Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Distribution International Inc (DI), a leading distributor and fabricator in the mechanical insulation market, has acquired Selle Supply Company and sister company PBI Supply Inc, full-line distributors of insulation products and related construction materials, that specialises in the lamination of fiberglass insulation for metal buildings. Founded in El Paso, Texas, Selle and PBI Supply comprise the largest regional metal building insulation fabricator / distributor in the US.

"We at DI are eager to enter the metal building insulation market. During our strategic assessment of the metal building lamination space, our market research indicated that Selle and PBI are ranked highly for customer service and delivery performance, making the company an ideal platform from which to grow our national footprint. This acquisition is a significant milestone in the growth of our company and we look forward to being part of the metal building insulation industry and bringing the successful team from Selle / PBI into DI," said Celeste Mastin, CEO of Distribution International.

"DI's resources will enable us to expand our position in the industry, both improving our reach to new regional customers while better serving larger customers that have called upon us to supply them outside of our traditional footprint. Our philosophical alignment with DI makes us confident that we can do that while continuing our commitment to deliver the high quality products and services our customers have come to expect from us. We are excited for this partnership and we are proud to be part of DI's expansion into the metal building insulation market," said David Dzina, President and Co-Owner of Selle and PBI and former President of the National Insulation Association.

US: Honeywell has announced that increasing global adoption of its range of low-global-warming-potential (GWP) products will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by an equivalent of 475Mt of carbon dioxide by 2025, the equivalent to removing 100 million cars from the road for one year.

The projections represent an increase of 36% over projections the company made a year ago when it committed to reducing the production of high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in applications ranging from refrigeration to air conditioning to aerosols.

"In just the last year, Honeywell has started two production facilities in the US to manufacture two of its new low-GWP Solstice® HFC replacements and completed 17 long-term supply agreements with a range of customers," said Ken Gayer, Vice President and General Manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products. "We continue to see strong demand for these environmentally-preferable technologies as we continue to invest in new production here in the US."

In September 2014, Honeywell said that it would increase production of its low-GWP refrigerants, insulation materials, aerosols and solvents, and, prior to 2020, would drive a 50% reduction in its annual production of high-GWP hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) on a CO₂ equivalent basis. In the past year, Honeywell has shipped enough low-GWP Solstice products to replace HFCs with 10Mt of CO2 equivalent.

New Zealand: Germany's Knauf and Fletcher Building, New Zealand's largest building supplies company, have returned to court for a cross appeal, the latest instalment of their long-running dispute over the use of the word 'batts' to describe insulation.

Appearing in the Court of Appeal before Justices Tony Randerson, Christine French and Mark Cooper, the legal counsel for Fletcher's Tasman Insulation subsidiary, Julian Miles QC returned to the argument that Knauf's use of 'batt' or 'batts' on the packaging of insulation infringed the 'Batts' trademark it has held since 1973.

The two building supplies companies are both appealing aspects of Justice Brendan Brown's May 2014 judgment, which refused a request from Knauf to revoke the trademark. In the same judgment, Justice Brown also limited Fletcher's claim of infringement of the trademark to the use of 'batt' in the HTML code on the www.earthwool.co.nz website, which sold Knauf insulation, and said the use of the word in the installation instructions on the packaging didn't infringe trademark.

Dwarfed by more than 10 boxes of files and three large rolls of Knauf insulation, Tasman's Miles said the rival company first started importing its insulation into New Zealand in December 2010, originally in clear packaging labeled 'loft roll.' However, during 2011 Knauf began to bring in 'what we understand was the same product with different packaging,' which included instructions which referred to the product as 'batts.' Miles pointed out the difference using the three insulation rolls in the court room.

Miles argued that Knauf's use of 'batts' on its packaging was a 'deliberate' attempt to use Fletcher's trademarked term. He said the change from the original non-offending packaging to the inclusion of the term came after market research showed the widespread use of the term over the past four decades.

Knauf 'knew (Batts) had a trademark, the only inference that you can draw from that is that they intended to undermine a trademark,' he said, adding that it was' irrelevant' how the term was used in other countries, as this dispute concerned only the New Zealand market.

Knauf, represented by Clive Elliott QC, is appealing Justice Brown's ruling that the 'Batts' trademarked term for insulation is not generic. In its submission Knauf argues Tasman was flawed in asserting 'Batts' was a highly distinctive and iconic trademark, and it has always been a descriptive word to describe portions of insulation. There is no evidence Knauf set out to destroy the distinctiveness of 'Batts' and Tasman's efforts to protect the mark were 'too little, too late.'

"Knauf submits that if traders have chosen not to use 'batts' it is reasonable to infer that this is because of a fear of being sued by Tasman rather than in express of implied acknowledgement of Tasman's proprietary assertions," Knauf said it its submission. The company points to CSR, which had also applied to revoke the trademark use of the term as further proof it is considered a generic term.

The global insulation business said the use of 'batt' and 'batts' on its insulation bales imported into New Zealand was because of the genuine belief the word was descriptive. The original bales had been shipped from Russia and the USA, where the words are considered generic terms and it wasn't economical to manufacture product with New Zealand-specific packaging.

The hearing is set down for three days in the Court of Appeal, and is continuing.

Spain: Coemac, which was previously known as Uralita SA, has completed the sale of its insulation division to financial creditors led by KKR, an American multinational private equity company. Financial creditors acquired 90% of URSA Insulation Holding BV, while Coemac kept a 10% stake, according to Reuters.

Russia: TechnoNicol intends to invest Euro65.3m to establish a cluster of automated insulation materials plants in Khabarovsk, Russia.

The project is expected to generate more than 270 new jobs. The units, which will utilise stone wool and extruded polystyrene foam to produce insulation materials, is expected to support domestic demand, reduce the cost of construction products by 25% and improve the energy-efficiency of buildings in the region by 46%. TechnoNicol also plans to increase its exports to the Asia Pacific region and the Americas.