Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Brazil/Finland: Saint-Gobain Isover has obtained Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for its products in Brazil and Finland. It has obtained five EPDs in Brazil where it has become the first insulation company in the country to obtain EPDs registered with Environdec. In Finland it has published three new verified EPDs through the Norwegian EPD platform EPD Norge.

US: Honeywell has filed legal action against MEK Chemical for selling HFC-245fa in the US, an alleged violation of a Honeywell process patent. The liquid blowing agent used in the production of foam insulation, is manufactured by Honeywell under the brand name Enovate, according to ICIS.

Finland: Paroc Group has agreed to sell sale its Paroc Panel System (PPS) business to Kingspan Group. The personnel of PPS will all be transferred to the new owner. Along with the transaction, the parties have agreed on commercial cooperation in stone wool supply to the PPS factory in Parainen. No value for the deal has been disclosed.

"The arrangement supports the focus of Paroc on building and technical insulation. We will continue to seek market expansion and growth possibilities in those areas,” said Kari Lehtinen, chief executive officer of Paroc Group.

PPS is a subsidiary of Paroc Group Oy. In 2015, PPS sales totalled Euro47m, with about 100 employees in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany. Paroc Panel System panels are manufactured in Parainen, Finland.

US: Sika has agreed to acquire Rmax Operating, a US-based producer of polyiso insulation products for complete building envelope solutions, including roofing and wall systems. The purchase is anticipated to drive Sika’s growth in the North American market via synergies between the companies. Rmax generated sales in excess of US$75m in 2016. The transaction is subject to clearance by anti-trust authorities.

“The acquisition of Rmax fits perfectly with Sika’s growth strategy in North America, further strengthening our already fast-growing building systems in roofing, sealants and waterproofing. Rmax brings us a proven industry leader, with strong innovations for building envelope applications, along with manufacturing expertise for wall and roofing insulation. We proudly welcome the Rmax employees to the Sika team and are excited about growing our business together,” said Christoph Ganz, Regional Manager North America for Sika.

Rmax Operating produces insulation products and accessories at three production sites in Dallas in Texas, Greer in South Carolina and Fernley in Nevada. Currently Sika USA purchases insulation products from third party suppliers to include in its solutions for roofing and building envelopes. With this acquisition it will now be possible to benefit from in-house production.

Slovenia: Recticel’s insulation division has entered into a production joint venture with Turna by acquiring 50% of the shares of its affiliate Turvac. Turvac is located in Šoštanj and it specialises in the production of vacuum insulation panels (VIP). Recticel Insulation will commercialize VIPs for niche applications in the construction market and Turna will focus on sales to the household appliances markets. This new technology allows Recticel Insulation to enhance its products portfolio and to strengthen its position in high performance insulation solutions for the European building market.