Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Spain: Knauf Insulation Iberia has launched a building design competition across Spanish universities and schools. Called Race to Zero, the competition will assess applicants’ designs for energy efficiency, innovation and residential sustainability. The best submission across all three categories will win its designer Euro15,000. The company will additionally invite the winner and runners up for practical training at its headquarters. The submission deadline is 28 May 2021.

General Director Oscar del Rio said, “This contest was born with the vocation of putting the building in its rightful place in the field of sustainability, given the importance it has for the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals according to our company's ‘For A Better World’ strategy.”

Poland: Belgium-based Recticel has signed a preliminary agreement with Poland-based insulation company Gór-Stal. Under the agreement, the producer will acquire the company’s polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation business for Euro30.0m. The company employs 66 people at its Bochnia plant in Lesser Poland Province. In 2020 it generated net sales Euro16.7m and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro2.50m. Its capacity utilisation rate was 40%.

Chief executive officer Olivier Chapelle said, “The acquisition of the Gór-Stal PIR-based insulation board activities marks an important step in the development of our insulation business. This acquisition perfectly fits our ambition to further expand in the growing thermal insulation markets of Central and Eastern Europe. It meets three fundamental prerequisites: a state-of-the-art asset, a perfect geographical complementarily, and a focus on high performance PIR insulation solutions. We look forward to welcoming our new and highly skilled colleagues from Gór-Stal.”

Recticel expect to close the deal in July 2021.

US: The National Insulation Association (NIA) has named three insulation producers as winners of its 2021 Premier Industry Manufacturer award. Armacell, Johns Manville and Owens Corning won the nationwide award. The association’s Platinum Safety Excellence awards were presented to six insulation producers: Armacell, CertainTeed Corporation, Dyplast Products, Johns Manville, Owens Corning and Canada-based Rockwool Technical Insulation. The award is the highest category of safety excellence award at the association’s National Insulation Association Awards 2021. It awarded Proto Corporation a gold Safety Excellence award.

Executive vice president and chief executive officer Michele Jones said, “Each year, we honour our member companies that prioritise safety and make continuous improvements to their programmes, and this year we do so knowing that a strong and well communicated safety programme is more important than ever.”

The association handed over the awards virtually at its Spring Summit in mid-March 2021.

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.