Global Gypsum Newsletter

Issue: GGM33 / 18 May 2017

Headlines


Hungary: Masterplast’s sales revenue rose by 17% year-on-year to Euro18m for the first quarter of 2017. Sales in Hungary grew by 40% and the insulation producer saw sales rise in all export markets with the exception of the Ukraine, according to local press. Sales in Slovakia and the European Union grew by 37% and 4% respectively but sales fell by 8% in the Ukraine. Around 41% of its revenue came from sales of external wall insulation system parts. However, despite the company’s rising sales its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 8% to Euro0.61m from Euro0.73m due to higher transport costs, higher labour costs and falling price margins.


US: TopBuild will pay Owens Corning US$30m to settle a contract dispute from mid-2016. Owens Corning has also agreed to dismiss a lawsuit it filed in May 2016 against the insulation distributor and installer. Additional details of the settlement agreement remain confidential. Following the agreement both companies plan to resume a ‘productive and normalised’ commercial relationship whereby Owens Corning will sell residential insulation to TopBuild and its subsidiaries, including TruTeam.


UK: Texas’ Huntsman Corporation has completed its acquisition of IFS Chemicals, a manufacturer of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) based systems. The purchase price has not been disclosed.

“With its highly experienced team and loyal customer base, IFS provides us with excellent access to the UK’s growing downstream MDI systems market. It will serve as a strategic platform to expand our business and consolidate our position as a market leader. The acquisition represents the latest step in our plan to strengthen our differentiated downstream capabilities and we now have more than 25 facilities worldwide, reflecting our confidence in the long-term growth prospects for MDI-based urethanes, ” said Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman’s Polyurethanes division.


US: Johns Manville (JM) has appointed Marcia Howes as its Vice President of Global Supply Chain. She will be responsible for leading JM’s global supply chain organisation and for developing and implementing the company’s supply chain strategy.

Howes previously worked for BJC HealthCare in St Louis in a similar role. He brings over 20 years of supply chain experience. Before that she worked at Ecolab where she was vice president of global supply chain and head of global planning for both the medical device health care division and the water process systems businesses. Howes has also held a number of senior level positions in supply chain operations with Amgen, Honeywell and Rhodia (now Solvay).

Howes holds master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maryland, and both a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. She is a Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing practitioner and an APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional member.


Russia: TechnoNicol plans to invest US$2.3m towards upgrading its mineral wool insulation plant in Chelyabinsk. Just under US$0.9m was invested in the plant in 2016, according to the Kommersant newspaper. The unit supplies products in the Ural Federal District as well as to the Perm region, the Orenburg region, Bashkortostan and Udmurtia.


US: Owens Corning announced plans to introduce formaldehyde-free mineral wool insulation solutions at the American Institute of Architects Conference on Architecture 2017 in Orlando, Florida. Thermafiber SAFB (Sound Attenuation Fire Blankets) is available for specification now and will be in the market later in 2017. Thermafiber UltraBatt will follow in a series of formaldehyde-free Thermafiber mineral wool insulation products.

“Remaining true to the brand’s history as an industry pioneer, the launch of formaldehyde-free Thermafiber mineral wool insulation coupled with our investment in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Joplin, Missouri strengthens our impressive portfolio of product solutions and our commitment to the industry,” said Todd Fister, vice president of insulation strategic marketing.


Ireland: Kingspan Group’s sales rose by 24% year-on-year to Euro831m for the first three months of 2017, boosted by the acquisitions that the company made in 2016. By market the group reported good performance in the UK, US and Australia, recovery in Europe and poor performance in the Middle East and Turkey. It also noted that all markets have experienced raw material price inflation. Both sales of insulation board and panels grew in the period. The company commissioned a new insulation board plant in Melbourne in early April 2017.


US: Owens Corning’s net sales from insulation rose by 4% year-on-year to US$399m in the first quarter of 2017 from US$385m in the same period of 2016. However, its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) for insulation fell by 62% to US$5m from US$13m. The company said that the business benefitted from continued recovery in the US residential market. Overall across all business lines the company’s net sales and EBIT rose in the quarter.

“Owens Corning is off to a great start in 2017. The company capitalised on market growth and delivered an outstanding result in the quarter,” said chairman and chief executive officer Mike Thaman. “All three businesses are executing on our priorities, and we are well-positioned to achieve another year of strong performance.”


India: NBCC India has signed a deal with Poland’s Bolix to use its external thermal insulation and composite systems (ETICS) solutions technology. The state-owned construction company intends to use ETICS technology in its on-going and upcoming projects in both India and overseas, according to the Press Trust of India. Initially, the company will import the building materials and technology but Bolix is also considering building a plant in India.


Russia: Rockwool has completed an upgrade of its stone wool insulation plant at Troitsk, in Chelyabinsk region. The unit will use Power+ technology with enhanced micro-distribution of the binder and optimised fibre-spinning technology on the production line. These improvements are intended to improve the final product’s homogeneity and performance properties.


France: Actis plans to invest Euro3m towards building a second production line of ‘alveolar’ insulation products at its plant in Limoux. The second line is scheduled to start production in 2018, according to La Tribune newspaper. The new production capacity is planned to allow expansion in Europe. The producer is also considering building an insulation plant in the UK. Actis’ alveolar products include Hybris, a hybrid product that uses a honeycomb structure polyethylene foams plies on metallised films.


Australia: Kingspan Australia has opened an insulation plant at Somerton near Melbourne. The US$30m plant will manufacture rigid board insulation, including Kingspan Kooltherm a rigid thermoset phenolic insulation. The 14,000m2 unit has created 26 new jobs and 24 additional jobs will be added as production increases. Following the opening of the plant Kingspan aims to export 20% of its production to the Asia Pacific region. This is expected to grow to 35% by 2020.

“The market for high-performance insulation is growing rapidly around the world in response to government policies aimed at making buildings more energy efficient. This facility gives Australia world leading technical capability in a sector that is experiencing significant sustained domestic and international growth,” said Gene Murtagh, the chief executive officer of Kingspan Group.

Architect Tone Wheeler designed the plant with a focus on environmentally sustainable design. It has a 750kW solar system designed into its roof structure which, when installed, will provide most of its daytime shift energy requirements. It also uses Kingspan lighting and insulation products to reduce energy requirements and optimise comfort for employees. Other sustainable features at the site include the use of sustainably sourced or manufactured building materials, the use of energy renewing ventilators and the use of rainwater harvesters for bathroom and landscape use. Kingspan says that the plant is on track to be Australia’s first Green Star-rated manufacturing facility.

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