Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Romania: Knauf Insulation has broken ground on the construction of a second insulation plant at the site of its existing Târnăveni mineral wool insulation plant. SeeNews has reported that, when commissioned in 2024, the new plant will have a production capacity of 100Mm²/yr of mineral wool insulation. It will also create 100 new jobs. Knauf Insulation said that the project will bring its total investments in the Târnăveni site to Euro135m.

Denmark: Etex has concluded a deal to acquire insulation systems producer Skamol. Skamol's products include ceramic insulation and boards made with moler, vermiculite or calcium silicate. The company operates three plants in Denmark and one in Poland. It is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark, and employs 300 people globally.

Serbia: Masterplast has concluded a deal to acquire the outstanding 49% stake in mineral wool insulation producer Masterwool MW-1. Masterwool MW-1 is currently building a new Euro20m mineral wool insulation plant in Vojvodina. The project is supported by a grant from Hungarian state-owned Hungarian Export Promotion Agency (HEPA).

Masterplast plans to commence a Euro50m growth phase in the near-term future. It expects its sales to drop in the first half of 2023 due to negative trends in new home construction. However, it expects recent new expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation capacity to partly offset this.

US: The National Insulation Association (NIA) has named Armacell, Johns Manville, Knauf Insulation, Owens Corning and Rockwool Technical Insulation as its Premier Industry Manufacturers 2023. The designation celebrates leadership and industry advocacy by NIA members.

NIA executive vice president and CEO Michele Jones said “Congratulations to these five leading companies! Each year, I am impressed by the way these NIA member companies find new, innovative and tangible ways to amplify the message about the power of insulation and their commitment to NIA. These manufacturers are setting themselves apart from the pack by demonstrating the importance of involvement and leadership. We look forward to promoting them all throughout 2023.”

Belgium: Etex's sales were Euro3.74bn in 2022, up by 25% year-on-year from 2021 levels. The group's insulation sales were Euro312m, 8.3% of the group total for the year. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (REBITDA) totalled Euro645m, up by 13%. During 2022, Etex reduced its absolute CO₂ emissions by 20% compared with 2018 levels.

Regarding insulation sales, the producer said "The early months of 2022 saw very strong volumes, followed by modest drops. Insulation’s results were impacted by issues surrounding inflation, gas, power and raw materials but the energy savings aspect of insulation made glass wool and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation even more attractive than previous years."

Etex expanded its insulation business during the year through its acquisition of Spain-based URSA.