Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

India: A new Rockwool insulation plant has been opened up in Dahej, Gujarat. The company claims that the material it produces will have the ability to save 1Bnt/yr of CO₂ if applied.

Frank Jacobs, Managing Director-Rockwool Technical Insulation, said, "If the insulation materials produced in our new facility in India are not installed, a forest with almost the size of the state of Gujarat would need to be planted to compensate for the resulting CO₂ emissions. Effective insulation of technical installations-such as hot pipes, boilers and tanks-can save literally millions of tonnes of CO₂, helping to protect the environment, whilst at the same time saving operators millions of rupees."

US: Johns Manville (JM) officially broke ground on a new commercial roofing single ply membrane manufacturing facility in Milan, Ohio on 8 July 2011. The production facility will manufacture ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) roofing products beginning in the second quarter of 2012.

During the groundbreaking ceremony - which hosted local officials, members of the Milan community, media and JM leadership - JM Chairman, President and CEO, Todd Raba noted that "This is a great day for JM and it's really incredibly gratifying to see the level of community support. JM has a strong presence in the state of Ohio and we are excited to be part of the Milan community." This facility marks the company's third facility in Ohio, with representation in three lines of its North American businesses of Insulation Systems, Engineered Products and Roofing Systems.

Raba also noted that, "This is the right time to invest in enhancing our product portfolio and JM now has one of the broadest offerings of commercial roofing products in the industry."

"Everything starts with our customers," stated Bob Wamboldt, vice president and general manager of JM's Roofing Systems business. "With over USD125m invested in our commercial roofing business over the past five years, this is really the crowning jewel of a five-year effort. JM has dedicated substantial resources to underscore our commitment to the single ply business and ensure a strong future for our customers in this segment of the commercial roofing industry."

UK/Ireland: Roofing and insulation materials supplier SIG took the gloss off a strong first-half performance in 2011 by signalling a slowdown for the rest of the year. The company said that it still expects to make progress in 2011, but that growth will 'moderate' in the second half of the year due to a combination of tough comparative numbers and general economic factors.

The Sheffield-based group reported a slump in consumer spending in the UK and Ireland on areas such as home improvements. It said that reduced government spending was also putting pressure on public sector work.

Total revenues rose by 9% year-on-year to Euro1.57bn in the first half of 2011 with underlying profits 84% ahead at Euro38.3m. The company said that the UK and Ireland saw a 'noticeable softening in demand' towards the end of the second quarter of 2011.

UK: A report has revealed that the UK's insulation market experienced growth in 2010 after declining in 2009. Research and Markets' 'Building Insulation Market - UK 2011-2015' also reveals that insulation is expected to reach an estimated market size of Euro1.16m by 2015.

The report also says that the UK insulation market will continue to be underpinned by the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target, the Green Deal and new building regulations. The largest market sector in 2010 was mineral wool insulation.

The report comes at the same time as figures were released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which show that just 57% of Britain's roofs are fitted with proper loft insulation and only 58% of buildings have cavity insulation.

The UK energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne said, "At a time when money is tight and with energy prices predicted to rise, householders are missing out on over Euro110 of savings every single year by not getting their lofts lagged and cavity walls filled." The government hopes that an additional three million homes will be fitted with insulation by the end of 2012.

US: Owens Corning has released its 5th annual Sustainability Report, outlining the company's environmental footprint reduction performance. "Our 2010 Sustainability Report demonstrates Owens Corning's continued focus on and progress towards improvements in greening our operations and products and accelerating energy efficiency and renewables penetration in the built environment," said Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Frank O'Brien-Bernini. "We have met three of our seven goals already and are confident that six of the seven goals will be achieved by 2012."

Among the key accomplishments highlighted in the report is a 24% intensity reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to 2009 levels. The company removed 950,000t of CO2 from its operations in 2010, which is equivalent to eliminating the CO2 impact of more than 170,000 passenger cars. The report also detailed progress towards intensity reductions in energy usage, and reductions in nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, waste-to-landfill contributions and water usage.

The company took the opportunity to launch a new set of 2020 goals designed to raise the bar on its commitment to sustainability. The announced 2020 goals will target reductions in energy, greenhouse gas, water, toxic air emissions, particulate matter and waste-to-landfill measures, as well as supplier sustainability and life cycle assessments.

"These new goals raise the bar on our commitment to sustainability and reflect an increasingly holistic approach that encompasses how our company operates, the attributes of our products and our desire to affect change by partnering with our customers and suppliers to deliver sustainable solutions," added O'Brien-Bernini.

The disagreement comes at the same time as the publication of an article in the journal Respirology that warns of massive rises in deaths from asbestos-related lung diseases in Asia in the coming decades. Dr Ken Takahashi, Acting Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health (WHOCCOH) and his team put together data on asbestos use in 47 Asian countries for the report.

Asian countries accounted for 64% of the global consumption of asbestos in 2001-2007, a striking increase from 14% between 1920 and 1970. This is the result of unregulated asbestos import and use in many Asian countries.