Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ukraine: The Interagency Commission on Foreign Trade will introduce tariffs to all imports of flexible porous polyurethane foam. The duty on these goods will be 11.22% when the decision takes force, 10.66% after 12 months, and 10.13% after 24 months, according to Interfax. The latest tariffs follow imports on other building materials that are mainly targeted at Russia.

UK: Knauf Insulation has donated a pallet of its Earthwool Loft Roll 44 glass mineral wool product to the Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre in Dorset. Pavilions housing primates at the site are being upgraded and expanded. They required adequate insulation to ensure a habitable environmental for the animals. The insulation was transported to Monkey World free of charge by builders’ merchants Bradford’s Building Supplies, Blandford, Dorset.

“We were delighted to support Monkey World in their vital work. Earthwool Loft Roll is a high performance glass mineral wool insulation, providing excellent thermal performance, which will help to keep the Pavilions warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather,” said Ian Boland, Area Sales Manager (South West) at Knauf Insulation.

Germany: Covestro has signed an agreement with HIG Capital, a private equity company, for the sale of its European Systems Houses business. HIG Capital aims to position the business towards mid-sized customers. Covestro will retain its polyurethane markets in Asia where it will continue to serve its customers. The sale is part of Covestro’s ongoing portfolio optimization process that includes the sale of Covestro’s North American spray polyurethane foam systems home business in 2017.

The systems houses businesses are part of the Covestro’s Polyurethanes segment and sell tailor-made polyurethanes systems. The European Systems Houses business comprises facilities in the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Germany and further businesses in Italy. Operations will continue at the current facilities while Covestro will continue to have strong ties with the systems houses business as a key polyurethanes supplier.

The closing of the transaction is expected for the second half of 2019 after the required antitrust clearance. No value for the sale has been disclosed.

Slovenia: A fire broke out at Fragmat’s insulation plant at Podskrajnik near Cerknica on 13 June 2019. Around 450 fire fighters were involved in controlling the blaze, according to the Slovenian Press Agency. The unit manufactures polystyrene insulation.

US: Johns Manville (JM) plans to build a new fibreglass insulation production line at its McPherson plant in Kansas. The new line will produce its Climate Pro blowing wool product. JM will begin construction on the expansion project later in 2019 pending various governmental approvals. It anticipates the completion in early 2021. When complete, JM will employ more than 330 people in McPherson.