Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Installed Building Products’ revenue grew by 7% year-on-year to US$1.35bn in the first half of 2023 from US$1.26bn in the same period in 2022. Its net income rose by 18% to US$111m from US$93.7m. Jeff Edwards, chair and chief executive officer, said that company “focused on prioritising profitability over volume.” He added “Despite softer volume trends in our single-family end market, the effort of our employees in the field across end markets translated into record second-quarter revenue, net income and earnings per share.”

US: Owens Corning’s sales of insulation grew by 2% year-on-year to US$1.82bn in the first half of 2023 from US$1.79bn in the same period in 2022. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9.5% to US$427m from US$390m. The group noted that insulation sales fell year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 due to lower volumes, although this was partially offset by price rises and changes to its product mix. Overall, the company’s composites sales fell in the first half of 2023, leading to a slight drop in sales to US$4.89bn and a decline of 4% in adjusted EBITDA to US$1.15bn.

US: CertainTeed has completed an upgrade at its Athens glasswool insulation plant in Georgia. Equipment used in the production of loose-fill insulation has been updated, including modifications to the unit’s loose-fill recycling machine. In addition, the plant has installed several new pieces of equipment, including a new baler, water sub-metering system, three air compressors, efficiency pumps on cooling towers and a cooling wind fan. The modifications are expected to save over 7300MWh/yr of energy and 76Ml/yr of water, and reduce landfill waste by over 5000t/yr.

Jay Bachmann, Vice President and General Manager of CertainTeed Interior Products Group, said “The work of our insulation plant in Athens is the perfect example of what sustainability looks like for industrial manufacturing operations, where a series of small changes brought together can make a huge impact. I want to thank the entire Athens team for their success.”

The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain North America previously announced in late 2021 that it was spending US$30m towards building a new insulation production line at the Athens plant. At the time it said that increased production was scheduled to start in late 2023.

Europe: Ireland-based Kingspan has signed an agreement with Germany-based wood products group Schramek to acquire a 51% stake in wood-based insulation producer Steico for an initial Euro251m. The Irish Times newspaper has reported that the group may pay more, if Steico reaches agreed-upon profitability thresholds. The agreement includes an option for Kingspan to also purchase a further 10% stake. Steico operates 27 insulation lines across four plants in Poland and France.

Kingspan CEO Gene Murtagh said “The acquisition of a majority stake in Steico represents an exciting next step in our strategy to provide the full spectrum of insulation products. Its suite of wood-based building envelope solutions broadens our ability to enable our customers to meet their sustainability and energy performance needs. Kingspan’s global routes to market, paired with our drive to innovate and widen the applications of Steico’s current technologies, are key to our plans to bring Steico bio-based solutions to the next level.”

Denmark: Saint-Gobain’s subsidiaries Isover and Leca have started an agreement with waste management company Norrecco to recycle glass wool insulation. Under the new system, contractors will be able to return used and excess Isover glass wool to Norrecco's waste treatment stations at Prøvestenen in Copenhagen and at Agerskov in Southern Jutland. Norrecco will then pass the glass wool to Leca Denmark’s plant at Hinge near Randers. Here it will be used as a raw material in the production of lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LWA) products. LWA is used in a variety of applications such as insulation or as a structural filler. Leca added that LWA can be recycled repeatedly.

Mona Ammitzbøll Rasmussen, the Sustainability Engineer at Saint-Gobain Denmark, said "From the moment our glass wool leaves the factory, we want to support the idea that the material will one day return and be used in the production of new insulation materials, rather than ending up in landfills. It is an unnecessary waste that we need to eliminate as soon as possible."

Leca Denmark has the capacity to accept around 1000t/yr of used or excess glass wool from the Danish market. The company said that, although it represents a small portion of the total production, it reduces the need to extract a corresponding amount of natural clay, which is the primary raw material in its Leca LWA product. Isover is also working on publishing guides to better help contractors sort between the different types of mineral wool to assess purity ahead of potential recycling.