Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Austria: Austrotherm has announced the launch of Fit for the Future, a capital expenditure (CAPEX) plan worth Euro10m in investments in its Pinkafeld and Purbach, Burgenland plants. The plans consist of a new office building with training centre and workshop at the Pinkafeld plant, “intended to illustrate how sustainable construction for office buildings should be implemented in the future,” and a 3600m² finished goods warehouse at the Purbach plant, as well as ‘numerous digitisation and automation projects’ across both plants.

Managing Director Klaus Haberfeller said, “Despite all the adversities of the Covid-19 outbreak, we have started an investment programme that will make our two Burgenland locations fit for the future. We are investing in the modernisation of the infrastructure and in optimising the processes at the locations in order to increase efficiency and occupational safety, and, as a positive side effect, benefit the regional construction industry.”

Netherlands: France-based Saint-Gobain has announced its acquisition of internal finishing and exterior insulation systems specialist Strikolith for an undisclosed price. Strikolith employs 50 people at its Raamsdonksveer, North Brabant plant and generated sales of Euro19.5m in 2019.

Saint-Gobain said, “The complementarity of Strikolith with Saint-Gobain's existing businesses enhances the group's solution offering and in particular allows it to strengthen its offering in External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) and in construction chemicals in the Netherlands, reinforcing Saint-Gobain's leading position in energy-efficient renovation in Europe.”

US: Huntsman recorded an income of US$649m in the first half of 2020, up by 161% year-on-year from US$249m in the first half of 2019. Sales fell by 18% to US$2.84bn from US$3.45bn. Polyurethane volumes and prices fell globally during the period due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the company, however second-quarter growth in China partly offset this.

Chair, chief executive officer (CEO) and president Peter Huntsman said, “We were fortunate to have been more prepared than ever as we entered the second quarter in an unprecedented global economic crisis, with little to no visibility. With our transformed balance sheet, there was no need to access capital markets and we completed the quarter with US$2.6bn of overall liquidity and generated positive free cash flow. We remain focused on what we can control and have accelerated and improved integration plans for our recent acquisitions, CVC Thermoset Specialties and Icynene-Lapolla.” He continued, “While the on-going related global effects of Covid-19 remain uncertain and visibility continues to be poor, we see improving trends within most of our major markets and are optimistic that the worst of this economic slowdown is behind us."

Netherlands: Recticel reported earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Euro17.4m in the first half of 2020, down by 43% year-on-year from Euro30.4m in the first half of 2019. Net sales fell by 18% to Euro374m from Euro454m. Insulation sales during the period were Euro113m, down by 13% from Euro130m.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Olivier Chapelle said that, “volumes were heavily affected by the Covid-19 lockdown measures from mid-March until May 2020. Accelerating activity levels in the building markets led to June volumes exceeding the level of 2019. Selling prices remained under pressure as a consequence of lower raw material costs.”

UK: Knauf Insulation has launched a new product in its Earthwool Soffit Linerboard range, intended for use in car parks, stadiums and commercial units. Rock mineral wool product manager Luke Davies said, “Specifications for non-combustible soffit insulation are likely to increase as building regulations evolve further and soffit applications become a focus for fire safety. We’ve improved Earthwool Soffit Linerboard to give customers the best possible solution to respond to this demand.”

The product uses tube washers instead of all-steel for ease of installation and each board has greater rigidity than previous products to reduce susceptibility to thermal bridging. Knauf Insulation says that its ECOSE Technology bio-based binder makes Earthwool Soffit Linerboard soft, durable, easy to handle and low in dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).