Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Romania: Knauf Insulation România announced the start of operations at its new Târnăveni glasswool insulation plant in Mureș County on 22 January 2025. Transilvania Business News has reported that the plant will produce up to 75,000t/yr of insulation for local and export markets. Knauf Insulation România invested €140m in construction of the plant, which first commenced in March 2023. The producer acquired another, existing plant at the site in May 2022, investing €4m in its modernisation.

Knauf Europe, Middle East and Asia Regional CEO Dominique Bossan noted the growth of demand for insulation in South East Europe.

Russia: TechnoNICOL plans to invest US$11m in automating logistics across its mineral wool plants by 2026. Russian-owned AK&M News has reported that the investments will go towards the installation of automated loading equipment and plant digital twins. This is expected to more than double labour productivity to 180,000m³/yr per worker. Plants scheduled for automation upgrades in 2025 include the Serpukhov and Chudov glasswool insulation plants.

TechnoNICOL’s total investments in automation and digitisation totalled US$2.75m in 2024.

Russia: TechnoNICOL and the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic (KRDV) have agreed to build a new US$29.3m, 400,000m³/yr stone wool insulation plant in Khabarovsk Krai. When commissioned in late 2026 or early 2027, the plant will be TechnoNICOL’s third in the krai and will employ 140 people. Russian-owned AK&M News has reported that surveys and design documentation for the plant are scheduled for submission in June 2025.

US: Rockwool has approved a US$100m investment in the construction of a new line at its Marshall, Mississippi, insulation plant. When commissioned in 2027, the line will produce wallboard with WR-Tech enhanced water repellence and CR-Tech corrosion resistance. Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that the line is intended to meet increased demand for industrial insulation in the Gulf of Mexico region.

Rockwool CEO Jes Munk Hansen said "North America – and the US specifically – is an important strategic growth area for us. We have four insulation factories on the continent, with a fifth on the way in Washington state."

UK: Denmark-based Rockwool is reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ to acquire a 9.3 hectare site in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands from Birmingham City Council. The site comprises Zone B of the Peddimore industrial estate, which is approved for light industrial production. Estates Gazette Interactive News has reported that the purchase advances Rockwool's on-going strategic expansion of its presence in the UK.

Germany: BASF is set to expand production of its Neopor graphite-enriched expanded polystyrene (EPS) at its Ludwigshafen plant in Rhineland-Palatinate by 50,000t/yr. From its commissioning in 2027, the expanded line will help BASF to meet increased demand for the material. Neopor serves as raw granulate for use in the production of insulation materials for building envelopes. The company says that it offers a 30% greater heat retention than traditional EPS.

Director Stephan Kothrade said "Neopor is classified as a 'Pioneer' in the highest category of the Sustainable Solution Steering (Triple-S) sustainability assessment which BASF uses to evaluate all its products, and is part of BASF's Sustainable Future Solutions."

Russia: TechnoNICOL has installed a new glass furnace and polymerisation chamber at its Serpukhov glass wool plant in Moscow Oblast. AK&M News has reported that that the upgrade will expand the plant’s glass wool capacity to just under 2Mm³/yr and enable it to produce a total of 300 different types of insulation. TechnoNICOL is investing US$18m in the project, which uses equipment from Russian suppliers and is intended to reduce the sanctioned nation’s reliance on imports.

Romania: Knauf Insulation has announced the completion of its new 100Mm²/yr mineral glass wool plant in Târnăveni, scheduled for inauguration by the end of 2024. With an investment of approximately €140m, the facility has a capacity of 75,000t/yr of mineral glass wool. This output will meet both domestic and regional market demands and create 100 jobs.

Adrian Garofeanu, general manager of Knauf Insulation Romania and Bulgaria said “In the second half of 2024, we are inaugurating the new Knauf Insulation unit in Romania. It is a remarkable success of the team, which will turn Târnăveni into a key location on the map of the international production of mineral glass wool.”

Sweden: Paroc has broken ground on the conversion of its Hällekis mineral wool insulation plant from coke-fired production to the use of electric furnaces. The producer says that the upgrade will eliminate 80% of the plant’s CO₂ emissions. It is additionally installing new raw materials handling and filtration equipment at the plant. Work is scheduled for completion in 2027.

Nico del Monaco, Insulation President of US-based parent company Owens Corning, said "We have seen that the landscape for our industry in the Nordics is undergoing significant changes, with new CO₂ restrictions and expectations from customers. By proactively addressing these changes through projects like this, we can turn them into opportunities. This significant investment is an important step for not only our plant in Hällekis, but it also reinforces Owens Corning's mission to build a sustainable future through material innovation."

Russia: TechnoNICOL has announced plans for a third stone wool insulation plant in the eastern Krai of Khabarovsk. The plant will have a production capacity of 400,000m³/yr of stone wool, and will produce thermal and acoustic insulation and technical insulation, including stone wool substrates for use in hydroponic plant cultivation. Together with an on-going upgrade to an existing stone wool insulation plant at the site, the project will cost US$37.6m, AK&M News has reported. Pre-design construction, land leasing and procurement of ‘key equipment’ for the new plant are currently underway, with commissioning scheduled for late 2026. TechnoNICOL then expects to complete the upgrade to the existing plant in 2027.