Knauf Insulation announces major Rock Mineral Wool investment plan

Visé, Belgium, 10 July 2017: Knauf Insulation has announced its first green field project in mainland Europe in 7 years. The investment in a Rock Mineral Wool production facility to be located in the border region of Luxembourg and the Moselle (France) will exceed 100 million Euro. The facility will create close to 120 new local jobs.

The new plant, which is set to start production in mid-2019, will have a production capacity exceeding 110,000 Tonnes of Rock Mineral Wool. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and will specifically focus on the supply of key construction applications, including contact and ventilated facades, flat roofs and metallic sandwich panels all primarily destined for France, Germany and the Benelux.

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Leverton, Regional Managing Director for Western Europe said: “At Knauf Insulation, we remain truly dedicated to offering the best suitable technology to provide the best products and solutions for both Building and Technical applications. For some time now, we have been seeing significant market growth in the Rock Mineral Wool market in Western Europe, thanks primarily to a strong regulatory framework for energy efficiency, notably in France, combined more generally with a greater push for fire safety. So we are extremely happy today to be able to announce this significant investment, which further affirms Knauf Insulation’s position as leading player in the Global Insulation Market”.

With regards to the project Leverton added: “But this is not just a capacity game it’s also about innovation; with this new facility we will be optimising the performance of the line and introducing new technologies and product solutions with the ultimate aim of enhancing our customers’ experience.”

Two industrial sites have been shortlisted and discussions are advancing well with the relevant authorities. The final location will be unveiled in the coming months.

Following the successful upgrade to its line in St Egidien, Germany earlier this year, and as part of the company’s commitment to upgrading all Rock Mineral Wool production facilities and providing further support to growing demand in Eastern and Central Europe, Knauf Insulation has also confirmed two additional investments to its existing lines in Surdulica, Serbia and Nova Bana, Slovakia.

Knauf Insulation CEO Mr Jean-Claude Carlin said: “The significance of the announced investments are designed to become real game changers both in terms of improving service to our developing customer base and also driving product quality to new levels. At Knauf Insulation, we remain committed to maximising our global footprint through investing in improvements and increasing our production capacity where called for. Regions like Europe with strong regulatory frameworks are always interesting for us as they provide longer-term certainty for our markets – something all businesses appreciate. But we have also identified some exciting opportunities for geographical expansion outside of Europe in the coming years”.