Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UAE: Researchers at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) have developed a composite thermal insulation material made from a blend of unsaturated polyester liquid with date pits powder. The material is intended to improve upon the low mechanical properties that conventional insulation materials such as polyurethane, polystyrene and mineral wool have. As such it can be produced in different forms such as a sheets, boards and blocks.

“In the UAE, there is an on-going search for alternative means and materials that preserve and minimise the loss of energy in buildings,” said Basim Abu-Jdayil, Professor in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, UAEU, who leads the project.

UK: Belgium’s Recticel plans to invest at least Euro20m towards increasing its production capacity by at least 50% of rigid polyurethane foam (PIR) panels for thermal insulation for the construction market. Start of production is planned for the third quarter of 2018. The polyurethane foam producer plans to take advantage of stricter insulation standards and regulations, higher energy prices and the growing market awareness for the product.

“This investment is consistent with the growth strategy of our Insulation business. It brings substantial additional production capacity to enable Recticel to continue to serve its customers in the United Kingdom and to grow with them,” said chief executive officer Olivier Chapelle.

Belgium: Ursa’s plant in Desselgem has gained ISO 140001 certification for the design, production and sales of glass wool insulation. The international standard specifies all the necessary requirements to establish an Environmental Management System, which will aid the environmental performance of the company. In addition the certification allows the company’s products to be sold more easily in the UK as they can now be readily specified in buildings being assessed under BREEAM, the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method.

US: Johns Manville’s Corbond open cell spray foam (oc SPF) has met the requirements for application without a prescriptive ignition barrier in sealed unoccupied attics for commercial and residential projects. The approval eliminates the need to apply a separate fire protective coating. The achievement is detailed in a code compliant research report, CCRR-1079, from Intertek.

“We are committed to providing the highest quality service and products to our customers, which is why we are constantly improving upon our broad range of insulation solutions,” said Bob Wamboldt, senior vice president and general manager of Insulation Systems at Johns Manville. “By optimising JM Corbond oc SPF to achieve new code compliance, we are helping our customers achieve performance goals in less time and with fewer materials.”

JM Corbond oc SPF is a two-component, low-density, non-structural insulation system designed for commercial, residential and industrial applications.

Finland: Paroc has described 2016 as ‘fairly challenging’ as its net sales fell slightly to Euro376m and its earning before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 4% to Euro76.5m in 2016 from Euro73.3m in 2015. Despite reporting an improvement in construction activity in the second half of the year, sales fell in Russia. The insulation producer solid its Paroc Panel System (PPS) business to Kingspan Group in December 2016 and it announced plans to shut its Oulu stone wool plant in January 2017.