Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

UK: A public inquiry has heard that Grenfell Tower cladding subcontractor Harley Facades and staff of Saint-Gobain subsidiary Celotex discussed the use of Celotex’s RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation as a “case study” to determine “the U-value achieved by the product.” The insulation product was also sold to the contractor at a 48% discount. Ben Bailey, project manager at Harley Facades, denied that the price had anything to do with the final choice of product for the project. However, other documents showed that Harley Facades staff also enquired about the price of a Kingspan K15 insulation product.

In January 2020 Stephanie Barwise Q.C. told the inquiry that Celotex treated the 67m tall building as a "flagship" project for its RS5000 insulation product.

The Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017 killed 72 people. The inquiry continues.

UK: Celotex has temporarily suspends operations in the UK due to coronavirus. It said that it continued to support the country’s National Health Service (NHS) and other essential infrastructure and building projects. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain plans to provisionally reopen in late April 2020, although this will be reviewed.

UK: French-based Saint-Gobain has received vindication in its attempted deflection of liability for alleged harm done by flammable insulation products designed, manufactured and sold by its subsidiary Celotex with the revelation of systematic failures in the London Fire Brigade response to the Grenfell disaster on the night of 13 – 14 June 2017. BBC News reported that the Phase One Report, published on 29 October 2019, identified ‘serious shortcomings’ in large-scale incident management training for control room supervisors, with a ‘stay-put’ advisory strategy rescinded 60 to 80 minutes too late at 2:47AM.

US: Celotex has been named in a lawsuit filed in Philadelphia on behalf of victims and families of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, UK that killed 72 people. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they represent the estates of 69 of the 72 people who perished in the residential high-rise fire, and 177 survivors who suffered life-altering injuries, according to Reuters. The lawsuit demands a jury trial but has not specified the amount of compensation it is seeking. Whirlpool and Arconic have also been named in the document.

UK: An investigation by the BBC’s Panorama news program has alleged that a safety test for Celotex’s RS5000’s polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product used extra fire retardant in safety tests. The programme believes that a different product was eventually sold to the public. It also accused the subsidiary of Saint-Gobain of mis-selling the insulation with misleading marketing.

Celotex said that it was unaware of this allegation and had not identified anything that would support it. It is investigating this allegation as a ‘matter of urgency.’ It added that it had not used any special formulation for a recent successful BS-8414 system test in May 2018 or Class 0 fire testing.

Celotex suspended supply of RS5000 PIR insulation board in June 2017 following its use as part of the rainscreen cladding system in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The building had a fire in June 2017 that killed 72 people.

UK: Celotex says that a rainscreen cladding system using its RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product has passed the BS 8414:2 safety test. The insulation producer previously announced in January 2018 that it had found errors between a previous test and the description of the system in the report of the test. It added that the rainscreen cladding system conformed to the BR 135 fire test. It is now notifying the relevant bodies and is contacting its customers about results of this latest test.

Celotex suspended supply of RS5000 PIR insulation board in June 2017 following its use as part of the rainscreen cladding system in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The building had a fire in June 2017 that killed 71 people. The suspension remains in place.

UK: A leaked report by the by fire investigation specialists BRE Global has blamed a poor cladding refurbishment on a lethal fire at the Grenfell Tower in London on 14 June 2017. The document, leaked to the Evening Standard newspaper, found multiple deficiencies in the installation of the windows, cavity barriers and cladding system, and their failure to meet building regulations.

The report described insulation used in the refurbishment as ‘combustible’ and said that it provided a medium for the fire to, ‘spread up, across and within sections of the façade.’ BRE noted that the 75mm insulation foam used on most of the spandrel beams had, ‘no markings to identify the manufacturer of the foam.’ The Evening Standard says that 100mm Celotex foam insulation was also used in the columns but that the BRE report does not further distinguish between the two types.

71 people were killed in the fire that took place on 14 June 2017. The draft BRE report was submitted to the Metropolitan Police Service as part of its investigation.

UK: Celotex has found errors in a safety test for its RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product that was used as part of the rainscreen cladding system in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. As part of a review of the product the company has determined that there were differences between the system as tested for BS 8414:2 and the description of that system in the report of the test. The BS 8414:2 safety test was originally conducted prior to the RS5000 product being launched.

The insulation producer is exploring whether any safety issues arise from the differences in the test. It says it has notified the relevant bodies and is contacting its customers.

“It is a matter of real regret for us that this issue has arisen: we fully recognise its potential seriousness and that it will give rise to concern. We are working hard to arrange the further testing as quickly as possible and we will make a further announcement once the results of that testing are available,” said Celotex in a statement.

Celotex suspended supply of RS5000 PIR insulation board in June 2017 following a fire at Grenfell Tower in London that killed 71 people.

UK: Celotex has stopped supplying its RS5000 polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) insulation board product in rainscreen cladding systems for buildings over 18m tall. The decision is a temporary one whilst an investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire continues. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain previously confirmed that its product was purchased for use in a refurbishment project at the building. The fire is believed to have killed 79 people.

The insulation producer said that safety testing had been undertaken on its RS5000 product as part of a ‘particular’ rainscreen cladding system. It added that, “…any changes to components of the cladding system or construction methods used need to be considered by the relevant building designer.”

The decision by Celotex follows an announcement by the Metropolitan Police that insulation samples collected from Grenfell Tower combusted quickly in tests. The authorities are examining aluminium composite tiles, the insulation behind it and how these tiles were fixed to the building as well as how they were installed. The aluminium composite tiles have also failed initial safety tests.

UK: Celotex has launched a new range of flat roofing insulation solutions. It comprises three products: Celotex Crown-Bond, Crown-Up and Crown-Fix. The products were developed with contractors, installers and distributors, following an 18-month testing period.

“The new product range from Celotex perfectly demonstrates the commitment that British Rigid Urethane Foam Manufacturer’s Association (BRUFMA) members have to improving product quality and driving up standards for insulation in the UK,” said Mel Price, Assistant Chief Executive of BRUFMA.

BRUFMA represents most of the major companies in the Polyisocyanurate (PIR) and polyurethane (PUR) industry in the UK, including manufacturers of finished products, suppliers of the various raw materials and associated services.