Global Gypsum Newsletter

Issue: GGM67 / 04 September 2025

Headlines


Austria: Mixit Dämmstoffe is reportedly seeking a buyer for its Hohenems insulation storage and distribution facility amidst ‘difficult and expensive’ market conditions. The 1000m² facility serves in the supply of Thermotec brand insulation to western Austria, southern Germany and Switzerland. Mixit Dämmstoffe has invested €2m in the site, local press has reported.


Nigeria: Vitafoam subsidiary Vitapur Nigeria has inaugurated an ozone-friendly polyurethane plant in Lagos. The Punch newspaper has reported that the plant will supply rigid polyurethane foam for various applications. It will complete Vitapur Nigeria’s phase-out of ozone-depleting HCFC-141b in its operations, eliminating 301t/yr of emissions. The plant is the second of its kind in Africa and the first in Nigeria.


UK: Knauf Insulation UK has launched a free online 3D U-value calculator for steel frame rainscreen facades. Building Design News has reported that the tool provides thermal performance calculations based on architectural plans. Knauf Insulation UK expects this to help construction reach target U-values in line with UK building regulations.

Technical Services Manager Bradley Hirst said "Ordinarily, architects might have to wait up to two days to get this information. Now they can use the tool at any time and get an instant result." The 3D U-value calculator is available for free on the Knauf Insulation website.


US: Construction products supplier Installed Building Products has acquired distributor Wholesale Insulation Supply. The company distributes insulation and associated equipment throughout Minnesota and neighbouring states under its Insulation Supplies brand. Seeking Alpha News has reported that it generated US$22m in sales in 2024.


US: Homewares retailer Lowe's has concluded a deal to acquire Foundation Building Materials for US$8.8bn. Foundation Building Materials is a distributor of insulation and other building products. Baystreet News has reported that the deal marks Lowe's second acquisition in the residential construction segment so far in 2025.


Ireland: Kingspan recorded sales of €4.52bn in the first half of 2025, up by 8% year-on-year from €4.17bn in the first half of 2024. Trading profit grew by 5% year-on-year to, €443m from €422m. The company’s Insulated Building Envelopes division contributed sales worth €3.75bn, up by 8%, with a trading profit of €367m, up by 3%.

During the period, Kingspan invested €400m in capital expenditure, including in new or upcoming insulation plants in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, New Zealand, Paraguay, Poland and Romania.


UK: SIG recorded sales of €1.49bn in the first half of 2025, down by 1% year-on-year. The producer made an underlying loss before tax of €11.8m, a rise of 56% year-on-year. Free cash outflow fell by 58% to €10.7m.

Chief financial officer Ian Ashton said "The group's robust trading results reflect continuing outperformance of markets that remain subdued. Cost, productivity and cash initiatives have remained a key focus in the period, as has the ongoing implementation of strategic and operational improvements that are positioning the group to win in the long term."

The group retained its full-year 2025 outlook of earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) of €36.3m. It expects ‘no notable pick-up in demand’ in the second half of 2025.


US: Saint-Gobain subsidiary CertainTeed Interior Products Group has recycled 454,000t of insulation fibres from its Kansas City plant in Kansas as raw materials for ceiling panel production at its L'Anse plant in Michigan. The company has run the initiative for 12 months. HBSDealer News has reported that it avoided 2000t of CO₂ emissions.

CertainTeed Interior Products Group president Jay Bachmann said "I commend our teams in Kansas City and L'Anse who through innovation, collaboration and out-of-the-box thinking are reducing waste and exemplifying Saint-Gobain's mission to be the leader in light and sustainable construction."


World: Demand for sheep’s wool insulation will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% between 2024 and 2031, according to a new report from US-based Market Research Intellect. This will expand the market from a value of US$500m in 2024 to US$1.2bn in 2031.

New developments in processing and treatment enable sheep’s wool insulation to attain to comparable durability and fire resistance to conventional insulation materials. Other anticipated growth drivers include increased demand for reduced-CO2, biodegradable and moisture-regulating building materials and increased government funding and tax incentives. Europe held a ‘significant’ share of the sheep’s wool insulation market in 2024. Public-private partnerships and national transformation agendas, especially in emerging economies, are reportedly creating favourable conditions for global growth.


Switzerland: Sika recorded sales of €6.09bn in the first half of 2025, down by 3% year-on-year. It noted foreign currency impacts, including a weak US Dollar, offsetting ‘modest’ local sales growth across its operations. Organic growth was 1% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 1% in the Americas region and 2% in the Asia/Pacific region, with a 1% acquisition effect globally. Group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were €1.15bn, down by 2% year-on-year. Sika expects to record full-year sales growth in local currencies in 2025.

