![](/templates/proglobalmedia-main/images/globe-blue-whitebg.gif)
Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
National Insulation Association names Safety Excellence and Premier Industry Manufacturer Awards winners
01 April 2022US: 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.
Belgium: Knauf Insulation has officially opened a new Euro15m glass mineral wool recycling plant in Visé. It will recycle the glass mineral wool as part of its ‘Resulation’ service. The site will also recycle production off-cuts from Knauf Insulation’s Visé glass mineral wool production plant using a dedicated production line and furnace. The inauguration event was attended by Olivier de Wasseige, managing director of the Walloon Enterprise Network.
Dominique Bossan, member of Knauf Group’s management committee and head of Knauf Insulation Europe, Middle East and Asia, said, “The new facility is an important step towards achieving Knauf Insulation’s commitment to generate zero waste to landfill by 2025 as part of the company’s ‘For A Better World’ sustainability strategy.
Knauf Insulation says that around 85,000t/yr of glass mineral wool waste are generated in France, while in Belgium and the Netherlands the figure is around 30,000t/yr with 26,000t of that total coming from demolition.
Knauf Insulation Slovenija commissions 1MW solar power plant at Škofja Loka glass wool insulation plant
21 February 2022Slovenia: Knauf Insulation Slovenija has commissioned its new 1MW solar power plant. The installation is situated atop the roof of the company’s Škofja Loka glass wool insulation plant in Upper Carniola.
Digital and brand manager and green solutions advocacy lead Jure Šumi said that the latest milestone demonstrates the company’s commitment to reduing carbon emissions, creating better built environments, driving the circular economy and developing its people, all for a better world.
Knauf Insulation launches sustainability credentials online
09 February 2022Germany: Knauf Insulation has compiled its sustainability targets, progress and related information on its products online. The so-called ‘sustainability chapter’ is intended to highlight how Knauf Insulation products can make buildings more sustainable and also charts the company’s progress to reduce its own environmental impact as part of its ‘For A Better World’ initiative.
Jure Šumi, Knauf Insulation’s Group Digital and Brand Manager, said “The new chapter on sustainability is a showcase of valuable information for anyone who wants to create better buildings while taking care of the environment and society.” He added, “It offers valuable insight into how our solutions can lower the environmental impact of buildings with news and case histories in every section highlighting what Knauf Insulation is doing For A Better World.”
The newly organised section on Knauf Insulation’s website lets interested parties download Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for its products. In addition, the site offers downloadable documents showing how Knauf Insulation products can contribute points to the world’s green building rating systems such as BREEAM, LEED, DGNB and WELL.
The company’s also explains online how it is reducing the environmental impact of its operations in line with its ‘For A Better World’ sustainability strategy. It has set targets for 2025 including sending zero waste to landfill, cutting its accident rate by 55% and reducing the embodied carbon of products by 15%. Knauf Insulation promises regular updates on its progress and initiatives to achieve these targets.
Knauf Insulation to buy glass wool plant in Romania from Gecsat
27 January 2022Romania: Belgium-based Knauf Insulation has agreed to acquire the Târnăveni glass wool plant from Gecsat for an undisclosed sum.
Dominique Bossan, the group chief executive officer of Knauf Insulation, said “The Romanian acquisition will support Knauf Insulation’s growth ambitions and add extra capacity to meet increasing demand for our solutions across the Eastern European and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) regions.” He added that the company plans to upgrade the plant after the acquisition has been completed.
Slovakia: Knauf Insulation’s plant at Nová Bana produced 104,000t of mineral wool in 2021. Plant director Marián Tkáč told the News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR) that the unit reached this record volume despite Covid-19 restrictions, rising input costs and maintenance on the production lines. The plant also installed a flue-gas desulfurisation unit as part of an environmental upgrade in 2021. Despite the high production volume in 2021, Tkáč said that demand for insulation remained high and delivery times were growing.
US: Knauf Insulation has announced plans for a new 183,000m2 glass wool insulation plant in McGregor, Texas. The producer says that it is in the process of finalising permits with the Texas government and will begin work on the McGregor insulation plant in late 2021.
Senior Vice President strategic projects Kevin McHugh said “Watching this incredible facility rise from the Texas soil and become one of our industry’s leading production facilities worldwide will be an incomparable experience. Hiring, training, and empowering people from Central Texas to carry out Knauf’s vision and the mission of this facility will positively impact Central Texas for decades to come."
Dominique Bossan takes over as head of Knauf Insulation
09 September 2021Belgium: Dominique Bossan has stepped into the roles of head of Knauf Insulation and member of Knauf Insulation Europe/Middle East/Africa’s management committee. Bossan first joined Knauf Insulation in 2003 and has since held roles as Eastern Europe regional managing director and as a member of Knauf Gypsum Western Europe, South America and Israel’s management. He now returns to Knauf Insulation’s headquarters in Visé, Belgium, to take over leadership from Jean-Claude Carlin, who has held the position since 2016.
Bossan said “Jean-Claude, the management team and everyone at Knauf Insulation should be exceptionally proud of what has been achieved in recent years. I am now looking forward to maximising this success to create exciting new opportunities in the future — a future defined by our leadership and innovation For a Better World.”
General partner Alexander Knauf said “The Knauf Group management is delighted to welcome Dominique to this exciting role. He is an exceptional leader who knows our business extremely well. We are confident he will build on the outstanding results Jean-Claude, and the company, has achieved in recent years.”
UK: The Construction Leadership Council and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have named Knauf Insulation UK & Ireland a ‘Business Champion’ under the CO2nstruct Zero building industry decarbonisation transition initiative. The status signifies demonstrated leadership in promoting best practice to reduce construction’s carbon footprint.
Northern Europe regional managing director Neil Hargreaves said “Net zero is a colossal challenge, and to achieve it will require unprecedented collaboration. As the biggest supplier of insulation into newbuild homes in the UK and the nation’s only manufacturer of both glass and stone Wool, we have an important role to play.” He added “We look forward to working with our partners across the supply chain to create a built environment that’s fit for the future. Improved insulation will be at the heart of UK construction’s efforts to decarbonise.”
Ireland/UK: Knauf Insulation has launched a new packaging including new designs across the whole range, an upgrade to its compression technology and more environmentally-friendly packaging.
The new packaging designs feature bigger and clearer product names. Products are colour-coded into thermal conductivity groups consistent across the whole glass mineral wool range, and essential features such as the Euroclass A1 reaction to fire classification and Ecose Technology, Knauf Insulation’s unique bio-based binder, are more easily identifiable. The Earthwool brand has been phased out to simplify the branding structure, and a new brand, Rocksilk, has been introduced for its rock mineral wool product range. The insulation producer says that a further upgrade of the compression technology on the glass mineral wool range enables, on average, 15% more insulation per roll and 25% more packs on each pallet for slabs.
“We’ve listened to our customers, but we have also been proactive, trying to pre-empt future needs,” said Vanessa Rae, Marketing Director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe. “We know how important it is to choose the right product for the application quickly, and move and store it efficiently, whether in-branch or on-site. We also know that sustainability matters more than ever, so we’ve taken these steps to reduce our products’ carbon footprint further so customers can rely on us to help them tick the green boxes for their projects.”