Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Rockwool has started legal action against the Jefferson County Board of Education (BOE) describing its attempts to stop construction of new mineral wool insulation plant as ‘unlawful.’ Court documents filed by the Danish insulation company allege that the BOE is trying to buy land from Rockwool for a low rate to build a student support centre otherwise it has threatened to appropriate it under US condemnation rules. Rockwool contends that the BOE originally supported the new plant with tax breaks but has since change its mind as local activists have opposed the project.

Rockwool started construction work on its US$150m mineral wool plant at Ranson, West Virginia in mid-2018. Production at the site is scheduled to start in early 2020.

Denmark: Rockwool’s external net sales for its insulation business rose by 16% year-on-year to Euro2.07bn in 2018 from Euro1.78bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) grew by 45% to Euro266m from Euro184m. It attributed the sale increase to the insulation market in Europe and North America. Overall the group’s sales, including its systems business, grew by 12.5% to Euro2.67bn from Euro2.337bn.

“We achieved a great deal in 2018. Our company is financially solid, expanding operations to meet customer demand, and benefiting from strong brand awareness and reputation. Sales growth and profitability were strong, with the EBIT margin the second highest in the group’s recent history, notwithstanding being affected by increasing input costs. For 2019, we expect good profitability, though with a lower top-line growth than 2018,” said Group chief executive officer (CEO) Jens Birgersson.

Denmark: Rockwool plans to use Intershop’s commerce-as-a-service (CaaS) product for its online business-to-business (B2B) sales platform. The change is part of the company’s general digitisation strategy. The new system allows connectivity between a customer-relationship manager (CRM), product information management (PIM) and quotation system with the storefront.

“With our business running worldwide, being successful in B2B means multi-country, multi-currency, multi-brand management with complex sales channels that need to go hand in hand. We were looking for a commerce solution that allows us to target different channels individually, while being able to scale without effort. Intershop CaaS proved most suited for this purpose," said Mirella Vitale, Senior Vice President Marketing, Communication & Public Affairs at Rockwool Group.

A pilot of the new system is expected in mid-2019. Expansion across different channels will then follow.

Denmark: Rockwool has reported that its trend of ‘solid’ performance continued in the third quarter of 2018, with high sales growth and increased profitability so far over the course of the year.
Sales in the first nine months reached Euro1.96bn, an increase of 16.1% in local currency terms, including acquisitions, which contributed three percentage points. The negative currency impact was three percentage points. In the third quarter of 2018, sales increased by 14.6% in local currency terms to hit Euro692m.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) over the first nine months of 2018 ended at Euro258m, an increase of 39%. In the third quarter of 2018, EBIT was Euro97m, an increase of 28% year-on-year.

Rockwool’s growth in net sales is now expected to be 14-15% for the whole of 2018 in local currency terms, including around 2-3% from the acquisition of Flumroc.

Commenting on the group’s performance, CEO Jens Birgersson said,
“We are pleased with our sales and profitability performance, as we achieved good top line growth in all major regions and good profitability across the board. The higher input costs we’re experiencing are being offset by strong factory performance and high productivity.”

“It’s also gratifying that our sustainability efforts are being recognised, with the Standard & Poor’s Trucost analysis confirming that 100% of Rockwool’s products contribute to meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals,” concluded Birgersson.

Denmark: Rockwool is working with engineering company FLSmidth and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) on a research project to develop sustainable process technologies that will increase the use of renewable fuels and raw materials and reduce CO₂ emissions. The project has received a Euro2.7m grant from Innovation Fund Denmark.

The project plans to investigate and optimise high-temperature processes throughout the entire production chain in both companies. The DTU holds experience in this field from the CHEC research centre at DTU Chemical Engineering, which has focused on combustion research and emission abatement in recent years. Rockwool intends to lower CO₂ emissions and reduce its fuel consumption to make its production become more sustainable. FLSmidth plans to explore using alternative cement formulas and production methods to enable the company to launch more efficient technologies for using renewable fuels and reducing emissions.

Denmark: Rockwool has announced its first half results for 2018. Sales for the half reached Euro1.27bn, 16.9% more in local currency terms. In the second quarter, sales were up by 17.3% to Euro667m. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the first half reached Euro161m, an increase of 47% year-on-year. EBIT in the second quarter was Euro91m, an increase of 43% year-on-year.

Investments in the first half of 2018 reached Euro89m, an increase of Euro26m compared to the first half of 2017, primarily due to ongoing capacity expansions in Poland and the United States.

The outlook for 2018 from the company is positive. It expects net sales to grow by 13-15% during 2018 in local currency terms, including around 2-3% from its acquisition of Flumroc.

Commenting on the Group’s performance, CEO Jens Birgersson said, “Our half-year results show solid improvement on both sales and profitability, underlining strengthened performance towards customers and growing market demand for our non-combustible insulation and other stone wool products. With sales up in all regions, Rockwool’s 11,000 highly dedicated and committed employees are the driving force behind these positive results.”

Denmark: Based on preliminary reporting, Rockwool Group is increasing its expected growth forecast for net sales for 2018 from 7-10% in local currencies to 13-15% in local currencies.

For the first half, the main preliminary highlights were a sales increase to Euro1.27bn, a 17% increase in local currency terms. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 47% to Euro161m. Rockwool Group will publish its full first half results on 24 August 2018.

Rockwool says that market conditions for the remainder of 2018 look promising across larger European stonewool markets, including Germany, Poland, France and the UK, as well as in North America.

US: Sixty protestors have met with the Charles Town City Council in West Virginia to complain about a new stone wool plant being built in Ranson, Jefferson County. They asked that the council do more research into the effects the plant would have on the local environment, according to the Martinsburg Journal. Rockwool broke ground on the project in late June 2018 and it is expected to open in early 2020.

Romania: Denmark’s Rockwool has started construction work on a new stone wool plant at Ploiesti in Prahova county. Production at the Euro50m unit is scheduled to start in 2019, according to the Ziarul Financiar newspaper. Local construction company CON-A has been placed in charge of the project.

US: Rockwool has officially broken ground at a new stone wool in Ranson, Jefferson County in West Virginia. Once completed it will be the company’s second stone wool plant in the country. The project has had an investment of over US$150m and it will employ around 150 people when it opens. The unit is expected to open in the first quarter of 2020. It will manufacture a full range of Rockwool stone wool insulation products.

“Solid customer demand and strong market growth in the US and elsewhere reflects the reality that people are increasingly discovering the quality and advantages of our stone wool solutions. This is our second factory in the United States, which positions us well for future growth,” said Jen s Birgersson, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Rockwool Group.