GlassRock Insulation Company, a portfolio company of Citadel Capital’s regional mining platform Ascom, said it has successfully completed the commissioning phase of its new production line for glasswool, an insulating material made from fibres of glass arranged into a texture similar to wool.

The new production line will produce 20,000 metric tons (MT) per year of glasswool thus taking the plant’s total production capacity up to 50,000 MT of which 30,000 MT will be stonewool, said a statement from Citadel Capital, a leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa region.

Announcing the launch, CEO Bechir Dardour said, “We are exceptionally proud to be manufacturing these strategic insulation materials, which can be used as both residential thermal insulation and as acoustic insulation. Our products,whether stonewool or glasswool, can help to significantly reduce the impact of the energy crisis that Egypt is currently facing.”

According to Dardour, the company had the potential to become a key Egyptian exporter while also playing an important role in introducing energy-efficient, eco-friendly solutions to the local market.

GlassRock Insulation Company, he said, has already begun prooduction, marketing and sales of its energy-efficient insulation material in local, regional and international markets.

The 20,000 MT per annum of glasswool insulation that will be produced in GlassRock’s Sadat City Free Zone plant is being manufactured with primarily local materials.

In September, GlassRock had announced the launch of its first stonewool production line, (also known as rockwool), a key component of greener buildings with lower environmental footprints. The company, is now targeting exports to key markets in Europe, North Africa, the GCC countries and Turkey.

Buildings account for some 40 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions due to the energy they consume, according to estimates by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

According to Dardour, the insulation materials produced by GlassRock are also the best way to reduce the impact of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions.

GlassRock insulation products can be used in a wide range of settings that harness their remarkable thermal, acoustic and fire protection properties, he stated.

"Glasswool and stonewool can be used to insulate new and existing buildings of all types — be they residential, commercial or public. Common industrial applications include: large diameter pipe insulation; insulation of tanks and vessels; insulation for boilers and turbines; and critical marine and offshore installations including fire and acoustic insulation in ships and oil rigs," he explained.

"Glasswool and rockwool products are also used inhousehold appliances, caravans and cold storages, as well as in the agricultural sector, where they are used as substrate slabs and improve the consumption efficiency of fertilizers," he added.-TradeArabia News Service