Slovenia: Knauf Insulation has celebrated the 60th anniversary of its Škofja Loka mineral wool plant. The plant originally opened in 1958 under the Termika brand. The company also opened the Knauf Insulation Experience Center (KIEXC), a sustainable building showcase. KIEXC will be used to provide an educational base for the latest construction techniques, energy advisory consultations and training.

“Thanks to Škofja Loka’s pioneering research and development we are the cutting edge of innovative solutions such as sandwich panels, fire-resistant rock mineral wool systems and domestic appliance insulation,” said Jean-Claude Carlin, president of the board of Knauf Insulation.

UK: SIG’s revenue has fallen in the three months to October 2018 due to a weakening construction market in the UK. Its revenue in the UK and Ireland fell by 8.7% year-on-year. It said that commercial construction demand had remained dampened by macro-economic uncertainty, house price inflation was slowing and secondary housing market transactions had continued to fall. Its sales in Europe were mixed with quarterly declines in France and Germany but strong gains in Poland, the Benelux region and in its Air Handling business.

Denmark: Rockwool has reported that its trend of ‘solid’ performance continued in the third quarter of 2018, with high sales growth and increased profitability so far over the course of the year.
Sales in the first nine months reached Euro1.96bn, an increase of 16.1% in local currency terms, including acquisitions, which contributed three percentage points. The negative currency impact was three percentage points. In the third quarter of 2018, sales increased by 14.6% in local currency terms to hit Euro692m.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) over the first nine months of 2018 ended at Euro258m, an increase of 39%. In the third quarter of 2018, EBIT was Euro97m, an increase of 28% year-on-year.

Rockwool’s growth in net sales is now expected to be 14-15% for the whole of 2018 in local currency terms, including around 2-3% from the acquisition of Flumroc.

Commenting on the group’s performance, CEO Jens Birgersson said,
“We are pleased with our sales and profitability performance, as we achieved good top line growth in all major regions and good profitability across the board. The higher input costs we’re experiencing are being offset by strong factory performance and high productivity.”

“It’s also gratifying that our sustainability efforts are being recognised, with the Standard & Poor’s Trucost analysis confirming that 100% of Rockwool’s products contribute to meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals,” concluded Birgersson.

Ireland: Kingspan’s sales rose by 18% year-on-year to Euro3.18bn in the first nine months of 2018. Insulated panel sales increased by 20% due to mainland European sales and the acquisition of Synthesia and Balex. Despite an improvement in the third quarter the market in the UK as reported as subdued for smaller and medium projects. Insulation board sales grew by 13% driven by its Kooltherm product sales. European sales were reported as mixed, although improvements in Scandinavia, Southern Europe and North America were noted.