Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Owens Corning has published its 2023 Sustainability Report, highlighting its advances in sustainability in the past year. These included a 59% share of revenues from reduced-CO₂ products, with a 25% share of revenues from 14 products certified as produced with 100% renewable electricity. Scope 1 and 2 emissions fell by 28% from 2018 levels, in line with the group’s 50% 2030 reduction target. It launched a pilot bitumen felt shingle recycling programme, aimed at recycling 2Mt/yr of shingles in the US by 2030. Further, Owens Corning reduced its generation of landfill waste by 14% from 2018 levels, and launched a Circular Economy Recycling Technology Innovation Laboratory in Granville, Ohio. In 2023, the group’s incident rate was 81% below the industry average, and it remains on track to meet its 2030 inclusion and diversity goals.

Senior vice president and chief sustainability officer David Rabuano said “Our 2030 sustainability goals are growing ever closer, and we believe that the targets we have set for ourselves are well within our reach. This confidence is the result of our employees’ unparalleled engagement and enthusiasm for our mission coupled with our investments in the innovation required to execute new solutions.”

Chair and CEO Brian Chambers said “Owens Corning demonstrated outstanding financial and sustainability results in 2023, showcasing the power of our company’s mission to build a sustainable future through material innovation. This report reflects the global scope of our people and our products and the many ways they work to make the world a better place.”

Owens Corning recorded net sales of US$9.68bn in 2023, down by 1% from US$9.76bn in 2022, while its adjusted earnings before interest and taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 2% to US$2.31bn.

Ireland: Kingspan has contested the European Commission (EC)'s preliminary findings from its investigation of the company’s abandoned attempt to acquire Slovenia-based Trimo in 2021. The Commission preliminarily found that Kingspan negligently or intentionally provided incorrect, incomplete and misleading information during the merger review. The relevant information reportedly pertained to Kingspan’s internal organisation, market scope, barriers to entry and expansion and competition closeness with Trimo. The Irish Independent newspaper has reported that applicable fines may be up to 1% of Kingspan’s annual global turnover.

Kingspan disputed the preliminary findings and will now formulate a response. In a statement, the company said “Kingspan has fully co-operated with the commission throughout the period relating to the Trimo process, which commenced in September 2020, continued until Kingspan withdrew from the process in April 2022, and was followed by the EC's investigation, which opened in November 2022. This Trimo application was unusual and uniquely onerous given both the level of information sought and the fact that the process occurred during the Covid-19 outbreak. It is in no way representative of the long and productive relationship Kingspan has with the EC. Since the Trimo process began in 2020, Kingspan has secured four successful clearances, supporting investments by Kingspan in energy-efficient and low-carbon buildings that are essential to the EC's green transition."

Australia: Murray Industrial Hemp has announced plans for an upcoming hemp-based building materials plant in Barham, New South Wales. Its products will include alternative insulation panels. Local press has reported that all of the plant’s products will align with Australia's new 7-Star Building Standards for energy-efficient homes. Murray Industrial Hemp expects to commission the plant by early 2026.

Director Joe D'Alo said "We believe industrial hemp holds the key to transforming how Australia builds. Our goal is to assist mainstream builders, enabling them to seamlessly integrate hemp building products into their standard processes. The building process doesn’t change with hemp blocks and hemp panels."

Egypt: Smith Troy for Chemical Industries says that it expects to commission a new US$5m insulation line at Amreya, Alexandria, in June 2024. Business News Africa has reported that trial production will then run for two to three months. Smith Troy for Chemical Industries' CEO Walid Gamal el-Din said that the plant will export 80% of its production, which will contribute US$10m in sales in its first year of operations.

Russia/Kazakhstan: TechnoNICOL plans to invest US$109m in capital expenditure (CAPEX) in Russia and Kazakhstan throughout 2024. The sum is triple TechnoNICOL’s 2023 CAPEX, according to the company. US$27.3m will go towards two projects in Kazakhstan: the completion of the upcoming Almaty insulation plant, scheduled for September 2024, and the start of construction of the upcoming Karaganda insulation plant. The remainder of the sum will fund other projects, including the construction of the upcoming Rostov insulation plant and an expansion to the Chelyabinsk insulation plant, both in Russia.