Australia: Businesses that suffered when the Home Insulation Program was closed are suing the federal government for more than US$72m in compensation. ACA Lawyers and McLaughlin & Riordan have launched a lawsuit on behalf of more than 100 people in the Victorian Supreme Court that alleges the government's mismanagement of the scheme resulted in business loss or forced them into bankruptcy, according to the Australian Associated Press agency.

The lawyers say that a Royal Commission set up following the closure of the Home Insulation Program failed to compensate businesses sufficiently. They allege that it only compensated companies operating before the insulation program was implemented not ones created afterwards to take advantage of it. 104 claims are believed to have been settled at a cost of US$9.7m despite thousands of businesses being affected.

The Home Insulation Program was shutdown in 2010 following the deaths of four workers.

Canada: CanWel Building Materials has entered into a multi-year agreement with Knauf Insulation for distribution of its mineral wool insulation products to the Lumber and Building Materials (LBM) channel across Canada.

"We are excited to extend our product offering for the LBM channel to include this high quality product line and to partner with one of the world's largest manufacturer of glasswool insulation," said Marc Seguin, President of CanWel.

Lithuania: Paroc has announced that it does not expect its revenue from its operations in Lithuania to grow in 2016. The mineral wool manufacturer saw its profit in the country fall by 28.3% year-on-year to Euro4.24m in 2015 from Euro5.92m in 2014. Its revenue fell by 7.1% to Euro42.9m, according to BNS News.

"The income from sales within the country increased year-on-year, while exports to Russia, Belarus and Latvia shrank considerably. The decline was in part compensated by the sharp growth of supplies to Poland," Paroc said in its annual report. According to the statement, the company's 2016 income and profit are not expected to rise.

Saudi Arabia: Honeywell and Bayer Pearl are targeting the Saudi Arabian market with a spray foam system that uses a proprietary Honeywell liquid blowing agent.

“We are delighted that Bayer Pearl has formulated their new spray foam system with Solstice Liquid Blowing Agent and are encouraged that Saudi Arabian leaders are considering implementing these new technologies to further enhance their economy and society,” said Amir Naqvi, regional marketing leader at Honeywell Fluorine Products.

The announcement follows a workshop in Riyadh entitled ‘Sustainable Solutions for polyurethane Foam’ that has looked at organic insulation. In the wake of the Saudi 2030 Vision development plan it is anticipated that 1.5m new homes will be required in the country and energy demands will also grow. Demand for thermal insulation is expected to rise in line with this.