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Armacell and JIOS form joint venture for Aerogel blankets
Written by Global Insulation staff
22 November 2016
South Korea: Armacell and JIOS Aerogel (JIOS) have formed a joint venture called Armacell Jios Aerogels (AJA) to develop and manufacture silica aerogel blankets. The new company will be based in Hong Kong and South Korea, operating from Armacell’s existing manufacturing facility in Cheonan, close to Seoul.
JIOS is contributing its process technology and proprietary manufacturing know-how as well as the intellectual property. Armacell will invest an undisclosed amount into aerogel blanket production equipment, accelerate the industrialisation and certification process and provide its world-wide distribution network to market the new technology. AJA will focus on delivering solutions based on aerogel blankets to the oil and gas, marine and general industrial sectors and in particular for high temperature and cryogenic applications.
“The joint venture with JIOS provides us with access to the next generation of aerogel technology and enables us to deliver a complete portfolio of thermal and acoustic insulation solutions to the oil & gas industry,” said Patrick Mathieu, chief executive officer and president of Armacell International.
Vacuum Insulation Panel Association appoints Gregor Erbenich as its new president
Written by Global Insulation staff
18 November 2016
Belgium: Members of the Vacuum Insulation Panel Association, VIPA International, have appointed Gregor Erbenich of Porextherm as the new president of the association. He succeeds Roland Caps from Va-Q-Tec, who decided to step-down following his two-year tenure in the position.
Erbenich is the Head of Sales & Marketing NTI within Morgan Advanced Materials Thermal Ceramics – Porextherm. He has been serving as a Board member of the association since January 2015 and as chair of the Public Affairs Working Group since early 2016.
Va-Q-Tec increases stake in polymer nanofoams developer Sumteq
Written by Global Insulation staff
18 November 2016
Germany: Va-Q-Tec is increasing its equity stake in Sumteq, a technology company that develops innovative polymer nanofoams with insulation properties, to expand its portfolio of high-performance products. Va-Q-Tec initially acquired an equity stake in Sumteq in autumn 2015. As technological and sales milestones have been achieved ahead of time, Va-Q-Tec is now supporting Sumteq with further funds for its further development.
Both companies are also linked by a strategic partnership. Joint objectives include the pilot testing and market launch of Sumteq products as a further high-performance insulation material, as well as knowledge exchange on the development and production of nanoporous and mesoporous foams. The strategic partnership offers both companies the possibility to contribute their respective expertise and consequently create added value for their customers.
"As an innovative start-up, Sumteq with its new type of nanofoam possesses a highly interesting and groundbreaking product for many markets. We'll be happy to contribute our expertise to assist its market launch. The Sumteq technology has the potential to fundamentally revolutionise nanocell foam production. We're convinced Sumteq’s nanofoams provide an excellent supplement to our vacuum insulation panels. They fit excellently into our long-term technology roadmap," said Joachim Kuhn, co-founder and CEO of Va-Q-Tec.
TechnoNicol launches mineral wool plant in Rostov region
Written by Global Insulation staff
18 November 2016
Russia: TechnoNicol has started operation at a Euro105m mineral wool plant in the south of the Rostov region. The new unit will produce four types of rock wool products. Future plans for the site include the production of pipe and roof insulation and exports to markets in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
Rockwool’s insulation sales fall by 2% to Euro1.22bn so far in 2016
Written by Global Insulation staff
17 November 2016
Denmark: Sales from Rockwool’s insulation business have fallen slightly by 2% year-on-year to Euro1.22bn in the first nine months of 2016 from Euro1.24bn in the same period in 2015. However, the group reported this as a 1.2% rise in local currencies. Earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 61% to Euro114m from Euro71m. By region it said that sales performed well in North America, showed signs of improvement in Western Europe but continued to decline in Russia.