Insulation industry news from Global Insulation
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."
Sweden: Rockwool says that it plans to build a new 100,000t/yr stone wool insulation plant in Eskilstuna, Södermanland. When commissioned after June 2027, the plant will serve the Swedish and Finnish markets. It will run on low-carbon electricity from Sweden’s national grid.
Nordics regional managing director Frank Larsen said "Our customers are increasingly demanding low-carbon footprint building materials to achieve their own decarbonisation objectives as well as EU-wide targets in the Energy Efficiency and Energy Performance of Buildings directives. Rockwool's proprietary large-scale electrical melting technology, drawing on Sweden's abundant supply of low-carbon electricity, will help meet this need, which we expect to grow over time as the EU directives get implemented."
Sweden: Svenska Aerogel says that it has received an order for 360kg of its Quartzene silica aerogel from a Europe-based insulation producer. Quartzene is the brand name for various synthetic silica powder materials produced by Svenska Aerogel.
BEWI commissions Norrköping circularity hub
04 June 2024Sweden: BEWI has expanded its expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling capacities through the inauguration of its new Norrköping circularity hub in Östergötland. The hub occupies the site of BEWI’s former Norrköping insulation plant. The company says that it is equipped with an extruder to produce raw materials for the production of EPS for use in its product offering. Meanwhile, the site’s strategic location maximises the efficiency with which recyclable materials are obtained, for example local construction debris and fish boxes.
Kingspan raises stake in Nordic Waterproofing to 37.5%
02 April 2024Sweden: Ireland-based Kingspan has raised its stake in Nordic Waterproofing to 35.7%, after the company's board and most shareholders rejected a takeover bid by the group. The Irish Times newspaper has reported that some Nordic Waterproofing shareholders accepted the offer, against the company’s recommendation. Following the conclusion of the offer period on 27 March 2024, Kingspan decided not to extend it.
Saint-Gobain Ecophon to acquire Träullit
08 December 2023Sweden: Saint-Gobain Ecophon has entered into a deal to acquire wood wool products company Träullit. Saint-Gobain Ecophon said that the acquisition will complete its existing portfolio of wall and ceiling products.
Saint-Gobain Ecophon CEO Pierre-Emmanuel Thiard said “Träullit has a Swedish legacy to be proud of, and we are happy to start a new journey together to develop this offer. The integration with Ecophon will broaden Träullit’s current sales focus from Scandinavia into further European markets and accelerate growth thanks to Ecophon’s complete solution portfolio and experienced research and development division.”
Sweden: Ireland-based Kingspan has made a mandatory cash offer for the outstanding 69% of shares in Nordic Waterproofing, the Irish Times newspaper has reported. Kingspan previously raised its stake in the waterproofing products and services company to 31% on 13 September 2023.
BewiSynbra acquires Norrköping XPS insulation plant
13 January 2020Sweden: Denmark-based BewiSynbra has announced its acquisition of an extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation plant in Norrköping after its conditional takeover of the owner for Euro5.6m including BewiSynbra’s assumption of its debts. The company says it will expand XPS production and install an expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation line at the plant in late 2020, as a result of which it will close its nearby Norrtälje EPS insulation plant. It expects to conclude the deal in February 2020.
Jonas Siljeskär appointed new chief executive officer of BEWiSynbra
17 December 2019Sweden: BEWiSynbra Group has appointed Jonas Siljeskär as its new chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from the start of 2020. He succeeds Rik Dobbelaere, who has been the CEO of BEWiSynbra since mid-2018, following BEWi’s acquisition of Synbra in May 2018. Dobbelaere will remain as an advisor to the company and the intention is to propose to the general meeting to elect him as a new member of the board in BEWiSynbra.
Siljeskär has been deputy CEO of BEWiSynbra since mid-2019, with full responsibility of all operational aspects of the company, and prior to this he was the chief operating officer (COO) and managing director of BEWiSynbra RAW.
Sweden’s BEWiSynbra Group is a vertically-integrated producer of expandable polystyrene (EPS) products, including packaging, components and insulation.
Ireland: Kingspan’s revenue rose by 12% year-on-year to Euro2.24bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro2.01bn in the same period in 2018. Its profit grew by 18% to Euro173m from Euro147m. Sales of its panel and boards products increased but panel sales growth was faster, supported by most territories with the exception of the Middle East.
“We have delivered a record first half with revenue growth in all our business units and a strong trading profit performance. We continue to expand our global production footprint with new facilities under construction in the US, Brazil and Sweden. The near-term outlook is solid although the political uncertainty in the UK, weakness in Serling, and weaker German economy are amongst risks we are monitoring closely,” said Gene Murtagh, the chief executive of Kingspan.
The building materials company is close to completing a new insulation panel plant at Modesto, California in the US. A new panel plant is also being considered in Pennsylvania, US and a new panel plant in Cambuí, Brazil is expected to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2019. A new board plant in Sweden is scheduled to start production in mid-2020.