Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: Kingspan has forecast first-half consolidated net sales growth of 40% year-on-year in 2021 to Euro2.90bn from Euro2.07bn in the first half of 2020. It predicted a rise in operating profit of 57% to Euro315m from Euro200m. The company concluded its acquisition of Denmark-based pipe insulation producer Logstor International Holding on 22 June 2021 for Euro253m.

Malaysia: Knauf Insulation’s Johor Bahru mineral wool insulation plant has successfully exported its first batch of 80% recycled glass Earthwool glass mineral wool insulation to Perth, Australia. The product uses Knauf Insulation’s ECOSE Technology biological binder and is equipped with new improved clean facing. The company says that it uses compression packaging to optimise shipping volumes.

Chief operating officer David Ducarme said, “Johor Bahru is an extraordinary achievement of commitment from Knauf Insulation colleagues from around the world who came together to work with local teams in unprecedented pandemic circumstances - setting a gold standard in safety - to ensure the highest quality solutions are now available to customers.”

The Johor Bahru glass mineral wool insulation plant has a production capacity of 75,000t/yr and was originally scheduled for completion in 2020. It had an investment of Euro120m. It was built export insulation products to markets in Japan, Australia, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore.

Denmark: Rockwool recorded consolidated net sales of Euro671m in the first quarter of 2021, up by 3% year-on-year from Euro649m in the first quarter of 2020. The group’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11% to Euro139m from Euro125m, while net profit rose by 11% to Euro68.0m from Euro61.0m. Its insulation segment’s net sales were Euro498m, up by 3% from Euro483m.

The producer said that increased construction activity and strong stone wool insulation demand drove its overall sales development. It forecast strong market conditions for the full year in 2021, resulting in sales growth of 10 – 12%. It added that productivity improvements and a moderate price increase would likely offset an expected rise in input costs.

Romania: France-based Saint-Gobain has acquired Duraziv, a producer of adhesives and other construction chemicals. The group said that the purchase would allow it to expand its range of interior and exterior finishing solutions. It also hopes the move will drive an improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings in Romania thanks to external thermal insulation solutions (ETICS) based on locally-produced stone wool and mortars. This latest addition follows the recent acquisition of Russia-based Adhesive Scientific and Production Company, a producer of polyurethane (PUR) and epoxy products.

Belgium: Etex is investing Euro1.2m on an upgrade to its Sint-Niklaas high performance insulation plant. The project is intended to increase the plant’s capacity by 30% in order to benefit cold supply chain markets currently supporting vaccine transport. The company estimates that it will generate over Euro6m in sales from its ‘high-performance, ultra-thin’ insulation products used in both building applications and passively cooled containers for vaccine transport.

Head of Industry Steven Heytens said “Our products contribute to global energy efficiency and create sustainable value for our customers. Driven by the European Union Green Deal, we expect the demand for thin insulation solutions for building and cool logistics applications to increase strongly in the coming years. This investment fits with our growth strategy and confirms our commitment to strengthening our European position in high performance microporous insulation.”