Russia: TechnoNICOL Far East is building a new 1Mm³/yr stone wool lamellas line at its insulation plant in the Khabarovsk Advanced Special Economic Zone in Khabarovsk Krai. The line will produce lamellas for use in the production of insulation sandwich panels. It will target potential customers in the Russian Far East market, as well as in China. The Russian Far East and Arctic Development Corporation has reported that TechnoNICOL Far East plans to invest €2.33m in the Khabarovsk insulation plant in 2026, down slightly from €2.55m in 2025.

Plant Director Nikita Yakovlev said "Part of the 2026 investments will be used to improve product quality, reduce costs and implement environmental initiatives. The company will also develop its own IT infrastructure and continue projects to improve labour safety and working conditions."

Canada: UpSolv has commenced commercial-scale production of recycled polystyrene resin at its Montréal facility. It will now proceed to build a full-scale 11,000t plant in Estrie, Quebec, by mid-2027. UpSolv says that its resin offers viable consistency, processability and performance for use in expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation production. The company invited producers and other innovators to secure off-take agreements and integrate its sustainable resin into their products.

CEO Nathalie Morin said "In today's market, sustainability and performance can no longer be treated as trade offs."

Spain: Saint-Gobain Isover has launched Tipcheck, an industrial insulation energy audit service aligned with EN 16247 and ISO 50002 standards. The standards evaluate the performance of industrial insulation systems and calculate potential energy savings, cost reductions and CO₂ emissions reductions. Servimedia News has reported that Saint-Gobain’s local mining subsidiary Industrias el Cuarzo – Incusa piloted the service on drying units at its Segovia site. It has since carried out audits at 60 industrial facilities across Spain.

Europe: Hungary-based Masterplast and construction firm Market Építő have cancelled plans for new a stone wool insulation plant in Central Europe. The companies previously announced a ‘strategic cooperation’ to build mineral wool plants in Hungary or Serbia in December 2022. MTI EcoNews has reported that Masterplast made the decision based on a ‘changed business environment,’ creating a 'deterioration of the key conditions’ for the investment.

Additionally, Masterplast will discontinue production at its Calerno expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation plant in Italy due to 'unfavourable' market conditions. At the same time, it will restart EPS production at its Kál insulation plant in Hungary, in order to target the local market there. It will also consider a possible expansion of its Szerencs glass wool plant Hungary.

Masterplast said "The strategic focus will continue to be on glass wool production, its technological development and capacity expansion."