Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: The British Rigid Urethane Foam Manufacturers’ Association (BRUFMA) has said that the materials tested so far by BRE Group, following the Grenfell fire in June 2017, do not meet building regulations and would never be recommended or approved for use by the members of BRUFMA in a real building.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has commissioned six BS 8414 tests using a combination of materials, including the make-up of the outer cladding system. The first aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding test, carried out by BRE combined an assembly of polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation used in conjunction with an unmodified polyethylene filled ACM cladding panel. Both PIR foam and mineral wool are being tested with each cladding system.

BRUFMA described the situation as ‘worrying’ that a number of buildings have been identified with this combination, indicating a lack of compliance to existing rules and regulations. However, it has advised that all six tests should be completed satisfactorily before any analysis is drawn and remedial action is proposed by the government. It also highlighted that PIR insulation manufactured in the UK and Ireland that is recommended for use in high-rise buildings is tested with the BS 8414 fire test as part of a complete ventilated rainscreen system.

US: Owens Cornings’ net sales from its insulation business rose by 5% year-on-year to US$838m in the first half of 2017 from US$799m in the same period in 2016. However, its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 24% to US$34m from US$45m. The company offered no reason for its declining earnings but it did mention a ‘greater than expected’ start-up impact of a newly commissioned mineral wool plant.

Despite this the company now expects to deliver revenue growth of more than US$250m and EBIT of about US$185m. It said that the improved outlook was driven by successful pricing actions in the US residential insulation business and the benefit of its Pittsburgh Corning acquisition.

“Owens Corning built upon the performance achieved in the first quarter and delivered strong second-quarter results. Through the first half, the company produced adjusted EBIT of US$401m and continues to generate strong operating cash flow,” said chairman and chief executive officer Mike Thaman. He also said the acquisition of Pittsburgh Corning and its Foamglas product line had expanded the geographic footprint and product portfolio of the company’s insulation business.

UK: Kingspan has confirmed that a limited amount of its Kooltherm K15 phenolic insulation product was used in Grenfell Tower. In response to a report by Channel 4 News the insulation producer said that a ‘very small quantity’ of the product had been used without its knowledge in a façade refurbishment of the high-rise tower. The building subsequently suffered a fire in June 2017 in which at least 80 people are believed to have died or gone missing.

“Kingspan had no involvement in either the design or the specification of the refurbishment of the Grenfell Tower facade, and neither Kingspan insulated panels nor Kingspan façade systems were used on Grenfell Tower,” said Kingspan in a statement. It added that following the fire it became aware that a limited quantity of Kingspan Kooltherm K15, less than 5% of the estimated total amount of insulation used on the building façade, was sourced by a third party distributer and supplied to contractors involved in the refurbishment. It impressed that, “It appears that Kooltherm K15 has been used without our knowledge, as part of a combination for which it was not designed, and which Kingspan would never recommend.”

The majority of the insulation purchased for use in the building refurbishment was Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board. This product has been stopped for use in rainscreen cladding systems for buildings over 18m tall whilst the investigation into the Grenfell fire continues.

France: Lafarge France and Euromac 2 have signed a national partnership contract to bring to market insulating concrete form products. The deal will see Euromac 2 use Agilia concrete from Lafarge to fill its expanded polystyrene blocks. The two companies will then approve a network of companies to bring the product to the market.

Australia: Kingspan says that its Somerton insulation plant near Melbourne is making progress towards gaining a Green Star rating. If it does so it will the first manufacturing plant in the country to do so. Kingspan and the Green Building Council of Australia have collaborated to allow the rating tool to be used for production plants in the country. A Green Star certified rating provides independent verification that a building or community project is sustainable.