Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Leeson Polyurethanes’ adhesive and coatings plant in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire caught fire following a series of explosions on the morning of 27 August 2021. Worcester News has reported that one person known to have been working in the plant at the time remains unaccounted for on 31 August 2021. Emergency services extinguished the blaze but have been unable to enter the site so far. The smoke cloud from the fire was visible over 60km away. It resulted in an evacuation of neighbouring residential streets.

Denmark: Rockwool recorded first-half consolidated sales of Euro1.45bn in 2021, up by 18% year-on-year from Euro1.23m in the first half of 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 31% to Euro299m from Euro229m. The group’s net profit was Euro152m, up by 50% from Euro101m. Its insulation segment’s sales were Euro1.07bn, up by 16% from Euro921m. The producer said that all markets and businesses contributed positively to the result.

Chief executive officer Jens Birgersson said, “Robust economic activity combined with productivity gains helped us achieve second-quarter and first-half sales and earnings above pre-pandemic levels. We secured double-digit growth across all major business areas and geographic regions, with both insulation and systems segments contributing substantially to the positive overall results. As we expect the high demand in key markets to continue, we have upgraded our sales and earnings forecast. We foresee input cost pressures to persist in the coming months as well as some industry risks involving material and manpower constraints that could impact building activity.”

US: Installed Building Products’ net revenue grew by 17% year-on-year to US$925m in the first half of 2021 from US$791m in the same period in 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 18% to US$124m from US$105m.

Jeff Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer commented, “As expected, the building products supply chain remained constrained during the second quarter, which we believe will continue for the foreseeable future. These trends continue to impact our ability to purchase certain materials and, in some cases, affected our ability to complete work on behalf of certain customers primarily within our multi-family end market.”

France: Saint-Gobain’s sales grew by 24.6% year-on-year to Euro22.1bn in the first half of 2021 from Euro17.8m in the same period in 2020. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) nearly doubled to Euro3.25bn from Euro1.64bn. Both sales and earnings were also higher than the comparable period in 2019.

“These first-half 2021 record results surpass even our second-half 2020 performance. This success reflects the profound positive changes in our organisation from Transform & Grow,” said Benoit Bazin, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain. “It also reflects structural changes in our markets, which should show an acceleration in growth over the coming years.”

The group added that it had integrated its Strikolith subsidiary into the main business. It acquired the Netherlands-based exterior insulation systems producer in late 2020.

Ireland: Xtratherm has agreed to acquire Ballytherm’s Ireland and UK operations. The businesses include one polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation plant in Ballyconnell, County Cavan and a new production unit that the company is preparing to open at Ross-on-Wye in the UK. The expansion is intended to expand the operations of Unilin Insulation, the owner of Xtratherm, in the UK and Ireland.

Barry Rafferty, the managing director of Xtratherm, said “The acquisition of Ballytherm, along with additional investment in new technologies will allow Xtratherm to deliver on operational excellence, new product innovations and improved service that will contribute towards a stronger and more sustainable future for our employees, customers and the construction sector in the UK and Ireland.” At present Xtratherm operates two foam insulation plants in Ireland and the UK respectively.

The proposed acquisition will be subject to the approval of competition authorities in Ireland. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of 2021.