During the first half of 2025, Sika acquired Singapore-based green roof supplier Elmich, UK-based for roofing products supplier Cromar Building Products, US-based finishing materials and waterproofing producer HPS North America and Qatar-based concrete admixtures, mortars, flooring and waterproofing producer Gulf Additive Factory. It opened new plants in Brazil, China, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Singapore.


UK: The government has established an advisory panel for a proposed reform of its insulation retrofit schemes. A preliminary audit showed that ‘most’ wall insulation installed under existing schemes may be defective. The panel will gather insights from the insulation industry and regulatory and consumer protection experts. Regulators previously suspended 39 retrofit companies from installing insulation under the Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) schemes in January 2025, after their work led to outbreaks of mould and damp in customers’ homes.

Minister for Energy Consumers Miatta Fahnbulleh said "The potential scale of non-compliant solid wall insulation installed under ECO4 and GBIS points to a systemic failure with these schemes. An overhaul of the retrofit system and the consumer protection landscape is urgently required. This is being brought forward as part of the government's Warm Homes Plan in mid-late 2025."


UK: Knauf Insulation has submitted plans for a €196m, 100,000t/yr mineral wool insulation plant in Shotton, Flintshire. The plans involve the use of 120,000t/yr of basalt, slag and recycled stone wool insulation to produce insulation, using a submerged arc furnace (SAF). Local press has reported that the plans will now be subject to scoping opinion, ahead of an environmental impact assessment.

Regional Managing Director Northern Europe Neil Hargreaves said "Knauf has a proud history of production in Wales and this project aligns with the Welsh and UK governments’ commitment to sustainability and the industrial vision for North Wales and Deeside, using UK-first SAF technology."


India: The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) initiated an anti-dumping investigation into imports of faced glass wool in rolls from Egypt on 16 July 2025. Mondaq Business Briefing News has reported that a complaint from UP Twiga Fibreglass triggered the investigation. The DGTR made a prima facie recognition of dumping.

At the same time, the DGTR also initiated a sunset review of an existing anti-dumping duty on imports of faced glass wool from China. It noted ‘sufficient evidence’ to demonstrate the likelihood of continued dumping upon their expiry. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry previously launched an investigation into imports of Chinese glass wool in mid-June 2025.


Uzbekistan: Knauf inaugurated its new 30,000t/yr Tashkent mineral wool insulation plant on 4 July 2025. Business World Magazine News has reported that the plant will produce insulation from basalt and supply the construction of 40,000 new homes per year. The plant raises Knauf's total workforce in Uzbekistan by 33%, to 440 people.


Germany: Chemicals company BASF says that it has completed the sale of its Styrodur extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation business to Karl Bachl Kunststoffverarbeitung.

BASF says that it will continue to produce expandable polystyrene under its Neopor and Styropor brands. It aims to increase the production capacity of its Ludwigshafen expandable polystyrene plant in Rhineland-Palatinate by 200% to 250,000t/yr in early 2027.


Hungary: Masterplast and Poland-based Selena FM have restarted the 19,000t/yr Szerencs glass wool insulation plant, with a view to resuming full-scale production later in 2025. Bne IntelliNews has reported that the partners invested €47.5m in the project, including €14m in funding from the Hungarian government. When fully operational, the plant will supply glass wool insulation for the domestic and Central and Eastern European markets.


UK: Magical Mushroom Company supplied a stage at Glastonbury Festival in Somerset on 25 – 30 June 2025 featuring mycelium fungus and hemp-based acoustic insulation panels. Dezeen News has reported that the panels have shown promise in tests for thermal insulation applications. They are fully compostable in 50 days, making them especially suited to temporary construction.

Magical Mushroom Company arranged the insulation in 25 large ‘discs’ of 32 panels. The order took seven days to produce at its plant in Surrey. It estimates its current production capacity at 50,000 panels/week.


Russia: TechnoNICOL says that it will build a US$61.3m stone wool plant in the Krasnosulinsky Industrial Park in Rostov Oblast, scheduled for commissioning by late 2026. Interfax-Russia News has reported that the plant will include a 20MW power plant and new warehouses, situated on a 25ha site next to the company’s existing plant in the industrial park. Preparatory work is complete for the commencement of construction in May 2025.

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