Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Price rises drive Rockwool’s sales and earnings in 2022 13 February 2023
Denmark: Rockwool’s net sales grew by 27% year-on-year to Euro3.91bn in 2022 from Euro3.09bn in 2021. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6% to Euro638m from Euro602m. The group reported a strong start to 2022 with high demand for its stone wool insulation products. In the second half of the year it noted a decline in construction activity in key markets. However, it increased its prices leading to increased sales. By region the group said that sales grew in Europe and Asian markets, were flat in the US and declined in China.
Chief executive officer Jens Birgersson said, “Looking forward, we expect construction activity to continue slowing down in the coming period. We anticipate the energy efficiency agenda in both Europe and North America will accelerate renovation rates in the mid-term and create higher demand for our circular and non-combustible stone wool. We will continue to invest in more capacity to support our long-term growth”.
Together with the group’s chair Thomas Kähler, he also defended the company’s decision to continue the ownership of a subsidiary in Russia. “If we were to depart Russia, our factories and the intellectual property rights to our unique technology would most likely be nationalised or otherwise transferred to local players. Since the factories operate independently of our head office, they would continue to operate - just under different ownership. It therefore remains our view that retaining the business in Russia is the least bad option available to us. And of course, we will continue to comply with all international sanctions.”
Rockwool said that it had added production capacity for its Grodan agricultural stone wool range at its plant in Toronto, Canada and capacity for its Rockfon stone wool ceiling panel range at its Cigacice plant in Poland. In China it had opened a new plant at Qinyuan in December 2022 to replace its mineral wool unit at Guangzhou, which closed in September 2022. It also reported that plans to build a new stone wool plant at Soissons in France had been delayed due to a local legal challenge. Notable upgrades in 2022 included the start of a conversion project to electric melting technology from fossil fuels at the Flumroc plant in Switzerland, with a commissioning date scheduled for 2024. This project follows a similar one at the Moss plant in Norway that was completed in 2020.
PGF Capital opening mineral wool distribution centres in Australia 13 February 2023
Australia: Malaysia-based PGF Capital is preparing to open three distribution centres at Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. The mineral wool insulation producer set up its new regional headquarters in Melbourne in the third quarter of 2022, according to the New Straits Times newspaper. The site at Brisbane is set to become fully operational in March 2023, the site in Perth in May 2023 and the site in Sydney is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2023.
The expansion drive is part of a project to grow its business in Oceania. Another market that the company is targeting is South Korea. PGF Capital and its subsidiary PGF Insulation said it has started making modifications to its production line at Perai in Penang to meet the local market requirements. it plans to start supplying insulation products to the country later in 2023.
Metsä Group invests in Fiberwood 13 February 2023
Finland: Metsä Group has invested in wood fibre insulation producer Fiberwood in a late seed funding round. The round was led by Metsä Group’s new business and research subsidiary Metsä Spring. It also included government financing from Business Finland.
Fiberwood is developing and manufacturing wood fibre insulation and packaging materials made from mechanical wood industry side streams. The Finland-based company was founded in 2019.
Karita Kinnunen-Raudaskoski, the Director of Technology and Product Development at Fiberwood, said “Since September 2022, in our first phase of production we have been able to produce commercial-sized insulation boards for testing. Next, we will build a continuous pilot line for production-scale product and process development. As no existing machinery and processes can produce our products, we need to invent new technology to do so.”
Ross Foreman appointed as National Wood Wool Manager for UK & Ireland for Knauf Insulation 13 February 2023
UK/Ireland: Knauf Insulation has appointed Ross Foreman as its National Wood Wool Manager for UK & Ireland. Foreman will support the company’s drive to meet increasing demand for its Heraklith range of wood wool products.
Knauf Insulation offers two core products in the Heraklith range: the Heraklith A2 Decorative Panel, which is a cement-bonded wood wool panel; and the Heraklith Tektalan A2 SmartTec, which is a cement-bonded wood wool panel combined with a rock mineral wool insulation core. Both products are non-combustible with A2 - s1, d0 Euroclass reaction to fire classification.
The Heraklith A2 Decorative Panel is designed for use in residential, recreational, industrial and commercial environments where sound absorption is desired. It is available in three panel thicknesses with thermal conductivity of 0.085W/mK.
Heraklith Tektalan A2 SmartTec is suitable for insulating the soffits of carparks and underground garages, basement ceilings and technical rooms. It has a thermal conductivity of 0.095W/mK and the mineral wool core a thermal conductivity of 0.034W/mK.
Belgium: Recticel’s Simfocor polyurethane board product has been certified a ‘Solar Impulse Efficient Solution’ by the Solar Impulse Foundation. The label is awarded to products, services or processes combining credible environmental and economic performance. It also means that Simfocor joins the Solar Impulse Foundation’s list of products selected for their contribution to clean economic growth.
Simfocor is part of the ‘Recticel Silence’ insulation range and is currently sold in France and Spain. It is a polyurethane insulation board that is marketed for both its acoustic and thermal insulation properties. The product is made of recycled polyurethane foams sourced from discarded mattresses.
SIG’s revenues grow in 2022 despite softer second half 13 February 2023
UK: SIG’s sales revenue grew by 17% year-on-year to Euro3.12bn in 2022 on a like-for-like basis. Market demand fell in the second half of the year with particularly slowed growth in Poland and Ireland although growth increased in the Benelux region. The group said that its commercial strategy had strengthened its positions in the markets in which it operate. It observed that although input price inflation eased in the second half of 2022 it had slowed revenue growth. The company also reported a one-off loss of around Euro5.60m in the second half due to Avonside, a large UK-based roofing contractor and one of the group's largest customers, entering financial administration.
Knauf Insulation grows business in Romania in 2022 13 February 2023
Romania: Knauf Insulation’s revenue grew by 40% year-on-year to Euro27.2m in 2022 from Euro19.4m in 2021. It attributed this to increased sales volumes and higher pricing, according to the Ziarul Financiar newspaper. The subsidiary of Germany-based Knauf acquired the Târnăveni glass wool insulation plant from Gecsat in mid-2022. It later announced plans for a Euro135m upgrade to the site including expanding the existing unit and building a new plant adjacent to it. Construction work on the project was schedule in start in January 2023.