Ukraine: Knauf Insulation Ukraine has announced that it intends to increase its share of the Ukrainian fibreglass market to 35% in 2012. The company's 2011 market share was 30%.

"In 2012 the company expects that the thermal insulation materials' market will keep developing and Knauf Insulation Ukraine plans to shore up its position and occupy at least one-third of the fibreglass insulation segment," said company director Andrii Pavlik.

In the long-run the company intends to further develop the Ukranian market and advertise the benefits of the material to Ukrainian consumers. In the future the company intends to open its own heat insulation production plants in Ukraine, but this plan is currently on hold due to the economic downturn. The company has long-established plans for a production site in Fastiv, Kyiv Region, obtaining all necessary permits for the project.

"The economic downturn adjusted the development of Ukraine's construction sector and, consequently, our plans for realisation of the project. As soon as the construction industry demonstrates stable growth I think we will be able to begin building our factory," Pavlik said.

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."

Finland/Lithuania: Paroc, which makes insulation materials, has given notice to 17 people in its financial administration departments at four locations in Finland. The company said that it will now concentrate its financial administration in Lithuania, where it will establish a service centre.

Paroc said that the move was not about looking for a country with cheaper labour, but about the need to concentrate employees in one location. Paroc operates in 13 countries and has manufacturing in Finland, Sweden, Lithuania and Poland.

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.