Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Denmark: Rockwool International has reported that its net sales rose by 2% year-on-year to Euro494m for the second quarter of 2013 that ended on 30 June 2013. It attributed the rebound to a recovery in the western European insulation market, especially in Spain, Italy and the UK.

The Danish insulation producer saw its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rise by 4% to Euro75.6m from Euro7.24m. Profit for the period rose by 8% to Euro26m from Euro24.1m.

In its income statement Rockwool explained that as well as improvements in western European markets it had also seen development in Poland and continued good sales in Russia. Sales in North American remained strong but sales in China disappointed the insulation producer, due to uncertain legislation on the mandatory use of non-mineral wool insulation.

As Reuters reported, from an interview with Rockwool CEO Eelco van Heel, China's changing legislation on non-mineral wool insulation lost the company an order for 25,000t of stone wool placed in late 2012. As a consequence, Rockwool is postponing the construction of a planned factory in China, where it acquired its first and so far only factory in 2010.

For its outlook for the remainder of 2013, Rockwool expects that its net sales will slightly surpass those of 2012.

Denmark/US: The Danish insulation group Rockwool Group has announced that it has entered into an agreement, on behalf of its RockfonGroup affiliate, to acquire the American ceiling company Chicago Metallic Corporation (CMC). CMC, headquartered in Chicago, is a global provider of architectural building products and services, including metal panels and ceiling systems, suspended grid systems and acoustical and sustainable ceiling panels. It has a network of sales and distribution channels throughout North America, Europe and Asia supported by production facilities in China, Malaysia, Belgium and the US.

Founded in 1893, CMC has been owned by the Jahn family since 1937. Current Chairman and CEO, Charles Jahn commented, "The complementary product and service offerings of Rockfon and CMC will provide our mutual customers with a wider choice throughout the world. The values of the Jahn and Kähler founding families are strongly aligned and will provide an excellent platform to continue to serve our customers well into the future. We look forward to the exciting growth opportunities to come from this transaction."

Commenting on the acquisition, Division Managing Director of the Rockwool Group's Systems Division, Herman Voortman, said, "This acquisition complements well the existing Rockfon business concept. It will allow us to offer and develop more complete solutions to our customers by offering not only ceiling panels but also the metallic grid which is a key element in the suspended ceiling system."

France: Etex has invested Euro25m towards upgrading four of its French Siniat polystyrene factories plants in its gypsum division. The investment is intended to reinforce Siniat's market share of exterior polystyrene-backed plasterboards for insulation.

Euro12m has been allocated to the Rantigny plant to raise its annual production capacity of back liners and insulating façade panels to 500,000m3. Euro7m will go to the Château-Gontier factory plant and Euro5.5m to the Loriol plant to expand and automate production capacity. Euro0.5m will be used to complete the production line at the Villeneuve-sur-Lot plant.

Uzbekistan: Production of insulation and soft roofing materials rose by 7.8% year-on-year in the first seven months of 2013. The percentage rise was slightly behind the increase for all building materials, the production of which rose by 9.9% year-on-year.

UK: Knauf Insulation has announced that from August 2013 all four of its UK manufacturing plants will send zero waste to landfill.

The achievement marks a significant milestone in the manufacturer's sustainability journey, in which it is constantly developing its products and processes to contribute towards greener and more energy efficient environments.

At its glass mineral wool sites in St Helens (where the company's headquarters are also based) and at Cwmbran in Wales, Knauf Insulation has introduced a number of measures to divert both production and office-generated waste. Baled glass wool waste is re-used by a ceiling tile manufacturer, while mixed glass wool and incidental packaging waste is collected by a recycling partner and re-processed for use as underground bedding.

Other waste is segregated at source to enable efficient recycling. A 'Bin the Bin' campaign was introduced as part of EcoWorks, an employee initiative designed to encourage best practice techniques and education around sustainable behaviour. Clearly marked recycling bins, desktop recycling folders and skips for cardboard and polythene have been distributed throughout the facilities, so that the waste can then be collected and recycled.

Kevin West, Health, Safety, Security and Environmental Manager at Knauf Insulation's St Helen's plant, commented, "As the UK's leading insulation manufacturer and the third largest manufacturer of insulation in the world, we take our social and environmental responsibilities seriously. True sustainability is about much more than simply producing 'green' products. It must be an integral part of the business, which is what we have sought to accomplish with our waste management strategy. Reaching zero waste to landfill is a fantastic achievement and is a clear demonstration of Knauf Insulation's commitment to improving our environmental performance."