Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Germany: Knauf Insulation plans to increase the production capacity of its Bernburg, Saxony-Anhalt, glasswool insulation plant. The project will also modernise all of the plant’s equipment. The upgraded plant is scheduled for commissioning in 2023.

Central Europe regional managing director Michael Huesmann said "The market hunger for insulating materials necessitates the use all production resources as efficiently as possible. Operational safety has gained additional importance as we maximise capacity utilisation – a process which will likely continue in the future."

Denmark: Rockwool says that high construction and renovation activity in the residential sector mainly drove its insulation sales in 2021. Insulation business sales grew by 20% year-on-year to Euro2.29bn in 2021 from Euro1.91bn. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 17% to Euro275m from Euro236m. Strong growth was reported in Europe, solid sales in North America but some parts of China and elsewhere in Asia were negatively affected by coronavirus-related closures of some markets. The producer commented that its insulation sales increased ‘significantly’ in 2021 even compared to 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic started. However, it warned that “sales prices and productivity gains did not fully offset the accelerating inflation on production materials, energy and logistic costs.”

“The surprising speed of the 2021 economic rebound also brought challenges, including inventory and material shortages in some markets as well as logistics challenges that required creative solutions. Special thanks go to our customers for their patience and especially our people working in the factories and across the commercial, technical, procurement, and support teams, who worked together to reduce customer delays,” said chair Thomas Kähler and chief executive officer Jens Birgersson in a statement. Overall, group net sales grew by 19% to Euro3.09bn from Euro2.60bn. EBITDA increased by 15% to Euro602m from Euro522m.

Germany: Knauf Insulation has compiled its sustainability targets, progress and related information on its products online. The so-called ‘sustainability chapter’ is intended to highlight how Knauf Insulation products can make buildings more sustainable and also charts the company’s progress to reduce its own environmental impact as part of its ‘For A Better World’ initiative.

Jure Šumi, Knauf Insulation’s Group Digital and Brand Manager, said “The new chapter on sustainability is a showcase of valuable information for anyone who wants to create better buildings while taking care of the environment and society.” He added, “It offers valuable insight into how our solutions can lower the environmental impact of buildings with news and case histories in every section highlighting what Knauf Insulation is doing For A Better World.”

The newly organised section on Knauf Insulation’s website lets interested parties download Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for its products. In addition, the site offers downloadable documents showing how Knauf Insulation products can contribute points to the world’s green building rating systems such as BREEAM, LEED, DGNB and WELL.

The company’s also explains online how it is reducing the environmental impact of its operations in line with its ‘For A Better World’ sustainability strategy. It has set targets for 2025 including sending zero waste to landfill, cutting its accident rate by 55% and reducing the embodied carbon of products by 15%. Knauf Insulation promises regular updates on its progress and initiatives to achieve these targets.

Belgium: Recticel Insulation has obtained Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) for its multilayer thermal insulation products. It says that it is the first polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) producer to do so. The insulation manufacturer will be selling thermal insulation products, with multilayer paper facings made from wood fibres sourced from a PEFC-certified and sustainably managed forests. The PEFC label will be added to its Recticel Eurowall, Eurothane Silver, Eurothane Silver A, Eurofloor, Euroroof, Eurothane GP, Eurowall Cavity and Eurothane Eurodeck products.

Recticel Insulation already held the PEFC label for some of its insulation products manufactured at its plants in Bourges, France and Stoke-on-Trent, UK. The certification is now being gradually rolled out to more products and to all plants where multilayer facings are used.

Slovakia: Ireland-based Kingspan has stopped an attempt to buy Trimo due to difficulties obtaining approval from the European Commission. Regulatory approval failed to arrive before a deadline set in August 2020 when Kingspan and Polish private equity fund Innova Capital signed a contract for the sale, according to the Finance newspaper and the Slovenian Press Agency. During its investigation the commission expressed concerns that the acquisition could reduce competition and lead to price rises in several countries. It added that the acquisition would have created the largest supplier of mineral wool sandwich panels in Europe.

Trimo was acquired by Innova Capital in 2016. It produces mineral wool sandwich panels and is reportedly the second largest seller of the products in Europe with a 10% market share. It operates production plants in Slovenia and Serbia and most sells panels in Europe. Innova Capital is expected to select a new buyer for Trimo.