Australia: Fletcher Building is considering selling its insulation business, which could see the manufacturer of Pink Batts get a new owner. The company said that further asset sales were on the cards, although it did not specify insulation.

"Fletcher Building is undertaking an ongoing review of its business portfolio with a focus on lifting operational and financial performance and pursuing organic growth. The review process invariably leads to speculation on a range of possible outcomes. The company is aware of its continuous disclosure obligations and will promptly communicate to the market if or when there are substantive matters required to be disclosed," said a statement from Fletcher Building.

Fletcher holds its insulation assets, Tasman Insulation and Fletcher Insulation, in its light building products division. Fletcher Building has a market capitalisation of US$3.45bn and it is Australasia's biggest supplier of building and construction materials. These include laminates, cement, pipes and roofing. It has just won the New Zealand International Convention Centre contract in Auckland, as well as the contract to build Precinct Properties' US$396m, 38-level Downtown Tower at the foot of Queen St on the waterfront.

Fletcher Building's Chief Executive Mark Adamson made it clear at the 2015 annual meeting that he had not bought any new assets since starting in the job, but had instead been dealing with the difficult legacy of selling businesses that were either underperforming or not up to expectations. "In my time in the job, we have not made one single acquisition," said Adamson. "I have had to deal with what we have today. Profitability is improving, maybe not as fast as anyone would like."

Serbia: Masterplast, Hungarian trading company and manufacturer of thermal insulation materials, has launched the second phase of its Euro8.4m project in Subotica, Serbia.

The project, which received a Euro2m Serbian State grant, is expected to create 205 new jobs at the plant once the expansion is complete in 2016. The third phase is scheduled to be wound up in 2017. The company has received a bank loan of Euro4.3m for the expansion, while Euro2.1m will be used from the company's own resources.

Currently the plant produces 1Mm² of fibreglass insulation. This is expected to grow to 2.5Mm² in the summer of 2016 and to 4Mm² in the autumn of 2016.

UK: Superglass has reported a growing loss before taxation of Euro13.4m for its 2015 financial year that ended in 31 August 2015. Alongside this a fall in revenue of 11% year-on-year to Euro29.8m was noted. The drop was blamed on a planned reduction in Eastern European exports and a further deterioration in activity from government-sponsored schemes.

The UK-based glass wool manufacturer also confirmed Mark Cubitt as its chairman on a permanent basis. Cubitt was appointed interim chairman on 19 June 2015 following the resignation of John Colley.

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."