Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Superglass Holdings plc, a Stirling-based manufacturer of glass fibre insulation solutions, has announced that its performance in the second half of the year ending 31 August 2012 will be below its first half performance due to extremely challenging market conditions. The company also reported the appointment of Allan Clow as its new finance director.

According to a trading statement, business in the second half period has been disappointing and demand in the market is subdued. Sales through CERT (Carbon Emission Reduction Target) related activity have been particularly disappointing. Net sales in the second half of the current financial year are lower than anticipated in the interim report as reported in April 2012 and will be below the level reported for the first half of the year ending 31 August 2012. Average daily sales tonnages have declined since a relatively strong performance in March 2012. Financial performance has also been adversely affected by a short-term increase in overhead costs incurred as a result of the turnaround process.

Meanwhile, cost reduction at the company remains focused on Project Phoenix, a capital investment programme that was central to the refinancing completed in December 2011.

US: Masco Corp. is due to face a class action antitrust lawsuit at a district court in Atlanta on 23 July 2012. The lawsuit will examine whether the leading US insulation installer has abused its market dominance.

Nearly 370 companies that install insulation in homes accuse Masco of having conspired with makers of fibreglass insulation between 1999 and 2003 to ensure that other installers paid much more than Masco for the material. The suit argues that Masco agreed to accept price increases so long as the manufacturers charged other installers even more when prices went higher, preserving Masco's cost advantage.

The insulation installers are now seeking about US$250m in damages. Under antitrust law any damages awarded are automatically tripled. The four makers of insulation - Johns Manville, CertainTeed Corp., Knauf Insulation GmbH and Guardian Fiberglass Inc. - that were also named in the suit against Masco previously agreed to pay a total of US$37.3m to settle claims made by the insulation installers in 2008.

A Masco spokeswoman said that the allegations are 'baseless' and that the company, "intends to continue to defend itself vigorously." In a recent securities filing Masco said it can't 'reliably estimate' the damages that could result from an adverse ruling in the case.

Masco is the biggest installer of insulation made by other companies in new homes in the US. Its market share has been estimated at 40-60%.

Spain: Uralita SA has released financial results for the 2011 calendar year, which show a net loss of Euro27.1m. The gypsum wallboard and insulation materials producer also saw sales drop to Euro676m from Euro683m year-on-year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation down by 65% from Euro78.9m in 2010 to just Euro26.9m. The group's revenue was also down marginally, to Euro690.8m, a drop of just 0.2%.

The Spanish construction market remains in the doldrums amid the continued Eurozone debt crisis, drastically reducing demand for gypsum, insulation and the other building materials that Uralita produces. Uralita SA has released financial results for the 2011 calendar year, which show a net loss of Euro27.1m. The gypsum wallboard and insulation materials producer also saw sales drop to Euro676m from Euro683m year-on-year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation down from by 65% from Euro78.9m in 2010 to just Euro26.9m. The group's revenue was also down marginally, to Euro690.8m, a drop of just 0.2%.

The Spanish construction market remains in the doldrums amid the continued Eurozone debt crisis, drastically reducing demand for gypsum, insulation and the other building materials that Uralita produces.

US: Insulation producer Johns Manville (JM) has announced that Dr Timothy Swales, vice president of corporate research and development, has assumed the additional role of chief sustainability officer. Swales' previous roles within JM include director of research and development and director of innovation and commercialisation for the Engineered Products business. He is responsible for research and development across all of JM's businesses as well as a continuous focus on the company's sustainability strategy and achievement of the company's sustainability goals.

"Tim is a proven business leader with a successful track record associated with major innovation and sustainability initiatives," said Todd Raba, JM chairman, president and CEO. "As our chief sustainability officer Tim will ensure that we continue to make progress on our long-term sustainability goals including integrating sustainability into JM's business strategy."

Prior to joining JM, Swales spent more than 17 years at 3M and its spin-off Imation. Swales received his PhD in physical polymer chemistry from the University of Manchester, UK.

US/Denmark: The board of directors at Denmark's Rockwool have approved a plan to establish the group's first production facility in the United States. The new plant will be constructed in Marshall County, Mississippi, approximately 50km from Memphis, Tennessee. Subject to the successful completion of due diligence in the coming months, the plant is expected to be ready in 2014 and will, when reaching full capacity, be able to deliver more than 100,000t/yr of stone wool insulation. The investment is expected to total around Euro125m.

Commenting on the expansion, Rockwool CEO Eelco van Heel said, "We have seen strong interest from big DIY chains to offer our products to their customers. The unique thermal, acoustic and fire safe qualities of our stone wool insulation are appreciated by their customers. With this new plant in the southern part of the US, we are happy to expand our geographical coverage to new regions of the continent where we are currently not present. The additional capacity will also support our strong growth in other key insulation markets such as commercial buildings, flat roofs and industrial applications".

Rockwool has seen good sales growth in North America in recent years despite the otherwise troubled US construction sector. To date the US market has been serviced from the group's two factories in Canada. In 2011 sales in North America accounted for 8% of total group sales. This share is expected to grow in the coming years.