Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Russia: Danish insulation materials producer Rockwool is planning to invest around Euro121m in a new plant near Moscow in Russia. Nick Vince, Rockwool's top executive for Russia, says that the company has reached a limit for what it is worthwhile to invest in the existing factory in Moscow, according to Esmerk Danish News.

The need to invest in a new facility is attributed to the growing number of orders received by Rockwool in Russia amid a building boom and a political pressure to make Russia more energy-efficient.

Ireland: Kingspan Group has reported a particularly slow start to trading in 2013 in an interim management statement. In the release, issued ahead of its annual general meeting, the insulation and building supplies manufacturer said that group sales had risen by 10% to Euro520m for the first four months of 2013. It added that trading had 'picked-up' during March and April 2013.

Kingspan noted that market conditions were weak in UK and the Netherlands. Improvements have been seen in Germany following the group's acquisition of ThyssenKrupp Construction in 2012, and the Irish market saw improvement. The US has had a good start to 2013, Australasia has slowed from 2012 levels and the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council regions have remained buoyant.

In its outlook the company noted that a combination of growing order intake levels, improving acquisition benefits and a more diversified geography should help the company in the second half of 2013.

US: Roxul, a subsidiary of Denmark-based Rockwool International, has officially broken ground on its US$160m, 183,000m²/yr mineral wool plant in Byhalia, Mississippi. The facility, which was announced in June 2012, will create 150 jobs when it is completed in 2014. The location will be Roxul's first plant outside of Canada.

"Rockwool and Roxul are delighted to be locating and constructing our first United States plant and believe that this will enable us to meet the growing demand for our stone wool insulation product," said president of Roxul, Trent Ogilvie in a statement. He added that the company had analysed several possible sites in the south-eastern US before selecting Byhalia.

Germany: MPN Maschinenbau GmbH, specialised in pipe section production units for mineral wool, has announced that it has achieved a major breakthrough. Its MPN pipe sections units can now produce concentricly-wound square or rectangular pipe sections.

This ability opens up completely new possibilities for applications such as square or rectangular duct insulation and self-supporting prefabricated ducts. The products still achieve good insulation values and are highly rigid.

Spain: Spanish construction group Uralita has taken a Euro320m seven-year loan to expand its European insulation business. The group formalised the agreement with KKR Asset Management to gain financial stability and expand the business. The agreement will allow the development of the pan-European insulation business of its branch company URSA Insulation.

"Uralita considers that this transaction provides the group with long-term financial stability, shows the Company's growth potential and will facilitate continued growth in the next years," commented Javier Serratosa, Uralita's president.