South Korea: Air Products has been awarded a long-term contract by KCC Corporation, a construction material manufacturer, to supply oxygen to the new glass wool production line at its Gimcheon plant. The new production line is scheduled to become operational in 2017.

Air Products will install a Prism vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) oxygen generator at KCC Corporation’s Gimcheon site to supply on-site gaseous oxygen to the furnace for full oxy-fuel combustion, a technique to make glass manufacturing cleaner.

“We have been supplying different offerings to KCC Corporation, including at the Gimcheon site, and are honoured to have won their continued confidence,” said Kyo-Yung Kim, president of Air Products Korea.

Air Products supplies integrated solutions to the global glass industry, from gas supply to combustion systems, technology, customised control systems, technical and design expertise, commissioning service, safety and site training, maintenance contracts and project management. The company also specialises in oxy-fuel combustion technology.

US: Owens Corning’s sales revenue has risen by 7% year-on-year to US$2.78bn in the first half of 2016 from US$2.61bn in the same period in 2016. Its net earnings rose by 78% to US$198m from US$111m. However, sales revenue for its insulation business fell by 4% to US$799m from US$830m. No reason for the decline in insulation revenue was given, but the company expects slightly negative revenue growth and relatively flat margins to continue for the full year.

France: Saint-Gobain’s sales revenue has fallen by 1.6% year-on-year to Euro19.6bn in the first half of 2016 from Euro19.9bn in the same period of 2015. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 3.8% to Euro1.89bn from Euro1.96bn. The group blamed the loss in sales revenue on negative currency changes, especially in Latin American, and to a lesser extent, in the UK following its decision to leave the European Union. Saint-Gobain’s Interior Solutions division, which includes gypsum wallboard and insulation production, reported a 3.1% rise in sales revenue to Euro3.3bn from Euro3.2bn.

“Saint-Gobain’s sales for first-half 2016 confirm our February forecasts, with France stabilising and all regions making strong contribution to growth. Our strategy of investing in emerging markets provides us with a diversified platform for profitable growth. Our first-half results also benefited from efforts to optimise our operations, particularly in Western Europe, and from upbeat trading in the US. The results are in line with our objectives and we expect alike-for-like improvement in operating income for second-half 2016 versus second-half 2015. While the 23 June 2016 Brexit vote in the UK has created a climate of uncertainty, it does not affect our objectives,” said Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Saint-Gobain.

UK: Sergei Kolesnikov, president of construction materials producer TekhnoNicol, will acquire Superglass. Kolesnikov has made an offer of US$11.49m for the Scottish glass mineral wool insulation producer via his company Inflection based in Cyprus. The board of directors of Superglass unilaterally recommended approving the purchase proposal. The shareholders who own 63.5% in Superglass have already submitted irrevocable obligations to sell their stakes.

"This transaction and the commercial partnership between Superglass and TekhnoNicol, is a strategic opportunity for all parties, providing TekhnoNicol, with a presence in the UK and Irish insulation markets. We are impressed with Superglass' management team and look forward to working with them," said Sergei Kolesnikov, the sole shareholder of Inflection.