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.

Russia: TechnoNicol has completed the construction of a Euro5.4m briquetting unit at its mineral wool plant in Rostov. The new unit will produce briquettes of waste fibres and smelt from the main production line. These will then be used to produce mineral wool. In addition to improving the plant’s environmental credentials the use of briquettes is also expected to reduce costs.

US: Rockwool is planning to build a US$150m mineral wool plant at Ranson in West Virginia. Construction is scheduled to start in October 2017 with production expected to commence in the first quarter of 2020. The new unit will have an area of 43,000m² and employ 150 workers.

“This new production site places us close to major population centres in the north-eastern, mid-Atlantic, and mid-western US. We’re growing along with the market, and we look forward to serving our customers’ needs from this new facility,” said Trent Ogilvie, president of Roxul, Rockwool Group’s subsidiary in North America.

China: Javier Gimeno, head of Saint-Gobain’s business in Asia-Pacific, has blamed production overcapacity for the company’s decision to stop manufacturing glass wool. He said that overcapacity had forced prices down and lowered margins, according to the Wall Street Journal. He added that the company is targeting profits over 10% and that it wants its business in China to grow faster than the national economy. Subsequently, the group has focused on products such as mortars, plastics and car windows. Gimeno also raised the issue of environmental regulations being stricter for foreign firms in China, although this is changing.