Displaying items by tag: US
Sika acquires Rmax Operating in the US
15 December 2016US: 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.
TechnoNicol prepares Superglass for US and UK expansion
06 December 2016UK: TechnoNicol International plants to use Stirling-based Superglass to launch an expansion programme in the US and to develop its market in the UK and Ireland. TechnoNicol has created a new division at the company it purchased in July 2016 to achieve this aim and has made senior appointments to support it. The company aims to establish a ‘significant’ market share in North America over the next five years.
Ken Munro, Superglass’s chief executive officer, has become chief executive officer of TechnoNicol (UK, Ireland and USA). In this newly created role, Munro will have responsibility for the management and coordination of TechnoNicol’s presence in these regions and will continue to lead and develop the Superglass business as it is incorporated into this expanded structure.
Munro will also have responsibility for the global development of the Superglass brand as it begins to play a part in TechnoNicol’s overall insulation products strategy. As further businesses are developed, both organically and by acquisition, they will be integrated into this unified regional structure, with new jobs likely to be created in Stirling as the regional headquarters takes shape.
Stuart Rowell, who is currently Group Business Development Director at Superglass, and Girts Dikelsons, currently Regional Director TechnoNicol (UK and USA), will be responsible for sales and marketing activity across all product lines in the new region and are appointed as Regional Sales Director (Insulation Solutions) and Regional Sales Director (Bitumen Membrane Solutions) respectively.
Theresa McLean, Superglass’s Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed as chief financial officer of TechnoNicol (UK, Ireland and USA) and Mark Atherton, Operations Director at Superglass, becomes Chief Production Officer and Head of Operations for the newly expanded regional business. Rowell, Dikelsons, McLean, and Atherton will all report directly to Ken Munro.
US: Owens Corning’s insulation sales have fallen by 4% year-on-year to US$1.28bn in the first nine months of 2016 from US$1.33bn in the same period in 2015. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 7.8% to US$83m from US$90m. The company described the US new residential construction market as ‘competitive’ and said that it expects its insulation revenue in 2016 to drop by 5%. However, it believes that pricing stabilised late in the summer of 2016 and that the mid-term outlook for this business remains unchanged.
Across all businesses, the company reported that its net sales rose by 5.9% to US$4.29bn from US$4.05bn and that its EBIT rose by 37% to US$563m from US$410m. It also mentioned the strong performance of its roofing business in the third quarter of 2016.
US: The board of directors of Stepan Company has unanimously appointed F Quinn Stepan, Jr, the company's president and CEO and a director, to succeed F Quinn Stepan as chairman. Stepan, Jr will assume the role upon his father’s retirement on 31 December 2016. Stepan, Sr has served as chairman since 1984, and previously served as CEO of the company from November 1984 to December 2005. The company also announced that Edward J Wehmer will serve as lead independent director, effective upon Stepan Sr's retirement.
Installed Building Products buys East Coast Insulators
18 October 2016US: Installed Building Products has purchased East Coast Insulators, a provider of insulation services to residential and commercial customers in the Virginia, West Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland markets through two Virginia locations. "With US$20m of annual revenues, East Coast Insulators has a large presence within strong and growing markets, and this acquisition will help expand our presence in the mid-Atlantic region," said Jeff Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer of Installed Building Products.
Kingspan launches Kooltherm brand in US
11 October 2016US: Kingspan Insulation has launched Kooltherm, its rigid thermoset insulation, in the US. The line offers a range of products for wall, floor, soffit and rainscreen applications. It has a fibre-free rigid thermoset phenolic insulation core that resists both moisture and water vapour ingress.
"Kingspan is committed to bringing its globally-innovative technology to the North American market," said Alswinn Kieboom, managing director, Kingspan Insulation North America. "As part of this continuing effort, we are excited to offer our Kooltherm insulation to the construction marketplace. Our class-leading R-value and fire resistance properties will prove to be beneficial to the construction community."
Kingspan Insulation starts expansion at Virginia plant
12 September 2016US: Kingspan Insulation has started an expansion project at its Winchester plant in Virginia. The US$25m investment in the plant will be used to install a new extruded polystyrene insulation (XPS) insulation manufacturing line.
"We are pleased to announce that the installation is proceeding on time and on cost," said Kingspan Insulation North America's Managing Director Alswinn Kieboom.
Once the project is completed, it will allow Kingspan Insulation to continue to service demand for its GreenGuard line of XPS board products. The products feature moisture resistance, an R-value of 5.0 per inch of thickness and are suitable for a range of applications including cavity walls, continuous insulation, roofs, below-grade perimeter foundation and slab-on-grade.
As part of this investment programme, Kingspan Insulation has announced its intent to begin production of high performance, polyiso insulation in North America, providing an even greater choice for specifiers and contractors.
Kingspan Insulation is currently considering locations for three new production lines. Locations under consideration are at its existing plant in Virginia, at its sister company sites in California, Florida, Ohio, as well as sites in Nevada and Texas in the US, plus Ontario and British Columbia.
Toray to increase production capacity at TPA Virginia Plant
09 September 2016US: Toray Industries has released plans to increase the production capacity of Toraypef polyolefin foam manufactured at Toray Plastics (America). The Japanese chemical manufacturer will invest US$39m towards building a 3000t/yr unit at its TPA Virginia Plant. The new facility is expected to start operations in the beginning of 2018. The expansion of the production facility will boost TPA's Toraypef production to 7500t/yr.
Toraypef is a polyolefin foam developed using Toray's proprietary manufacturing method, and it is adopted for various purposes including thermal insulation. Principally the product is being targeted at car production.
Installed Building Products buys Southern Insulators
16 August 2016US: Installed Building Products has acquired Southern Insulators & Specialties, a fibreglass and spray foam insulation installer based in Covington, Louisiana. No value for the purchase was released.
"Southern has a large presence in the state of Louisiana with trailing-12 month revenues of approximately US$5m," said Jeff Edwards, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He added that Installed Building Products has completed six acquisitions, representing nearly US$53m of annual revenue, since the start of 2016.
US: Installed Building Products’ (IBP) net revenue has risen by 40% year-on-year to US$404m in the first half of 2016 from US$290m in the same period of 2015. Its net income more than doubled to US$15.8m from US$7.7m. The insulation installation company attributed the strong result to growth in the residential building market.
"Our results continue to benefit from strength throughout the homebuilding industry, growth at our existing branch locations and the contribution of our recently acquired businesses,” said Jeff Edwards, chairman and chief executive officer of IBP.