Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

France: Knauf France has launched ThermaSoft Natura, a domestic thermal insulation product made from plant-based materials. It will be made using cotton scraps from textile manufacturing, jute fibres from recycled food bags and flax fibres from agricultural crops, according to Le Moniteur. The product will be manufactured in the Lyon region and distributed from April 2022.

India: France-based Saint-Gobain has agreed to buy Rockwool India from Alghanim Group for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will see Saint-Gobain enter the insulation sector directly in the country adding to its existing presence in the gypsum, glass and construction chemical sectors. The deal is subject to the completion of conditions set out in the agreement and approvals from the relevant authorities. It is expected to be completed in first quarter of 2022.

Rockwool India is a manufacturer of stone wool in India with a wide range of insulation products for thermal, acoustic and fire safety applications. It is also a licensee of Saint-Gobain technology for the manufacture of stone wool in the country. The company operates two production plants, one in Hyderabad and another in Silvassa, with a total capacity of around 50,000t/yr. Saint-Gobain also said that it has a ‘strong’ marketing network across the country.

UK: SIG recorded revenue growth of 17% year-on-year in 2021. In the third quarter of 2019, growth was 9%. It achieved the acceleration despite material and truck driver shortages.

The company said that its UK distribution division was a key driver in its effective response to strategic and operational changes introduced since July 2020 designed to return the business to its previous market position and performance. Additionally, its France, UK exteriors and Poland businesses performed ‘very strongly.’ In all regions, the group passed on cost inflation to improve profitability quarter-on-quarter during the quarter. It forecast full-year underlying operating profit in 2021 ahead of market forecasts.

France: Saint-Gobain’s sales grew by 24.6% year-on-year to Euro22.1bn in the first half of 2021 from Euro17.8m in the same period in 2020. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) nearly doubled to Euro3.25bn from Euro1.64bn. Both sales and earnings were also higher than the comparable period in 2019.

“These first-half 2021 record results surpass even our second-half 2020 performance. This success reflects the profound positive changes in our organisation from Transform & Grow,” said Benoit Bazin, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain. “It also reflects structural changes in our markets, which should show an acceleration in growth over the coming years.”

The group added that it had integrated its Strikolith subsidiary into the main business. It acquired the Netherlands-based exterior insulation systems producer in late 2020.

France: Denmark-based Rockwool plans to begin building a new stone wool insulation plant at Soissons, Aisne department in 2022. The new plant will use an 80%-reduced-CO₂ electric melting production method previously employed at Rockwool’s Moss insulation plant in Norway in 2020. The company says that, when commissioned in 2024, the new plant will generate 130 jobs.

France and Southern Europe regional managing director Rafael Rodriguez said, “We are pleased that our investment in Soissons will enable us to better support the government’s ambitious efforts as well as the social and economic development of the local communities. With our more than 40-year history in France, this new facility is a natural next step for us in a market that continues growing in importance.”

Romania: France-based Saint-Gobain has acquired Duraziv, a producer of adhesives and other construction chemicals. The group said that the purchase would allow it to expand its range of interior and exterior finishing solutions. It also hopes the move will drive an improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings in Romania thanks to external thermal insulation solutions (ETICS) based on locally-produced stone wool and mortars. This latest addition follows the recent acquisition of Russia-based Adhesive Scientific and Production Company, a producer of polyurethane (PUR) and epoxy products.

US: France-based Saint-Gobain has awarded a contract to MTI Instruments to supply its Digital Accumeasure non-contact measuring technology. The group will use the product to measure closed-cell foam density in its production process. It said that the partnership aims to increase the number of process improvement products which reach plant implementation.

Saint-Gobain Competency Research Laboratories smart manufacturing team leader Mickael Boinet said "We chose MTI Instruments' Digital Accumeasure product for many reasons. The non-contact technology was just one of the pluses.” He added "We investigated various impedance measurement companies in Europe, but ultimately determined that the amplifier made by MTI Instruments was superior."

France: Unilin has renamed its product ranges for greater international clarity. The Le Moniteur des Artisans has reported that the Isocombo range of insulation will now be called Utherm Comfort and the Trilatte, Rexolight, Rexotoit, Rexolatte and Thermiwall ranges will now be called Usystem. Product names will additionally inform of application, for example ‘roof’ or ‘wall,’ and type of insulation. Interior panels will lastly bear a colour name.

The producer also announced the launch of a new logo.

France: Saint-Gobain’s third quarter results for 2020 for its High Performance Solutions division were supported by external thermal insulation products (ETICS). The group said that, “activities serving the construction Industry held up well in the nine-month period, and in the third quarter when sales were virtually stable thanks notably to ETICS.” Despite this sales decreased for the division in both the third quarter and the first nine months of 2020.

The building materials producer’s overall like-for-like sales fell by 7.2% year-on-year to Euro27.9bn in the first nine months of 2020 from Euro32.4bn in the same period in 2019. However, overall sales improved by 3.2% year-on-year to Euro10.1bn in the third quarter of 2020.

France: LafargeHolcim subsidiary LafargeFrance has relaunched its Airium mineral foam, a concrete block additive, for a new application, namely roof insulation. The company says that Airium has a lifespan of 50 years and “retains heat in winter like most insulation, while also preserving buildings’ freshness in summer” thanks to its phase shift time of over nine hours.

Lafarge France developed the new application in partnership with coatings producer PRB. It said, “We select premium applicators (blowers) from suppliers from LafargeHolcim’s screeds and PRB coatings network. The PRB and Airium partnership thus takes on its full meaning and ensures quality service to new users.”