China: BASF has blamed ‘force majeure’ for a disruption to the production of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) at its Chongqing plant due to a supply shortage of natural gas from its syngas supplier. BASF says it is unable to determine when it will be able to resume production as its syngas supplier has been unable to tell it when the input will be restored. The German-headquartered chemical multinational uses MDI to manufacture a number of products including insulation.

UK: Russia’s TechnoNicol is to spend Euro42m towards upgrading its mineral wool plant in Stirling operated by Superglass. The investment will double the plant’s production capacity to 60,000t/yr. The upgrade work will include installing a new 187t furnace and curing ovens. Cooling, cutting and milling equipment will be replaced and an automatic packing system will be installed. Construction will start early in 2018.

“TechnoNicol’s backing is a real vote of confidence in Scottish manufacturing, both in terms of the quality of the work we do here and the expertise of the workforce. It is a validation of our strategy within Superglass over recent years and very personally satisfying for me to see further consolidation of the initial investment at our regional headquarters,” said Ken Munro, chief executive officer (CEO) of TechnoNicol UK, Ireland and USA which incorporates the Superglass business.

TechnoNicol operates 52 manufacturing facilities across Russia and Europe.

US: Michael Darr has been appointed as the operations manager of Firestone Building Products’ plant in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He previously worked as the plant manager for Bridgestone’s tyre plant in Wilson, North Carolina, according to the Wilson Daily Times newspaper. Firestone, a subsidiary of Bridgestone, purchased Gaco Western, a producer of insulation and roofing products, in April 2017 including the Waukesha site.

US: Johns Manville has issued information about an upgrade to the furnace of its Waterville plant in Ohio that took place in the summer of 2017. The work re-started the plant’s furnace and increased its production capacity. The site produces a range of engineered products, such as continuous glass fibres for insulation, composites, building materials and engineered thermoplastic market.