Insulation industry news from Global Insulation

US: Huntsman has reorganised its spray polyurethanes foam (SPF) insulation business, combining subsidiaries Demilec and Icyene-Lapolla under a new leadership team. The company has named as divisional presidents Simon Baker, who will oversee operations in Canada and fast-growing global markets, and Doug Kramer, who will be responsible for the United States. Huntsman polyurethanes president Tony Hankins said, “To bring the two businesses together as one enables Huntsman to provide an unmatched offering of open- and closed-cell insulation products and accelerates the globalisation of our SPF platform.”

Germany: Evonik has announced the release of a new Calostat silicon dioxide-based mineral insulation panel. Evonik technical sales manager Oliver Jung says that the panel, which is cut to 500mm x 200mm, is ‘an ideal option where space is limited.’

Denmark/Canada: Rockwool has announced the retirement of long-standing North America regional president Trent Ogilvie and thanked him ‘for the successes he helped create in the North American business’ over his 25 years in the post. The company employed 60 people at a single facility in the region in Toronto, Canada, when Ogilvie took over as president in 1995. Its four facilities in Canada and the US now employ 1000 people and make sales of hundreds and millions of US Dollars.

Rockwool’s fifth stone wool production line, located in West Virginia, is due to open in early 2021.

Germany: Knauf Insulation has announced the 11 winners of its Leadership Awards at its Leadership Conference 2020 on 6 February in Iphofen, Bavaria. Winners came from Knauf’s sales, customer service, human resources, retail and finance divisions across all its operating regions. Knauf Insulation Group human resources director Patrice Briol said, “Our award-winners demonstrate leadership qualities and live the Knauf Values every day.”

Denmark: Rockwool’s post-tax profit for 2019 was Euro285m, up by 7.5% from Euro265m in 2018. Sales rose by 3.2% to Euro2.8bn from Euro2.7bn. The company’s insulation section saw ‘mixed market conditions’ but ‘showed modest growth’ over the period, thanks in particular to state-supported energy efficiency improvement in construction practices generating increased demand in the South-West Europe region.

Rockwool said that it invested in long-term growth, having opened a plant in Romania in late-2019, with a capacity expansion to a German plant due to come online in mid-2020 and a further plant in the US to follow in early 2021. Rockwool Group chairman Henrik Brandt and CEO Jens Birgersson said, “For the fifth year in a row, our customer satisfaction scores increased.” Satisfaction rose by 14% year-on-year.