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Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Malaysia: Knauf Insulation’s Johor Bahru mineral wool insulation plant has successfully exported its first batch of 80% recycled glass Earthwool glass mineral wool insulation to Perth, Australia. The product uses Knauf Insulation’s ECOSE Technology biological binder and is equipped with new improved clean facing. The company says that it uses compression packaging to optimise shipping volumes.
Chief operating officer David Ducarme said, “Johor Bahru is an extraordinary achievement of commitment from Knauf Insulation colleagues from around the world who came together to work with local teams in unprecedented pandemic circumstances - setting a gold standard in safety - to ensure the highest quality solutions are now available to customers.”
The Johor Bahru glass mineral wool insulation plant has a production capacity of 75,000t/yr and was originally scheduled for completion in 2020. It had an investment of Euro120m. It was built export insulation products to markets in Japan, Australia, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore.
Spain: Knauf Insulation Iberia has launched a building design competition across Spanish universities and schools. Called Race to Zero, the competition will assess applicants’ designs for energy efficiency, innovation and residential sustainability. The best submission across all three categories will win its designer Euro15,000. The company will additionally invite the winner and runners up for practical training at its headquarters. The submission deadline is 28 May 2021.
General Director Oscar del Rio said, “This contest was born with the vocation of putting the building in its rightful place in the field of sustainability, given the importance it has for the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals according to our company's ‘For A Better World’ strategy.”
Knauf Insulation’s Supafil glass wool insulation awarded Declare Red List Free label
09 December 2020UK: The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) has awarded Knauf Insulation’s Supafil range of blowing glass wool insulation with Declare Red List Free Certification. The label signifies that the products contain none of a list of agreed harmful chemicals. The company says that its Supafil range, which is produced using 80% recycled glass, is the first blowing wool solution in Europe to receive the certification.
Director of housing and specification Matt Prowse said, “For the first time, people can see the environmental impact of individual construction products at a glance, in a clear and transparent way. For architects and housebuilders, using products with the Declare label – like the Supafil range – is good for business. It ensures installer wellbeing and is a powerful point of difference to customers in a competitive market.”
Knauf Insulation publishes 2020 Annual Review
26 November 2020Belgium: Knauf Insulation has launched its 2020 Annual Review. Europe, Middle East and Asia management committee member Jean-Claude Carlin said, “The global pandemic has put our people and our values of challenge.create.care. firmly in the spotlight this year.”
The company said that it navigated continuous challenges by ensuring staff and customers were ’As Safe As Home.’ It implemented plans to achieve its new ‘For a Better World’ sustainability strategy under the headings ‘Putting People First,’ ’Achieving Zero Carbon,’ ’Delivering a Circular Economy’ and ’Creating Better Buildings.’ The last includes the company’s plans for a new Eco-Design tool and efforts to drive the European Commission’s ‘Renovation Wave.’ The producer also reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per cubic metre of product by 23% between 2010 and 2019.
Carlin said, “These milestones will keep our sustainability journey on track and ensure that we are all responsible for delivering success not leaving problems for the next generation. These milestones are an exciting challenge that I am confident will bring out the best in everyone. I look forward to reporting positive progress next year.”
Knauf Insulation announces For A Better World strategy
13 October 2020Belgium: Knauf Insulation has announced its new sustainability strategy, entitled ‘For A Better World.’ The company says, “The strategy is defined by clear concrete targets for 2025, focussing on four key sustainable goals: Putting People First, Achieving Zero Carbon, Delivering A Circular Economy and Creating Better Buildings.” Its targets include reducing total recordable incident rate from 9.2 to 5.0, reducing the embodied carbon dioxide (CO2) of products by 15%, investing 10% of general capital expenditure (CAPEX) in new projects to reduce emissions or landfill waste, cutting the carbon footprint of business travel by 25%, reducing virgin plastic packaging by 25%, using more than 25% of external recycled material in mineral wool and more than 65% recycled material in glass wool and sending zero production waste to landfill. Chief executive officer (CEO) Jean-Claude Carlin said, “These clear, concrete short-term targets for 2025 support our long-term commitments in ways that everyone can start achieving now.”
Director of sustainability Vincent Briard said, “Sustainability defines everything we do. Our products save energy, cut emissions and make buildings fit for the future. We have the experience and expertise to ensure all our customers achieve their sustainable ambitions. We are also here to help. We are supporting our customers as they navigate market forces and regulatory landscapes that are increasingly demanding more sustainable building solutions.”
Knauf Insulation launches new soffit insulation product
20 August 2020UK: Knauf Insulation has launched a new product in its Earthwool Soffit Linerboard range, intended for use in car parks, stadiums and commercial units. Rock mineral wool product manager Luke Davies said, “Specifications for non-combustible soffit insulation are likely to increase as building regulations evolve further and soffit applications become a focus for fire safety. We’ve improved Earthwool Soffit Linerboard to give customers the best possible solution to respond to this demand.”
The product uses tube washers instead of all-steel for ease of installation and each board has greater rigidity than previous products to reduce susceptibility to thermal bridging. Knauf Insulation says that its ECOSE Technology bio-based binder makes Earthwool Soffit Linerboard soft, durable, easy to handle and low in dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
UK: Knauf Insulation has developed a tool that uses machine learning techniques to measure the energy performance of individual homes. The method can generate an assessment of fabric performance of a residential building within three months, according to BusinessGreen. The product is intended to provide evidence to support the building fabric component of a building's energy performance certificate (EPC) rating, as opposed to Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) calculations. Such evidence could be used to support return on investment calculations for energy efficiency retrofit programmes.
Knauf Insulation North America announces customer building modelling partnership with BIMsmith
27 May 2020US: Knauf Insulation North America has partnered with BIMsmith to provide 3D models of its leading insulation products for building product research and selection by architects. The models contain ‘key properties and data’ and integrate with Autodesk Revit building modelling software.
Knauf Insulation North America marketing vice president Linda McGovern said, “BIM is at the forefront of intelligent, sustainable building design. Our investment in BIM paves the way for Knauf to further our impact on the sustainable, energy-efficient construction of the future.”
Germany: Declare has certified Knauf Insulation’s Supafil blowing wool insulation ‘Red List Free’. The declaration signifies that Supafil contains no Red-Listed chemicals designated as harmful to health by the International Living Future Institute. Knauf Insulation Blowing Wool business development & residential market manager Thomas Baguette said, “Our Declare label underlines the natural credentials of our blowing wool. Supafil is composed of 99% glass mineral wool and less than 1% of antidust and antistatic.”
US: Germany-based Knauf Insulation has launched an appeal against the decision of a Californian court in a civil dispute over staff pay. The claimants allege that Knauf Insulation has failed to pay overtime wages, meal and rest period premiums and minimum wages. Knauf was also accused of failing to maintain records to provide accurate wage statements. Class Action reporter has reported that case will pass to the US Court of Appeals.