Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

Ireland: On 11 August 2011 Kingspan Group plc said that it had raised USD200m from a private placement of loan notes, which it will use to pay down bank debt.

The company, which specialises in insulation and energy conservation, said that the notes carry a fixed interest rate of 5.25%. The placement, which was arranged by Royal Bank of Scotland plc, was oversubscribed and increased from USD125m to USD200m, according to Kingspan.

"(The placement) improves our capital structure by lengthening our debt maturity profile at very competitive interest rates and it affords Kingspan significant financing headroom as we seek to develop our business globally," said the group's finance director Geoff Doherty.

Finland: The Finnish expanded polystyrene (XPS) producer, ThermiSol, has acquired Finland's Suomen XPS in a deal funded by the state-owned company Finnish Industry Investment Ltd and the mutual insurance associations Fennia and its unit Fennia Retirement. Suomen XPS produces Novafoam XPS insulation materials and the acquisition is consistent with ThermiSol's strategy of expanding its product range.

The deal was agreed by the two companies on 1 August 2011 and ThermiSol will transfer machinery and production equipment from its factory in Pietarsaari to the Suomen XPS factory in Vimpeli between the autumn of 2011 and early 2012. According to the company this move will take advantage of the Vimpeli site's geographic location.

ThermiSol's Executive Director Urpo J Salimen said that the two companies had 'obvious synergies' and had come to a deal 'as quickly as possible.' ThermiSol, also an established producer of extruded polystyrene (EPS), had a turnover of Euro60m in 2010 and has interests in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Turnover is expected to increase by nearly 17% in 2011 to Euro70m.

US: Owens Corning's (OC) has registered second quarter profit of USD78m, down by 92% from USD937m in the same period of 2010. This was due to the absence of a tax benefit received in 2010. The group's revenue increased by 5.3% to USD1.45bn and its gross margin fell to 19.2% from 20.6%.

Its building materials business, its biggest contributor to the top line, saw revenue rise by 4% thanks to increased roofing sales volumes. This was partly offset by lower insulation sales volumes and the sale of its masonry products business. Its composites sales rose by 8%, mostly thanks to positive currency impacts and, to a lesser degree, higher prices.

OC has also announced that it has completed the acquisition of FiberTEK Insulation LLC and FiberTEK Insulation West LLC. The acquisitions include manufacturing locations in Lakeland, Florida and Nephi, Utah and expand the group's loosefill insulation capacity while strengthening the company's ability to serve North American customers.

Loosefill insulation is becoming more popular due to the increased prevalence of higher efficiency building codes that require increased levels of attic insulation and for its ease of use in energy-efficient retrofits. Unbonded loosefill insulation has grown its share in overall US light density residential fiberglass insulation sales in recent years and represents a success-story amid the broader US residential construction downturn.

"The acquisition of the FiberTEK companies is a great addition for OC and our customers," said Tom Quigley, OC's vice president and general manager for residential insulation. "These acquisitions position OC to serve our customers in this segment as the market returns. They also benefit existing FiberTEK customers by making available our entire array of insulation products, including our revolutionary EcoTouch^(TM) family of high-performance residential and light commercial insulation products." The FiberTEK acquisitions will also enable Owens Corning to expand growth opportunities for its EnergyComplete^(TM) insulation and air sealing system.

Japan: To more effectively serve customers in western Japan, Saint-Gobain plans to build a new glass wool production facility near Osaka in the Kansai region through its local subsidiary Mag-Isover, Japan's leading insulation manufacturer. With a planned capacity of 60,000t/yr, the plant is scheduled to be commissioned before the end of 2013.

Representing a total investment of around Euro140 million, the plant will directly employ more than 100 people. Its output will add to the 90,000t/yr of glass wool currently being produced by the Mag-Isover facilities located near Tokyo in the Kanto region. This will bring the company's total production capacity across its four plants to 150,000t/yr.

This investment comes at a time when Japan is aiming to reduce its energy consumption. Buildings account for 30-40% of the energy consumed in the country and therefore offer an enormous combined energy saving potential, particularly in the areas of heating and air conditioning.

Russia: Saint-Gobain is also pursuing its expansion in Russia, where it has acquired Linerock, a company based in Tcheliabinsk, Ural region. Linerock is the Ural region's leading manufacturer of rockwool products, the most widely used insulation materials in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The company employs over 500 people and reported consolidated revenues of around Euro25 million in 2010.

Slovakia: Johns Manville (JM) has announced plans to expand current fibre insulation production capacities in its Trnava facility in Slovakia. According to JM, an expanded furnace will be installed at the plant, which is due to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2012. It will enable added production flexibility within JM's product families and expand the production of selected products by as much as 40%.

In 2004 JM invested in a greenfield project to produce glass fibres at the site. The company says that its expansion plan clearly demonstrates its commitment to the European composites business.

Enno Henze, JM's vice president and general manager for Engineered Products Europe/Asia stated, "We feel confident that this major investment will continue to support our customers' plans for growth and underscores JM's commitment to growing the composites industry. Additionally, it highlights our drive to enhance customer relationships, product innovation and service excellence."

"With our commitment to innovative growth and the financial stability provided by being a part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses, our fibres business is set to make its mark while supporting the growth agenda of our customers," added Henze.