India: Sarda Energy & Minerals subsidiary Sarda Metals & Alloys approved a US$31.4m capital expenditure plan on 25 July 2026 to expand its Vizianagaram mineral wool plant in Andhra Pradesh. The investment will also cover the construction of a new waste heat recovery (WHR) plant at the plant.
Ireland: Kingspan has pledged €3m to the Innovate for Ireland doctoral research programme to support postgraduate research into increasing the sustainability of building materials. The Irish Times newspaper has reported the first beneficiary as materials scientist Abhishek Kaitheri Edathil. His work at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone, Westmeath, and Kingspan’s Ikon Innovation Centre in Kingscourt, Cavan, explores new avenues for polyurethane (PU) and polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation recycling. Edathil holds a master’s degree in Materials Science from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur, West Bengal, and bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Cochin University of Science and Technology in Kochi, Kerala – both in India.
Kingspan head of innovation Sandra Del Bove said “By connecting research excellence with industry, we can help transform breakthrough ideas into practical applications with global impact.”
UK: Flintshire County Council has approved an application for Knauf Insulation to remediate 17.7 hectares of land at Deeside Industrial Park in Flintshire, Wales. The company is awaiting permission to build its planned €212m Shotton stone wool insulation plant at the site on the English border, 20km from the Port of Liverpool on Merseyside. Local press has reported that the site formerly hosted a Tata Steel metallurgical complex and is now ‘mostly scrubland.’
Europe: Rockwool Foundation Berlin has published new research into gender pay gaps in the EU, Reuters has reported. The study found that salary renegotiation accounts for 50% of gender pay gaps, with men more likely than women to use outside job offers to negotiate higher pay. The foundation concluded that the EU Pay Transparency Directive, enacted in June 2026 to mandate salary range disclosure and pay reporting, will not close gender pay gaps on its own.
