Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Owens Corning (OC) has swung to a fourth-quarter profit due to prior-year acquisition-related costs as the company continued to see stronger sales in its building materials. OC saw sales improve for its roofing and insulation materials in 2011 despite the ongoing slump in the US housing market. A focus on costs has helped support its bottom line.

OC reported a profit of US$50m for the fourth quarter of 2011 from a year-earlier loss of US$110m. The year-earlier period included a net US$135m in asset-sales losses and acquisition and restructuring-related charges. Its revenue increased by 2.4% to US$1.2bn and its gross margin rose to 19.2% from 17.1%. The building materials segment, OC's biggest area, reported net sales growth of 8%, including an increase of 8.7% in insulation sales.

Chairman and Chief Executive Mike Thaman said that OC anticipates improved US housing starts and modest growth in the global economy in 2012. The company expects that a strong performance in its building materials business will more than offset impacts of near-term market challenges in its composites business.

Italy: A Swiss billionaire and a Belgian baron have been found guilty and sentenced to 16 years each in prison by an Italian court in a ground breaking trial over more than 3000 asbestos-related deaths.

Stephan Schmidheiny, 64, the former owner of a company making Eternit fibre cement, and Jean-Louis Marie Ghislain de Cartier de Marchienne, 90, a major shareholder, were sentenced in absentia after being found guilty of causing an environmental disaster and failing to comply with safety regulations. They were also ordered to pay Euro30,000 in damages to relatives of people killed by asbestos-related diseases and Euro35,000 for every sick person, as well as other payouts expected to total tens of millions of Euros.

"It's a fair verdict which acknowledges their responsibility," said lawyer Sergio Bonetto. "The problem now is to see if the condemned men will face up to their obligations."

Prosecutors said Eternit failed to stop asbestos fibres left over from production of roof coverings and pipes at its northern Italian factories from spreading across the region. During the trial, which started in December 2009, some 2100 deaths or illnesses were blamed on the asbestos fibres. Such crimes usually carry a maximum 12-year sentence, but prosecutors had sought a harsher punishment because, they say, the fall-out continues to affect its victims. Defence lawyers denied that the accused had direct responsibility for the Italian company, and the pair have been absent from court throughout.

Italian health minister Renato Balduzzi hailed the verdict by the three-judge Turin court as 'without exaggeration, truly historic,' noting that it came after a long battle for justice.

UK: Jablite, the UK's leading manufacturer of expanded polystyrene insulation products, has appointed Silo, a new design studio, as 'designers-in-residence' at its Belvedere manufacturing site in east London. This unlikely relationship between an insulation manufacturer and the pair of designers, both MA graduates from the Royal College of Art, is taking both parties in unexpected and exciting directions.

"We were very impressed when we saw Silo's final degree show pieces made from EPS that we had given them," said Richard Lee, Managing Director at Jablite. "They were looking for sponsors to help them set up a studio. Instead of cash, we offered them studio space on our site." Jablite was keen to offer the pair a 'residency.'

"This is not something Jablite has ever done before but we are changing the way we work," said Lee. "Innovation of our products and operations is now central to our way of doing business and taking on Silo seemed an interesting step for us and them."

Through a process of trial and error, Silo has developed a new variant of EPS called 'Not So Expanded Polystyrene' (NSPS) and they have created some extraordinary and beautiful pieces with it, using handmade textile moulds.

"For us, the relationship with Jablite is a great opportunity. We can see how Jablite manufactures, the high standards it works to and the pressure of making quality products in large volumes to order and we can learn from that," said Oscar Wanless, one half of Silo. "Our aim is to use the same material and processes, but in an entirely new way, in a way that enables us to find new potential in a familiar material."

"Our challenge was to change the material properties to create a more durable, rigid and structural material that people will want to use and keep," added Silo's Attua Aparicio.

Ukraine: Knauf Insulation Ukraine has announced that it intends to increase its share of the Ukrainian fibreglass market to 35% in 2012. The company's 2011 market share was 30%.

"In 2012 the company expects that the thermal insulation materials' market will keep developing and Knauf Insulation Ukraine plans to shore up its position and occupy at least one-third of the fibreglass insulation segment," said company director Andrii Pavlik.

In the long-run the company intends to further develop the Ukranian market and advertise the benefits of the material to Ukrainian consumers. In the future the company intends to open its own heat insulation production plants in Ukraine, but this plan is currently on hold due to the economic downturn. The company has long-established plans for a production site in Fastiv, Kyiv Region, obtaining all necessary permits for the project.

"The economic downturn adjusted the development of Ukraine's construction sector and, consequently, our plans for realisation of the project. As soon as the construction industry demonstrates stable growth I think we will be able to begin building our factory," Pavlik said.

Finland/Lithuania: Paroc, which makes insulation materials, has given notice to 17 people in its financial administration departments at four locations in Finland. The company said that it will now concentrate its financial administration in Lithuania, where it will establish a service centre.

Paroc said that the move was not about looking for a country with cheaper labour, but about the need to concentrate employees in one location. Paroc operates in 13 countries and has manufacturing in Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Poland.