Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: Insulation distributor Galaxy Insulation & Dry Lining has opened a new depot in North Shields, Tyne and Wear. Business Desk has reported that the company selected the location for the 3440m² to better serve customers in the North East of England. It currently employs 225 people across its eight locations in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, West Midlands, Bedfordshire and Greater London. Stephen Mann will direct operations at the new facility.

Managing director Tracy Shepherd said, “We have always wanted a presence in the North East but knew it was vital to have a local team with the right experience and understanding of what customers in the area expect. We are certain we now have the right team, led by Stephen, to deliver the competitiveness, expertise and service that the businesses in the area deserve.” He added, “Our model is to keep things as simple as possible so the team on the ground have everything they need to provide the best customer service possible.”

Denmark: Rockwool has detailed its sustainability achievements for 2020 in its Sustainability Reports 2020. During the year, assessment agency S&P Trucost certified all of Rockwool’s products as ‘positively impactful’ in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The company said that its insulation sold in 2020 saved 874,000GWh of heating energy. It said that the lifetime CO₂ emissions savings of its products are more than 100 times greater than their production emissions. It halved its production waste going to landfill compared to 2019, against reduction targets of 40% by 2022 and 85%. It achieved another of its interim sustainability goals early by increasing water efficiency by 10%, against a targeted 10% by 2022 and 20% by 2030.

Denmark: Rockwool’s stone wool ceiling and wall products subsidiary Rockfon has partnered with designer Akuart to develop acoustic products. The producer says that the partnership combines the strengths of both companies in design, innovation and manufacturing to deliver more value for the end customer. Rockwool has also acquired a minority stake in Akuart to further strengthen the relationship.

Rockfon Europe and Asia managing director Parik Chopra, “Akuart is a strong Danish brand with skilled people, high quality design and products that fit any interior space. With this partnership, Rockfon expands its footprint into designing and manufacturing functional and aesthetic acoustic solutions that can improve the wellbeing of people in offices, schools, hospitals, and leisure venues across Europe.”

UK: The Construction Products Association and the Builders Merchants Federation have raised the issue of low short-term availability of polyurethane (PUR) and polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation. The associations attributed the shortages to the effects of ‘historically’ high raw materials costs on production. These it said resulted from high international demand for raw materials and finished products and challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The associations expect PUR and PIR availability to improve in the third quarter of 2021. They said that long-term demand growth was set to continue, in part due to the government’s 2050 net zero carbon target.

Belgium: Recticel’s consolidated net sales fell by 6% year-on-year in 2020 to Euro829m from Euro879m in 2019. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 15% to Euro51.6m from Euro60.7m. Sales from its insulation business rose slightly to Euro249m driven by a strong second half of 2020 and higher prices due to higher raw input costs. The group made divestments to businesses held by its flexible foams and automotive divisions on 30 June 2020 significantly improving its sales and earnings in the reporting year.

Chief executive officer Olivier Chapelle said, “After an 18% sales decline in the first half of 2020 caused by the Covid-19 lockdown, the second half of 2020 was marked by significant sales fluctuations varying from one business segment or country to another, influenced by the subsequent waves of the Covid-19 outbreaks and the related precautionary measures taken by national governments. In this difficult context, we managed to generate a robust 7% sales growth in the second half of 2020 and a 10% increase in adjusted EBITDA.”

“Numerous ‘force majeure’ events at the premises of our chemical raw material suppliers have created and continue to create supply shortages of polyols and isocyanates. Our suppliers have used this situation to implement price increases at an historically high pace, leading to new all-time highs. In response to this, we were compelled to mitigate these cost increases through corresponding sale price increases. The situation is expected to normalise as of the third quarter of 2021.”