2023 Highlights’ report. It reveals the company’s sustainability strategy achievements focusing on safety, employee engagement, decarbonisation and the circular economy.

The company reduced its absolute full-scope emissions for its mineral wool production by 8.2% year-on-year to 1.34Mt of CO2e in 2022 from 1.46Mt in 2021, mainly due to a significant fall in Scope 2 emissions. it currently has a target to reduce its specific embodied carbon emissions by 15% from 2021 to 2025. The recycled content of its glass mineral wool products fell to 55% in 2022 from 64%, despite the company having a target of 65% by 2025. It explained that sourcing large volumes of recycled materials of sufficient quality had proved challenging in some markets. However, it did increase the recycled content of its rock mineral wool products to 13% from 11%, with a target of 25% set for 2024. It also reduced its total recordable incident rate by 8% to 5.9 from 6.4 against a target of below 5 for 2025.

Dominique Bossan, the chief executive officer for Europe, Middle East and Asia at Knauf Group, said “The report documents our progress towards achieving our 2025 sustainability targets. It shows the areas where we need to improve, celebrates where we have made positive progress and pays tribute to the hard work of our teams."


Ukraine: The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added Denmark-based Rockwool to its list of “international sponsors of war” due to the company’s continued business in Russia. The government agency alleges that Rockwool has continued to supply its construction material products to various state institutions in Russia, including the Ministry of Defence, following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in early 2022. The NACP highlighted that Rockwool operates four subsidiaries in Russia and it suggested that deliveries under state contracts were made via intermediaries in 2023.

In February 2023, The Danish Business Authority announced an investigation into Rockwool's alleged supply of its products to the Russian military, in breach of existing sanctions, between 2015 and 2020. In April 2023 Rockwool chair Thomas Kähler told the company’s annual general meeting that continuing to do business in Russia was the group’s ‘least bad option.’


EU: The European Union (EU) is holding a consultation over possible changes to the limit on the use of hexabromocyclododecane, a brominated flame retardant (BFR) in consumer products. This includes expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation. The consultation will run until 26 December 2023.


Belarus: Russia-based TechnoNICOL has bought a 15,000m2 site in Minsk. PrimePress News has reported that the producer plans to build a US$333,000 distribution centre and storage facility for insulation and other products at the site. Additionally, the facility will store and distribute products from Knauf Insulation, Cerezit, Beltep, Skyprofile, Typhoon and Ilmax. TechnoNICOL plans to triple the total number of products it sells in Minsk, with a specific focus on its rough interior finishings portfolio.


Italy: Masterplast inaugurated its new Euro3m Calerno insulation plant in Emilia Romagna on 28 November 2023. Once fully operational, the producer expects the plant to add Euro15m to its annual sales.


US: Germany-based Knauf Insulation celebrated the 45th anniversary of its US operations earlier in November 2023. The producer first entered the market following its acquisition of the Shelbyville glass wool insulation plant in Indiana in 1978. It has since grown its business from 450 employees at the Shelbyville plant to 1600 employees across six different sites.

Knauf North America CEO Matt Parrish said “Our commitment to innovation and sustainability has been a driving force behind our continued success and we are excited for what the future holds. As we look ahead, we will continue to prioritise our employees, customers, and the communities we serve, with a focus on creating innovative solutions that shape the way we live and build."


Germany: EU competition authorities have approved Ireland-based Kingspan’s acquisition of a 51% majority stake in wood fibre insulation producer Steico. Kingspan concluded the deal with wood products company Schramek in July 2023, and expects to complete its acquisition of the stake in early January 2024.


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."


Romania: Switzerland-based Swisspor Group has concluded a deal to acquire extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation producer BriothermXPS. BriothermXPS sells its insulation across Central and Southeast Europe. Swisspor Group thanked its deal coordinator Concilium Consulting for helping it to conclude the agreement ‘despite a challenging market environment and complex transaction structure.’


Ireland: Kingspan expects its trading profit to amount to Euro875m throughout 2023, up by 5% year-on-year from Euro833m. The group noted a stable global backlog of orders. Nonetheless, its visibility remains low, amid challenges in ‘a number of end markets.’

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