Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Hungary: Belgium’s Ravago and Turkeyʼs Beşler Tekstil plant to build a Euro20.5m insulation plant at Alsózsolca. The plant will have a production capacity of 36,000t/yr, according to the Budapest Business Journal. The government is aiding the project with a contribution of just under Euro4m. Once operational the plant is expected to export third-thirds of its output internationally. The unit will also create 90 jobs.
Ravago is a Belgium plastics manufacturer with operations in over 55 countries. Beşler Tekstil is a Turkish textiles producer.
Hungary: Building materials producer Masterplast has been awarded a Euro0.8m grant from the government for its foam insulation plant at Kal. The grant will be used as part of a Euro1.6m upgrade at the site, according to the MTI-Eco news agency.
Hungary: Masterplast’s sales revenue rose by 17% year-on-year to Euro18m for the first quarter of 2017. Sales in Hungary grew by 40% and the insulation producer saw sales rise in all export markets with the exception of the Ukraine, according to local press. Sales in Slovakia and the European Union grew by 37% and 4% respectively but sales fell by 8% in the Ukraine. Around 41% of its revenue came from sales of external wall insulation system parts. However, despite the company’s rising sales its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 8% to Euro0.61m from Euro0.73m due to higher transport costs, higher labour costs and falling price margins.
Hungary/Ukraine: Hungarian building materials manufacturer Masterplast has seen its earnings fall in 2014 after the worsening Ukraine crisis forced it to write off investment plans for a new expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation plant in the country.
Masterplast has reported that its annual net income dropped by 38% year-on-year to Euro749,000 in 2014. Without the enforced Ukraine write-off, the company had expected its post-tax profit to reach Euro1.6m. Masterplast, which has a growing string of plants in eastern Europe, has reported that its 2014 revenue was flat at Euro81.6m, while its annual operating profit fell by 1% year-on-year to Euro2.7m.
Masterplast had planned to invest Euro1.4m to set up a new EPS insulation plant at Lviv in the far west of Ukraine, where it had bought and converted existing industrial premises. It expected to become Ukraine's third-largest player in the thermal insulation segment within three years. However, early in 2014 Masterplast suspended its national investment and project for the EPS and adhesives plant. With the situation deteriorating further since then, it has decided not to restart its expansion scheme until Ukraine's political and economic position has stabilised.
