Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: The National Insulation Association (NIA) has announced the winners of its 2022 Safety Excellence Award and Premier Manufacturers Award winners. In the Safety Excellence Associate category, Johns Manville’s Denver, Colorado, plant, Knauf Insulation’s Shelbyville, Indiana, plant, Owens Corning’s Toledo, Ohio, plant and Proto Corporation’s Clearwater, Florida, plant all won Platinum awards. Meanwhile, the NIA’s Premier Industry Manufacturers for the year were Armacell, Johns Manville, Knauf Insulation and Owens Corning.

Singapore: Luxembourg-based Armacell has opened its new Singapore Customer Experience Centre workshop and training facility. Armacell says that the centre will also stock its thermal, mechanical and acoustic foam insulation products.

President and CEO Patrick Mathieu said "Asia is a strong growth driver for Armacell and we have been investing intensively in the region. This investment is a testament to our confidence in new business opportunities and also highlights our core value proposition as a superior systems solutions provider.”

Luxembourg: Armacell recorded consolidated net sales of Euro591m in 2020, down by 8% year-on-year from Euro644m in 2019. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 10% to Euro120m from Euro134m. During the year, the company completed a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foaming line expansion in Suzhou, China, built an elastometric foams plant in Cheonan, South Korea and consolidated its Italian insulation activities at a new facility in Turin. It also made strategic investments in diversified areas.

President and chief executive officer Patrick Mathieu said, “In a complex and challenging environment our business model again proved resilient. With our global reach and multi-segment activity, we ended the year in relatively good shape. We took the appropriate measures to navigate changing circumstances and ensure we come out of the pandemic stronger than before. Our utmost priority was always to safeguard the health of our employees, maintain operations and continuously support our customers.” He added, “After the successful closure of our capital market refinancing in February 2020, our shareholders PAI Partners and KIRKBI expressed their commitment to our on-going growth strategy. In 2021, we look forward to partnering with our customers in adding value to their businesses.”

US: The National Insulation Association (NIA) has named three insulation producers as winners of its 2021 Premier Industry Manufacturer award. Armacell, Johns Manville and Owens Corning won the nationwide award. The association’s Platinum Safety Excellence awards were presented to six insulation producers: Armacell, CertainTeed Corporation, Dyplast Products, Johns Manville, Owens Corning and Canada-based Rockwool Technical Insulation. The award is the highest category of safety excellence award at the association’s National Insulation Association Awards 2021. It awarded Proto Corporation a gold Safety Excellence award.

Executive vice president and chief executive officer Michele Jones said, “Each year, we honour our member companies that prioritise safety and make continuous improvements to their programmes, and this year we do so knowing that a strong and well communicated safety programme is more important than ever.”

The association handed over the awards virtually at its Spring Summit in mid-March 2021.

Luxembourg: Armacell recorded sales worth Euro288.4m in the first half of 2020, down by 10% year-on-year from Euro320m in the first half of 2020. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 17% to Euro52.5m from Euro63.3m. The company said that the effects of lower sales volumes “were not entirely offset by immediate cost control measures.”

President and chief executive officer (CEO) Patrick Mathieu said, “Strategically, we are well on track. Armacell has shown a steady performance in the first half of 2020, and our immediate measures to mitigate the risks arising from the pandemic are proving beneficial. Our good performance over the past months underlines the resilience of our business, which we continue to grow.”

Germany: Armacell has recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first half of 2019 of Euro63.4m, up by 29.2% year-on-year from Euro50.6m in the six months to 30 June 2018.

Armacell recorded half-year sales of Euro322m, up by 6.3% from Euro303m. CEO Patrick Mathieu notied the strong performance of both advanced insulation and engineered foams. The first half of 2019 was notable for an increase in Armacell’s Chinese polyethylene terephthalate (PET) production capacity and a commercial cooperation agreement in April with Thermaflex in Russia.

US: Armacell has acquired the insulation business of Nomaco, a manufacturer of extruded polyethylene (PE) insulation foam products. The acquisition of the Yukon, Oklahoma-based manufacturing facility will strengthen Armacell’s domestic production capacity and regional distribution network. No purchase price has been disclosed.

“The expansion of our manufacturing footprint into Oklahoma increases our distribution power and service levels in the Midwest and the West. Our customers will benefit both from a broader product portfolio as well as from stronger technical support,” said Patrick Mathieu, president and chief executive officer of Armacell International.

South Korea: Armacell and JIOS Aerogel (JIOS) have formed a joint venture called Armacell Jios Aerogels (AJA) to develop and manufacture silica aerogel blankets. The new company will be based in Hong Kong and South Korea, operating from Armacell’s existing manufacturing facility in Cheonan, close to Seoul.

JIOS is contributing its process technology and proprietary manufacturing know-how as well as the intellectual property. Armacell will invest an undisclosed amount into aerogel blanket production equipment, accelerate the industrialisation and certification process and provide its world-wide distribution network to market the new technology. AJA will focus on delivering solutions based on aerogel blankets to the oil and gas, marine and general industrial sectors and in particular for high temperature and cryogenic applications.

“The joint venture with JIOS provides us with access to the next generation of aerogel technology and enables us to deliver a complete portfolio of thermal and acoustic insulation solutions to the oil & gas industry,” said Patrick Mathieu, chief executive officer and president of Armacell International.

Brazil: Armacell has purchased PoliPex, a Brazilian manufacturer of extruded polyethylene insulation foams, in a share deal for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will strengthen Armacell´s product portfolio in Latin America and increases the domestic customer service levels, as well as, the support for regional original equipment manufacturers.

“PoliPex has decades of technology know-how in extruded polyurethane production as well as a strong domestic team. We are looking forward to serving our clients across Latin America with a broader product portfolio and extended customer service levels,” said Patrick Mathieu, President and CEO of Armacell International.

PoliPex produces extruded polyurethane insulation foams in Brazil and has approximately 80 employees. The company was founded by John Johannes van Mullem in 1991 and maintains its headquarters in Santa Catarina in the South of Brazil, as well as distribution centres in the South and the Northeast of the country. In the calendar year 2015 PoliPex generated revenues of approximately US$13m.

US: Having outgrown its offices in Mebane, North Carolina, insulation manufacturer Armacell is relocating its American headquarters to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Armacell's Americas headquarters has been located in Mebane for the past 15 years. The company produces insulation materials used in fire protection, product padding and noise control products. Its parent company, Armacell International Holding GmbH, is based in Germany.

Jodi Cheek, General Manager of Human Resources for Armacell's Americas region, said that the move would free up space in the Mebane facility for its customer service, research and development and technical support staff. Armacell's Mebane facility encompasses more than 444,000ft² of building space, including a manufacturing facility, warehouse, research and development space and offices.