US: Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that Installed Building Products (IBP) has acquired EcoLogic Energy Solutions, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

EcoLogic is primarily an installer of spray foam and fibreglass insulation serving the Connecticut, New York and Northern New Jersey markets. Approximately half of EcoLogic's sales are in the new residential end market with the remainder split between commercial and repair and remodel activity. EcoLogic's sales for the 12 months that ended on 30 April 2015 were approximately US$6m.

"We are pleased to announce the addition of the EcoLogic team as we continue to strengthen our position in the New York Metropolitan area," said Jeff Edwards, chairman and CEO of IBP. "EcoLogic complements our strategic growth objectives and further diversifies our product and end market exposure. We expect this transaction to be immediately accretive as we integrate these assets onto our platform. Building on our robust acquisition activity to date, we remain committed to further capitalising on the significant expansion opportunities in our strong deal pipeline to continue improving our business."

Germany: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company, has celebrated the inauguration of a state-of-the-art polyester spunbond production line at its plant in Berlin, Germany.

The new Euro32m line is part of a strategic plan to support the growing demand for high-end polyester filtration media. The new line utilises newly-developed proprietary spinning technology and will increase the Berlin plant's spunbond lightweight capacity by more than 40%.

"The new capacity at our Berlin plant will benefit Johns Manville's global customer base," said Mary Rhinehart, president and CEO. "Customers will have even greater access to our high-quality filtration products and to a new generation of spunbond filter media for cabin air, air pollution control and liquid filtration applications. This new lines also puts Johns Manville in a prime position to handle continued growth and customer demand in the many global markets we serve."

The Berlin site was founded in 1919 as 'Spinnstofffabrik Zehlendorf AG.' In 1960, Hoechst acquired the plant and in 1967 changed the production from Perlon (artificial silk) to spunbond and filaments polyester. In 1999, JM acquired the Berlin plant from Hoechst Trevira. Plant employees produce and market Evalith™ polyester spunbond nonwovens mainly for the filtration, roofing and geotextile industry.

US: Johns Manville (JM), a Berkshire Hathaway company, has announced that it will increase its glass microfibre capacity by early 2016 at its plant in Waterville, Ohio.

"We have initiated several productivity projects and line modifications that will noticeably increase our microfibre capacity," said Martin Kleinebrecht, marketing and portfolio management leader for JM Engineered Products. "We continue to experience a strong global demand for glass microfibre and we fully expect this trend to continue over the next several years." Kleinebrecht added that JM is exploring a number of additional investments in its glass microfibre business and plans to announce more details in the near future.

JM has maintained a large presence in Waterville since 1958. In addition to glass microfibre, JM manufacturers a variety of premium-quality products at this location, including wet and dry chop glass fibres, single-end rovings and nonwoven fibreglass mat. These materials are used in roofing, gypsum wallboard and specialty applications, as well as in plastic reinforcement and weaving. Glass microfibre products are widely used in filtration and advanced lead-acid battery applications.

Luxembourg: Armacell is now the first manufacturer of flexible technical insulation materials to present environmental product declarations (EPDs), which are based on an independent life cycle assessment (LCA).

EPDs are becoming more important in the construction industry as they provide a transparent, independent and reproducible analysis of the environmental impacts of construction products and give detailed information with sound data and figures. As a 'sustainability passport,' EPDs form the basis for designing green buildings in accordance with certification schemes such as LEED, BREEAM or DGNB.

Comparing the primary energy input identified in the Armacell LCA with the energy saving achieved shows that using Armaflex insulation materials saves 140 times more energy than is needed for their manufacturing, transport and disposal. The energy input needed to manufacture Armaflex is paid off after just 50 days.

"With the EPDs we create a unique degree of transparency for our Armaflex products. We provide architects, specifiers and those inviting tenders with reliable information for designing sustainable building projects. At the same time we commit ourselves to continuing to improve the environmental friendliness of our products and thus sharpening our competitive edge," said Patrick Mathieu, CEO of the Armacell Group.