Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: CalStar Products has appointed Joel Rood as its new CEO. Rood's experience includes senior roles at industry leaders in the gypsum wallboard, insulation and fiber-cement industries. CalStar develops and manufactures sustainable masonry products that reduce the energy and carbon footprint of the built environment.

Prior to joining CalStar, Rood was General Manager for CertainTeed Canada. Earlier, he was the general manager of the Southern US Division at James Hardie Corp. "We're thrilled to have Joel joining us," said CalStar Products Chairman Paul Holland. "Joel's executive skills, strong core values and record of managing growth and innovation across the building products industry make him the perfect fit to lead CalStar as we scale-up the business."

New Zealand: A fire at an insulation storage building in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga on New Zealand's North Island has been brought under control by fire fighters with a total of 15 fire engines. No one was seriously injured at the facility, operated by Textile Products.

The fire service said that it was called to the incident at about 11:00 on the morning of 16 January 2012. The ambulance service reported that it had treated five people for minor injuries. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Fire Service incident controller Brian Edwards said there was a possibility the smoke and fumes could be toxic. "We will have to decontaminate some of the firefighters," he said. Edwards also said that there had been fears that the fire may spread to an adjacent chemical waste facility, but this did not happen. One fire engine was kept at the scene overnight.

Denmark: The major Danish insulation producer Rockwool has announced better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter of 2011. Based on the registered level of sales in 2011, Rockwool expects its sales to have increased by 17% over those of 2010. It expects that its profit after tax and minority interests will come in above Euro80m. In its third quarter report, the Rockwool Group had expected a sales increase of 15% for the full year 2011 compared to 2010 and a profit after tax and minority interests of approximately Euro74m.

The healthy sales trend in Rockwool products continued in the final quarter of 2011, which it says was due to the mild winter weather in Europe combined with strong underlying demand in core markets. Despite the challenging macro-economic environment (especially in Europe) and the rather low visibility, the Rockwool Group expects continued growth in 2012. The Group expects sales to increase by approximately 5% in 2012. It expects its profit after tax and minority interests to be kept at the 2011 level, above Euro80m.

Turkey: The US-based chemical company Huntsman has acquired Turkey's EMA Kimya Sistemleri Sanayi ve Ticaret for an undisclosed sum. The Istanbul-based company has the capacity to manufacture polyester polyols and blend methyl di-p-phenylene isocyanate (MDI) PU systems used in the insulation, automotive, adhesives, coatings, elastomers and furniture industries. EMI's 2010 revenues were about Euro13m.

North America: Jeff Templeton has been elected to the position of chairman by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA). He is currently vice president and general manager for CertainTeed Corporation's residential, commercial, lumber and retail insulation business. A graduate of Ball State University Templeton has 35 years' of experience in the building materials industry, holding a wide variety of key roles at CertainTeed, including in residential, commercial, industrial, sales and marketing. He is currently active within CertainTeed's government affairs efforts.

"We are pleased that Mr Templeton has accepted the position," said the CEO and president of NAIMA, Kate Offringa. "He has been an active member of the NAIMA board of governors for several years and brings a wealth of leadership, experience and insight to the table."