Denmark: Rockwool’s external net sales for its insulation business rose by 16% year-on-year to Euro2.07bn in 2018 from Euro1.78bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) grew by 45% to Euro266m from Euro184m. It attributed the sale increase to the insulation market in Europe and North America. Overall the group’s sales, including its systems business, grew by 12.5% to Euro2.67bn from Euro2.337bn.

“We achieved a great deal in 2018. Our company is financially solid, expanding operations to meet customer demand, and benefiting from strong brand awareness and reputation. Sales growth and profitability were strong, with the EBIT margin the second highest in the group’s recent history, notwithstanding being affected by increasing input costs. For 2019, we expect good profitability, though with a lower top-line growth than 2018,” said Group chief executive officer (CEO) Jens Birgersson.

UK: Knauf Insulation has appointed Neil Hargreaves as its new managing director for the Northern Europe region. He will be responsible for strengthening the company’s position in the mineral wool insulation industry. Hargreaves was previously the finance director of the company. He succeeds John Sinfield, who is leaving to pursue another opportunity outside the company.

Australia: Kingspan Insulation is preparing to discontinue its Kooltherm K10 FM Soffit Board rigid insulation product ahead of changes to the National Construction Code (NCC) set to be enforced on 1 May 2019. The standard introduced in 2016, AS 5637, requires foil faced internal lining materials to be installed on both walls and ceiling when undertaking the full-scale room fire test ISO 9705.

To prepare for the change Kingspan will promote its Kooltherm K10 FM G2 Soffit Board product. It features a thicker foil lining and has already undergone the ISO 9705 test, achieving a Group 2 rating. The product has been supplied to the New Zealand market and it will now be launched in Australia.

“Kingspan Insulation have been preparing for this transition for some time. We are confident in our ability to supply a product that will not only adhere to the new NCC standard but will also provide the same great thermal performance that our customers have come to expect from us,” said Kingspan Insulation’s Sales Director, Craig Burr.

Italy: Gamma Meccanica has acquired mineral wool pipe section production technology from Germany’s MPN Maschinenbau. As part of the purchase, Mark Desomer has joined the Italian mineral wool production line manufacturer. No value for the transaction has been disclosed.

“We are delighted to cooperate as one team in the future. It is an exciting new chapter to continue our journey to develop state of the art mineral wool pipe section production units based on our mutual know-how,” said Andrea Magnani Managing Director at Gamma Meccanica .