Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: The North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) has awarded R-Value Certification to Johns Manville’s fiberglass batt and narrow roll insulation products. NAIMA’s R-Value Certification program is a voluntary program that allows manufacturers to certify that the R-values for their products comply with the thermal performance requirements of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Home Insulation Rule. The have been tested by an independent, third party laboratory and meet the thermal performance required by the FTC. As per the FTC requirements, materials are tested using a standardised test method designed by ASTM International, an organisation that establishes internationally recognised test methods and standards.

US: Knauf Insulation North America and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) have announced an investment of around US$35m at Knauf’s fibre glass inslation plant at Albion in Michigan. The upgrade is expected to convert and restart an idled production line, increasing production capacity by more than 30% and adding 34 new full-time jobs. It will use recycled bottle glass recovered through the state of Michigan’s Bottle Deposit Law as a raw material. The project is expected to be completed in late 2020.

“Keeping pace with the growing demand in the upper Midwest for quality loose-fill insulation products will be made possible through the expansion of our plant here in Albion,” said Kevin Keen, plant manager at Albion.

The Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) has approved a US$200,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant in support of the project. The MSF also approved a 100%, 15-year State Essential Services Act exemption valued at US$780,000.

US: Kingspan Insulated Panels has appointed Quincy McBride as its director of marketing for North America. He will be based out of Kingspan's DeLand headquarters in Florida.

Previously, McBride served as marketing communications manager at Morris Group International. He also worked as a marketing communications manager at Proactive Management Consulting, event sales manager at InterContinental Hotels Group and as an account executive at Pearson.

Germany: Wacker Group has started selling a variety of pyrogenic silica products from its HDK line on the CheMondis and Pinpools business-to-business (B2B) market websites that markets chemical raw materials and specialty products. The German chemicals company is trading venues and, over the long term, acquire new customers and open up additional marketing channels for its product portfolio. Pyrogenic silica has a wide variety of applications, including usage as a filler for silicones in thermal insulation.

CheMondis, a startup founded by the Lanxess specialty chemicals company, and Pinpools, introduced in 2016, are European B2B marketplaces for chemicals. CheMondis is now used by 650 companies to sell more than 7500 products. Pinpools currently hosts 500 active buyers and vendors. The marketplace serves as a trading platform for more than 5000 products with a focus on paint and coatings, construction and the food and animal feed industry.

US: Rockwool’s Comfortboard stone wool insulation product has been certified by the California State Fire Marshall’s Building Materials Listing (BML) Program. The product is resistant to fire up to 1175˚C and has a 0/0 Smoke Development and Flame Spread rating. The BML Program certifies products based upon an evaluation of test results that include an analysis of required product performance and reliability features. The testing was completed with a State Fire Marshall (SFM) accredited laboratory.

“This listing supports our continued commitment in the promotion of fire safe building practices and helps us deliver on products that will help architects and builders meet the California Title 24 thermal and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) requirements,” said Mark Bromiley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, Rockwool (North America).