Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: US developer Invenergy has signed a 125MW wind power purchase agreement with Owens Corning. When completed, Invenergy's Wake Wind facility in Texas will provide Owens Corning with power sufficient to supply 32,000 homes each year. Invenergy will also help Owens Corning support the wind power industry, a market to which the company supplies glass fibre reinforcements.

"Owens Corning has a long history of delivering energy-efficiency improvements through our products and in our operations," said Owens Corning Chief Sustainability Officer Frank O"Brien-Bernini. "Our ambitious and impactful greenhouse gas reduction goal is being made more achievable by collaborating with great partners, like Invenergy, to execute large scale wind energy agreements like this."

"Over the last few years there has been a seismic shift in the way corporate customers like Owens Corning have thought about the value proposition of renewable energy. Not only is it good for the environment, it's good for the bottom line," said Invenergy's Sales and Marketing Lead Craig Gordon. "By acting now, these customers are taking advantage of extremely competitive long-term wind energy pricing, as well as facilitating the transition to a sustainable and clean energy economy."

Ireland: Kingspan has delivered a significantly better-than-expected full-year forecast, suggesting that its 2015 profits could increase by 68% to Euro250m, despite global economic confidence wavering. Insulated panels should show 53% revenue growth to Euro1.7bn in 2015.

Kingspan has reported a 44% year-on-year rise to Euro2bn in sales for the first nine months of 2015. The third quarter was particularly strong, with a 54% sales rise noted, which was boosted by the contribution of recent acquisitions. Sales in the UK, mainland Europe and the Americas, Kingspan's three main regional markets, soared by 54% in the first nine months of 2015. This performance was boosted by a 'solid' showing in the UK, 'steady' sales in Europe and strong growth in North America, particularly in the US.

US: Installed Building Products has acquired California's Sierra Insulation Contractors Inc and Eco-Tect Insulation Inc, both installers of fiberglass and cellulose insulation. It has also acquired Overhead Door Company of Burlington, Inc, which installs and servicing garage doors and provides fulfillment services for windows, interior and exterior doors and molding. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Middle East: Honeywell has joined hands with Bayer Pearl to introduce a new spray foam system in the Middle East region.

A joint venture between Bayer MaterialScience AG and Pearl Insulation Materials Industries, the company said that it will deploy the solstice liquid blowing agent (LBA) technology from Honeywell in its new polyurethane spray foam insulation to offer homeowners in the region excellent thermal insulation performance and reduced energy consumption with lower global-warming impact.

Honeywell and Bayer Pearl had developed the new polyurethane spray foam system using the new blowing agent to be the most economical and competitive when assessed by performance and overall cost effectiveness.

"This first application of a PU spray foam system with a fourth-generation blowing agent in a construction project in the UAE underlines Bayer Pearl's commitment to sustainability. We evaluated several options to meet the sustainability requirement of GWP less than 5 in the region and found foam with Solstice LBA to be the best solution," said Jose-Antonio Diaz-Lopez, the Head of Application Development at Bayer Pearl.

The Bayer Pearl spray foam insulation system has already been used in residential applications, with the system applied to the roofs of residential villas in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE, by Water Seal. "As one of the leading spray insulation companies in UAE, we have experience using all types of foam blowing agents for spray foam," said Muhammad Asghar, Managing Director for Water Seal. "We have found Bayer Pearl's product with Solstice LBA to be the best available polyurethane spray foam solution in meeting sustainability requirements without compromising on insulating properties."

US: US LBM has further bolstered its presence in the southeast of the US with the acquisition of Building Supply Association, headquartered in Powder Springs, Georgia. BSA is a provider of exterior building products that was founded in 2007 by Michael Langston and Tim Bice. Langston, Bice and Beau Vineyard will remain in place as operational leaders, together with the rest of the executive team.

"BSA is excited to join the US LBM team," said Langston, CEO and President of Building Supply Association. "This new partnership allows us to continue to invest in operations and enhance customer service. The opportunity for growth for our employees, customers and vendor partners is extraordinary."

BSA specialises in roofing, siding and windows, serving residential contractors in the new home construction and remodelling industry throughout Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana.

"Building Supply Association is a great addition to the US LBM family," said L T Gibson, President and CEO of US LBM. "This enables us to strategically serve the Atlanta area specialty contractor with exterior building supplies from BSA, while simultaneously providing gypsum products through Rosen Materials. BSA's unique business model and proprietary management systems have propelled them to top of their market. We are eager to partner with their associates and look forward to future opportunities together in the southeast."