Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: Xtratherm has agreed to acquire Ballytherm’s Ireland and UK operations. The businesses include one polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation plant in Ballyconnell, County Cavan and a new production unit that the company is preparing to open at Ross-on-Wye in the UK. The expansion is intended to expand the operations of Unilin Insulation, the owner of Xtratherm, in the UK and Ireland.

Barry Rafferty, the managing director of Xtratherm, said “The acquisition of Ballytherm, along with additional investment in new technologies will allow Xtratherm to deliver on operational excellence, new product innovations and improved service that will contribute towards a stronger and more sustainable future for our employees, customers and the construction sector in the UK and Ireland.” At present Xtratherm operates two foam insulation plants in Ireland and the UK respectively.

The proposed acquisition will be subject to the approval of competition authorities in Ireland. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of 2021.

UK: The Construction Leadership Council and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have named Knauf Insulation UK & Ireland a ‘Business Champion’ under the CO₂nstruct Zero building industry decarbonisation transition initiative. The status signifies demonstrated leadership in promoting best practice to reduce construction’s carbon footprint.

Northern Europe regional managing director Neil Hargreaves said “Net zero is a colossal challenge, and to achieve it will require unprecedented collaboration. As the biggest supplier of insulation into newbuild homes in the UK and the nation’s only manufacturer of both glass and stone Wool, we have an important role to play.” He added “We look forward to working with our partners across the supply chain to create a built environment that’s fit for the future. Improved insulation will be at the heart of UK construction’s efforts to decarbonise.”

US: Denmark-based Rockwool has commissioned its new Ranson stone wool insulation plant in Jefferson County, West Virginia and started commercial production. The company has hired 110 people to work at the 43,000m³ facility. It says that the plant will employ a total of 150 once production has ramped up in mid/late 2021. It is equipped with fuel-flexible melting technology, enabling operations to switch to natural gas from coal. This can reduce the plant’s CO₂ emissions by 30%, according to the company.

Chief executive officer Jens Birgersson said “In the US, as in Europe and Asia, there is a growing demand for Rockwool’s non-combustible, recyclable stone wool insulation. The West Virginia facility will help meet that demand in North America. We are proud that our products play such an important role in reducing the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with buildings, and do so in a safe, sustainable manner.”

Denmark: Rockwool has signed a new revolving credit facility worth Euro600m. The facility replaced its existing facilities and has a built-in pricing mechanism connecting its costs to three externally-assured sustainability goals. The goals are CO₂ emission reduction, increasing the number of countries in which it offers its recycling schemes and reducing factory waste. The purposes of the facility are to strengthen capital structure and support long-term growth.

Chief Financial Officer Kim Junge Andersen said, “While we already are a net-carbon-negative company, we have committed ourselves to ambitious sustainability targets to reduce our carbon footprint and waste from operations and to expand our recycling offerings. To measure our progress, it is important for us to have a fact-based and auditable approach to how we maximise our products’ positive impact while minimising the environmental impact of our operations.”

Ireland/UK: Knauf Insulation has launched a new packaging including new designs across the whole range, an upgrade to its compression technology and more environmentally-friendly packaging.

The new packaging designs feature bigger and clearer product names. Products are colour-coded into thermal conductivity groups consistent across the whole glass mineral wool range, and essential features such as the Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification and Ecose Technology, Knauf Insulation’s unique bio-based binder, are more easily identifiable. The Earthwool brand has been phased out to simplify the branding structure, and a new brand, Rocksilk, has been introduced for its rock mineral wool product range. The insulation producer says that a further upgrade of the compression technology on the glass mineral wool range enables, on average, 15% more insulation per roll and 25% more packs on each pallet for slabs.

“We’ve listened to our customers, but we have also been proactive, trying to pre-empt future needs,” said Vanessa Rae, Marketing Director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe. “We know how important it is to choose the right product for the application quickly, and move and store it efficiently, whether in-branch or on-site. We also know that sustainability matters more than ever, so we’ve taken these steps to reduce our products’ carbon footprint further so customers can rely on us to help them tick the green boxes for their projects.”