UK: Local development body Ambition North Wales has approved Knauf Insulation UK’s outline business case for €16.6m in funding under the government’s UK Growth Deal for its upcoming 100,000t/yr Shotton mineral wool insulation plant in Flintshire, Wales. The plant will be equipped with a submerged arc furnace. When operational, it will employ 137 people. Local press has reported that the Shotton plant occupies the site of a former Tata Steel facility.
US: Workforce Solutions for the Heart of Texas named Knauf Insulation's McGregor insulation plant its Outstanding Large Employer in McLennan County at an event on 15 January 2026.
Knauf Insulation North America CEO Matt Parrish said "This recognition reflects our commitment to investing in people, fostering opportunity and creating a culture where innovation and community go hand in hand. We are proud to call Central Texas home and look forward to shaping its future together."
France: Saint-Gobain has won Top Employers Institute Global Top Employer 2026 certification, marking an 11th consecutive year as a holder of the award. The producer is one of 17 organisations worldwide to achieve the certification in 2026. Certification is based on the Top Employers Institute’s HR Best Practices Survey, comprised of people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity, equity and inclusion and wellbeing.
Russia: The Russian government has transferred the Russian assets of Denmark-based Rockwool to local company Rozvitok Stroitelnykh Aktivov. The New Voice of Ukraine newspaper has reported that Rozvitok Stroitelnykh Aktivov received a 100% stake in one entity, identified as ‘Rockwool,’ and a 68% stake in another, ‘Rockwool-Volga.’ The forthcoming Global Insulation Directory 2026 lists four Rockwool mineral wool insulation plants in Russia: Rockwool Volga’s Alabuga plant in Tatarstan, Rockwool Ural’s Troitsk plant in Chelyabinsk, Rockwool Sever’s Vyborg plant in Leningrad and CSJC Mineralnaya Vata’s Zheleznodorozhny plant in Moscow. Following the 24 February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Rockwool continued to run its Russian plants as a standalone entity, but cancelled a US$233m expansion to its Vyborg plant, withdrew US$62.3m and donated US$77.9m to the Foundation for Ukraine's Reconstruction.
Rockwool said “What we are seeing is an obvious breach of all international rules. It is indisputably illegal by any standard. We intend to use all legal avenues to defend our assets and prevent them from falling into Russian hands.”
