Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Germany: BASF has launched Neopor Mcycled expandable polystyrene (EPS) granulate, an EPS insulation raw material containing 10% recycled EPS waste. Building materials producer Karl Bachl collaborated in the product’s development.

Karl Bachl Managing Director Michael Küblbeck said “Today’s EPS insulation materials from the construction and packaging sectors can be fully recycled. At present, the high-quality recycled material is mainly sourced from waste streams from the packaging sector. That means we can already ensure that the recycled material is of the necessary high quality.”

Switzerland: SIKA has joined the World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) and its European Chapter regional advocacy section.

Sika’s head of target market roofing Patrick Horisberger said "With our membership in WGIN, we want to influence and support the development of green roofs by sharing know-how, supporting studies and developing new solutions."

US: Ethisphere has named Owens Corning on its World’s Most Ethical Companies list for the fifth consecutive year. Dow Jones Institutional Newswires has reported that, among 136 winners, Owens Corning was one of only three construction and building materials companies named. In the past year, it scored perfectly on the 2022 Corporate Equality Index, debuted at number 27 on the Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies list and scored Gold in S&P Global’s 2022 Sustainability Yearbook.

Executive Vice President and General Counsel Gina Beredo said "This is an achievement earned and shared by our 20,000 employees across the world who live our purpose each day with an unwavering commitment to ethical business practices."

France: Isover plans to spend Euro120m on increasing the production capacity of its existing production lines and building a new line by 2025. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain says the move will add over 70,000t/yr to its glass wool production capacity. The move is in response to “very strong demand driven by energy renovation.”

Euro20m of the planned investment will be targeted at decarbonising production and developing the circular economy. Isover intends to install a treatment unit for deconstruction waste to be reincorporated into the production process as a substitute for virgin raw materials. It also wants to increase in the proportion of recycled glass used in the production process to 80% by 2025.

Isover operates three glass wool plants in France, at Chalonsur-Saône, Chemillé and Orange respectively.

Austria: Austrotherm plans to raise the prices of its extruded polystyrene (EPS) insulation and expanded polystyrene (XPS) insulation products in response to “very strong” increases in raw materials, energy and transport costs. The latest round of price increase will take effect in early April 2022. The producer added that it could not rule out re-introducing monthly quantity quotas if order intake remained high.