Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Huntsman has repurposed its McIntosh, Alabama high performance and speciality epoxy resins plant for the production of hand sanitizer, which it will supply to health care facilities fighting the coronavirus outbreak across the US. The recipient of its first 5.0t batch was its own Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. Huntsman president and CEO Peter Huntsman said, “We thank the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for moving swiftly to issue the guidelines that have enabled us to fast-track our production and distribution of much-needed hand sanitizer in the US.”

UK: Celotex has temporarily suspends operations in the UK due to coronavirus. It said that it continued to support the country’s National Health Service (NHS) and other essential infrastructure and building projects. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain plans to provisionally reopen in late April 2020, although this will be reviewed.

Spain/Portugal: Knauf Insulation Iberia met its company growth objective of 5% year-on-year growth in 2019, a year in which it supplied two major developments: the Government of Catalonia’s administrative complex and the VP Plaza Hotel in Madrid. The latter won the US Green Building Council (GBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate, the first hotel to achieve this certification.

Interempresas News has reported that the focus of Knauf Insulation Iberia’s strategy in 2020 will be on maintaining its leadership in the sustainable building sector and in the search for products and solutions aimed at zero energy consumption building conversions and construction. Knauf Insulation Iberia CEO Oscar del Rio said, “Bearing in mind the economic uncertainty derived from the coronavirus crisis, our objective will be to maintain our penetration objectives.”

The company’s growth in 2018 was 10%.

Germany: Knauf has announced that production and deliveries of its entire product range will continue throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Knauf ‘will keep cutomers up to date on changes as the situation evolves.’

The company has cancelled all international travel for employees and is limiting domestic travel ‘to only those trips deemed mission critical.’

Netherlands: Germany-based Knauf has rolled out a waste glass mineral wool insulation recycling pilot project across the Netherlands. At a small cost, a Knauf partner company will take back leftover insulation from customers’ projects, which is remotely quantified and scheduled for collection by Knauf’s software system. The partner company recycles the insulation for use in bricks and tiles. Knauf Western Europe circular economy manager Marc Bosmans said, “The scheme saves our customers costs, gives them peace of mind that waste is being dealt with responsibly and lowers the environmental impact of their projects.”

Knauf has also launched a pallet pick-up pilot project. Under the scheme, customers can contact a Knauf partner company in order to have the pallets on which Knauf products were delivered collected for reuse, in line with the principles of the circular economy. Bosmans said, “Customers, particularly those on large sites, see a huge added value in this service and appreciate that it is a one-stop solution that is good for business and good for the environment.”