Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Owens Corning has recorded a first quarter loss of US$916m in 2020, compared to a US$44.0m profit in the corresponding period of 2019. Net sales were US$1.60bn, down by 4.0% from US$1.67bn. Insulation sales grew by 2.0% to US$603m (38% of net sales) from US$591m. The insulation section’s negative balance of earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased by 71% to US$10.0m US$34.0m.

Owens Corning chairman and CEO Brian Chambers said, “I’m very proud of our team’s strong execution and ability to deliver our first-quarter results in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our long-standing commitment to safety remains at the forefront of everything we do while serving the needs of our customers, our communities, and other key stakeholders.”

Belgium: Recticel has recorded sales of Euro298m in the first quarter of 2020, down by 6.2% year-on-year from Euro318m in the corresponding period of 2019. Recticel said that sales in the first two months of 2020, “remained in line with the previous year despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis on sales and operations in China.” Sales in March 2020 fell by 17% month-on-month, “due to the outbreak and the resulting governmental lockdown measures in most countries.” Insulation sales fell by 2.9% to Euro60.7m Euro62.5m. Recticel said, “Lockdown measures led to a reduction of construction activities as of mid-March 2020. Our insulation plants continued (reduced) operations in all countries except in France where construction activity was halted since mid-March 2020.”

US: In 2019 Owens Corning sourced 1.58GWh of energy renewably (49% of total consumption), down by 14% year-on-year from 1.84GWh (52% of consumption) in 2018. Direct CO₂ emissions were 2.78Mt, down by 2.0% from 2.83Mt in 2018 due a reduction in carbon intensity of insulation production, such as the use of electric rather than coke-fired furnaces.

Spain: Saint-Gobain Isover has donated Climaver Star mineral wool insulation for use in the construction of the coronavirus field hospital at La Zarzuela University Hospital in Madrid.

On 23 April 2020 Spain’s confirmed coronavirus case count was 213,024, with 22,157 deaths.

US: Huntsman has repurposed its McIntosh, Alabama high performance and speciality epoxy resins plant for the production of hand sanitizer, which it will supply to health care facilities fighting the coronavirus outbreak across the US. The recipient of its first 5.0t batch was its own Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. Huntsman president and CEO Peter Huntsman said, “We thank the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for moving swiftly to issue the guidelines that have enabled us to fast-track our production and distribution of much-needed hand sanitizer in the US.”