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Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
Owens Corning prepares to launch new extruded polystyrene foam insulation product line
12 August 2020US: Owens Corning has announced a new line of extruded polystyrene (XPS) foam insulation products called Foamular NGX. It is set to go on sale in the US and Canada in January 2021. It says that the proprietary blowing agent in the products deliver a 90% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) without sacrificing product performance. It is Underwriters Laboratory (UL) listed, Factory Mutual (FM) approved and compliant with regulations set to take effect in Canada and some US states in January 2021. The environmental benefits of the products will be reflected in a new Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The new product line will retain the signature Owens Corning pink colour.
DuPont to launch extruded polystyrene foam insulation product with lower greenhouse gas emissions
17 July 2020US: DuPont plans to launch new extruded polystyrene foam insulation products in its Styrofoam brand with reduced global warming potential (GWP) from the start of 2021 to meet its 2030 Sustainability Goals and comply with adopted and upcoming state and provincial hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) regulations throughout the US and Canada. The company also expects a reduction in embodied carbon to be reflected in an updated Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which will be available with the new products.
"We are taking a thoughtful, phased approach to launching this latest Styrofoam innovation to ensure we are providing a sustainable, code-approved solution that does not sacrifice the performance our customers have come to trust," said Tim Lacey, Global Vice President & General Manager, DuPont Performance Building Solution.
France: Saint-Gobain’s Point.P construction materials and building products distribution brand has put together a specific range of bio-sourced insulation materials. The materials include wood fibre and hemp-based materials. Point.P says that these products account for 10% of the insulation market. The new range has been developed in response to new expectations expressed by trades professionals and individuals.
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.
Rockwool North America releases thicker version of Safe’n’Sound stone wool insulation product
09 June 2020Canada: Rockwool North America has released its Safe’n’Sound stone wool insulation product in a new thickness of 15.24cm (6”). The new thickness offering is planned to help reduce installation time. The product is designed for fire insulation and sound dampening between floors.
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.”
Isover launches new sand mineral wool product in Spain
21 November 2019Spain: Isover has launched APTA Arena, a new product in its APTA sand mineral wool line. It says it is intended for interior divisions offering high thermal and acoustic performance. The product is also made from over 50% of recycled materials and can be fully recycled after use.
Recitel’s nine-month sales fail to match growing volumes
04 November 2019Netherlands: Nine-month restated sales for Recitel fell by 7.3% year-on-year to Euro924m in September 2019 compared to Euro997m in the corresponding period of 2018. Despite ‘double-digit’ volume growth, insulation sales over the period fell by 4.5% to Euro193m from Euro202m due to pricing issues stemming from the loss of market share to fibre insulation as a lingering after-effect of the isocyanate shortage of 2017. The company noted the ‘ramping-up’ of production at its new plant in Finland, with all products now certified for sale in the Nordic countries. Recticel CEO Olivier Chapelle noted the continued substantial decrease in debt as a positive in the period.
Rockwool’s Comfortboard product certified by California State Fire Marshall’s Building Materials Listing Program
02 August 2019US: Rockwool’s Comfortboard stone wool insulation product has been certified by the California State Fire Marshall’s Building Materials Listing (BML) Program. The product is resistant to fire up to 1175˚C and has a 0/0 Smoke Development and Flame Spread rating. The BML Program certifies products based upon an evaluation of test results that include an analysis of required product performance and reliability features. The testing was completed with a State Fire Marshall (SFM) accredited laboratory.
“This listing supports our continued commitment in the promotion of fire safe building practices and helps us deliver on products that will help architects and builders meet the California Title 24 thermal and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) requirements,” said Mark Bromiley, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, Rockwool (North America).
US: Owens Corning plans to expand its RainBarrier continuous insulation product range. The new products in the portfolio will offer better compressive strength. They will be available in the second half of 2019. The building materials producer made the announcement at the AIA Conference on Architecture.