UK: Knauf Insulation is considering mothballing the oldest and smallest glass wool insulation line at its St Helens plant on Merseyside, amid ‘lower-than-expected’ residential construction activity. Local press has reported that the producer is in consultations with staff and unions, with 30 roles at risk, before taking any final decision.

Industrial Performance Director Darren Holt said "There is now excess manufacturing capacity for cured glass mineral wool insulation."

Knauf Insulation added 25,000t/yr of new roll, slab and blowing wool capacity at the St Helens plant, following a €45.9m in 2024.

Russia: TechnoNICOL Far East is building a new 1Mm³/yr stone wool lamellas line at its insulation plant in the Khabarovsk Advanced Special Economic Zone in Khabarovsk Krai. The line will produce lamellas for use in the production of insulation sandwich panels. It will target potential customers in the Russian Far East market, as well as in China. The Russian Far East and Arctic Development Corporation has reported that TechnoNICOL Far East plans to invest €2.33m in the Khabarovsk insulation plant in 2026, down slightly from €2.55m in 2025.

Plant Director Nikita Yakovlev said "Part of the 2026 investments will be used to improve product quality, reduce costs and implement environmental initiatives. The company will also develop its own IT infrastructure and continue projects to improve labour safety and working conditions."

Russia: TechnoNICOL is investing €81.1m in the construction of a stone wool insulation plant and an extruded polystyrene (XPS) plant at the Krasny Sulin Industrial Park in Sulin, Rostov Oblast. Interfax News has reported that construction of both plants will conclude by July 2026. The project also includes a 20MW power plant to follow by the end of 2026. 198 people will be employed across the site.

Spain: Saint-Gobain Isover has launched Tipcheck, an industrial insulation energy audit service aligned with EN 16247 and ISO 50002 standards. The standards evaluate the performance of industrial insulation systems and calculate potential energy savings, cost reductions and CO₂ emissions reductions. Servimedia News has reported that Saint-Gobain’s local mining subsidiary Industrias el Cuarzo – Incusa piloted the service on drying units at its Segovia site. It has since carried out audits at 60 industrial facilities across Spain.