Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Three US-based companies, Birdair of Amherst (New York), Cabot Corp of Billerica (Massachusetts) and Geiger Engineers of Suffern (New York), have jointly developed an architectural fabric that they claim boasts the most effective insulation available anywhere in the world.

Their development, Tensotherm, is Birdair's architectural fabric and can now be supplied with additional layers of aerogel-filled nonwoven blankets, the aerogel used being Cabot's Lumira.

The companies say that the insulation reduces energy consumption and the costs associated with heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Moreover, the insulation does not lose its effectiveness or deteriorate over time or under compression, as is the case with traditional materials.

The use of the Lumira aerogel also improves acoustic properties and greatly reduces a building's lifecycle costs, according to Cabot. Its performance means that architects and designers can now exploit large areas of daylight within walls and roofs, which can be as energy-efficient as an insulated solid wall. In addition, the natural light-diffusing performance and elimination of glare creates a soft interior light.

Cabot's Aerogel Global Business Manager, James Satterwhite said, "Energy efficiency and sustainability are paramount in every architect's design and thought process. Coupled with that is the realisation that high-level lifecycle performance and cost savings, particularly with the unpredictability of energy prices, are vital. Over the next decade, we expect that high-performance insulation systems will become increasingly common as specifiers seek to meet or exceed increasingly strict building regulations."

Photo courtesy: Birdair,Inc

Denmark/Poland: Rockwool International announced on 28 November 2011 that it had received the necessary approvals to acquire Polish insulation systems manufacturer Fast s.p. zoo and had closed the transaction.

The agreement was first announced in June 2011. Closing was originally expected to take place by the end of October 2011. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Fast, also known as Etics, is one of the leading players in the Polish market for external facade insulation systems. Through this acquisition the Danish company will gain expertise in coating and plaster production, as well as colouring techniques.

UK: A Euro230m government energy-efficiency scheme which aims to refurbish 14 million homes in the UK has been criticised for putting millions of homeowners in a worse position.

The Green Deal announced on 24 November 2011 will allow homeowners to take a loan to install insulation or other energy-saving measures from October 2012. It is intended that the bill savings from the measures will be larger than the loan repayments.

"But millions of hard-working households will lose existing subsidies for insulating their home and will have to borrow the costs of insulation at commercial rates instead," claimed Steven Heath, of Knauf Insulation.

Although subsidies remain for the fuel poor, Heath said that households struggling to pay rising fuel costs would be adversely affected. "The Green Deal initiative needs to be revised to ensure a sensible, effective transition over the next five years from current green energy subsidies," he said.

The Green Deal proposals allow for up to Euro170 to be given as a cashback offer to homeowners, but that is added to the loan. Richard Lloyd of Which? said, "It's crucial that the Government gets the Green Deal right. If it's not good value for consumers overall, short-term incentives will not be enough."

At the launch of the scheme Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said, "We want the Green Deal to be a game changer for British consumers who've been buffeted by global energy prices." It is hoped that the Green Deal will kick start around Euro16bn of private sector investment over the next decade until 2022.

Denmark: Rockwool has reported a 40% increase in third-quarter net profit, helped by a recovery in demand in key European markets, higher sales prices and lower input prices. The group confirmed its nine-month report for 2011 that it still expects sales to increase by 15% for the full year with a net profit of around Euro74m.

For the third quarter of 2011 net sales rose year-on-year by 20% to Euro488m from Euro406m in 2010. This was helped by the inclusion of a recent acquisition and recovery of demand in some of its European key insulation materials markets. Profit rose by 40% year-on-year to Euro26m in 2011 from Euro18m in 2010. For the year to date there was a similar rise in sales of 17% compared to 2010 but a smaller increase in profit at only 10%.

The company said it expects the positive sales development observed during the first nine months of 2011 to continue in the coming quarters and that a downwards curve in raw material prices will continue and start to positively impact margins in the fourth quarter.

UK: MonolithUK, a new business in North Wales, is set to create 40 new jobs with its launch of an innovative external cladding product for the home insulation market Brick Plus, an alternative type of insulation for older properties, looks and feels like real brick, but it is not a structural product. It is ideally suited to conceal and cover external wall insulation while preserving the appearance of older brick properties. This also helps it to circumnavigate planning permission controls that apply to cavity insulation.

Made from a specialised natural lime product, Brick Plus are lighter than bricks, only 20mm deep and have a thin expanded polystyrene backing. They can be provided as individual bricks, on a mesh sheet and with or without thermal insulation attached.

Steven Waring, who has invested nearly Euro600,000 into the Brick Plus project since 2008, says that the new application is quicker, safer, less costly and lighter than alternative systems on the market. He highlighted that the potential market for Brick Plus was significant, with hundreds of thousands of older properties in the UK not able to install cavity wall insulation due to not having cavity walls.

"Brick Plus is the only system of its type available that can match all brick types and colours, including those that have been out of production for decades. Brick Plus provides a solution to the dilemma of having to finish externally insulated brick buildings with a render coat," said Waring, who also believes that his product will be an ideal product for use under the Green Deal, a UK Government initiative due to come into effect in the autumn of 2012 that is geared to making homes more efficient.