Archive Celotex News!

The assessment meets the certification requirement of section 4.8.2 of BR443 ‘Conventions for U-value calculations’ (March 2006 edition) and therefore allows the thermal resistance of the residual air cavity in masonry cavity wall constructions to be calculated in accordance with the procedure given in Annex B.2. of BS EN ISO 6946:1997.

In wall U-value calculations incorporating Celotex CW3000, an improved air cavity resistance value of 0.665 m2.K/W can now be used instead of the default value of 0.44 m2.K/W for non-assessed low emissivity surfaces as given in BR443.

The net effect of this change means that a specific U-value can be achieved with 5 mm less insulation thickness, resulting in cost savings and a reduction in cavity wall width.

Richard Pemberton, who took up his new appointment on the 1st October 2006 joins Celotex from the Forbo Group, the leading linoleum and vinyl manufacturer, where he spent 11 years in various General and Corporate management roles including Managing Director of Forbo Nairn Limited – and latterly in global Sales and Marketing based out of the Swiss Headquarters.

Richard paid tribute to his predecessor, Digby Harper, and stated that he is very pleased to be joining the Celotex team and looks forward to leading the business and building upon its previous success in marketing product innovation and development.

The company states that Richard’s appointment is a key step in the succession planning process for the business and will ensure the continued growth of Celotex.

The extensive range of Celotex branded thermal insulation boards provide the construction market with the most straightforward means of meeting higher thermal insulation requirements without the need for extremely deep and unwieldy constructions – along with the resultant loss in internal space. This is due to the exceptionally low thermal conductivity performance inherent in all Celotex boards which are almost twice as thermally efficient as many other forms of insulation, providing optimum thermal performance for most construction applications.

Celotex has recently invested £8 million in additional capacity ready for these changes, with much of the investment being directed at offering a wider range of thicknesses and a greater number of individual product solutions. Over the past three years the manufacturing capability of Celotex has been doubled by this investment.

Unique products: simple solutions
From the 1980 start-up of its PIR foam manufacturing plant at Hadleigh in Suffolk, this 80 year old company has continued to plough its own furrow in terms of manufacturing process and product performance. This leadership in technology is embedded in the revamped product ranges, each of which features characteristics unique to Celotex.

Celotex GA3000 and CW3000 will remain the heart of the product range, providing multi-purpose (GA) and cavity wall (CW) insulation boards which are uniquely reinforced with glassfibres, and feature the best reaction-to-fire performance measured in accordance with new European Standards of any PUR/PIR product on the UK market. These boards will continue to be available in thicknesses from 30 to 90 mm.

Exploiting Celotex’ unique ability to deliver very thin boards will be our new Celotex TB3000 range, with similar characteristics to our GA and CW ranges, but with unreinforced core foam and thicknesses ranging from 12 to 30 mm. The TB3000 range is ideally suited to provide simple solutions to overcome localised thermal bridges.

Celotex XR3000 is new to the Celotex range, manufactured on our latest state-of-the-art restrained rise production line, and features our own unique jointless laydown technology. This technology enables us to offer boards up to 150 mm with no visible seams in the triple stream foam laydown. This product will be targeted at ‘cut-to-fit’ applications for installation between rafters or joists to enable lower U-values to be achieved.

Our flat roofing range, comprising Celotex EL3000, with coated glassfibre tissue facings for fully adhered membranes, and Celotex TA3000, with foil facings for mechanically fixed and ballasted single-ply systems, will both be extended with the addition of tapered versions to satisfy market demand for cut-to-falls roofing systems. Tapered boards will be available from 20 > 40 mm thickness up to 80 > 100 mm. Both the tapered and flat roofboard ranges feature the unique jointless laydown system developed in-house by Celotex for its new restrained rise plant.

A complete new suite of product literature is available in PDF form for download from this web-site.

With the April 2006 revisions to the Building Regulations Part L about to impact on the whole construction industry, Celotex is ensuring that its Technical Advisory Service will be ready to cope with the anticipated extra demand for assistance with the installation of its range of polyisocyanurate (PIR) foam insulation boards.

The Celotex Technical Advisory Service has handled over 100,000 individual enquiries since the previous Part L changes were introduced in April 2002. These are received by telephone, fax, email and online via the company’s website.

The complexities of the 2002 revisions stimulated a quantum leap in the number of construction professionals and self-builders needing detailed advice on the correct specification and installation of slimline Celotex insulation to meet more stringent requirements.

Responding to that demand, Celotex has continually grown its team of highly experienced construction professionals that is able to provide comprehensive one-to-one advice on the specification and application of all the company’s products. The main aim is to ensure that every customer using the service achieves an optimised insulation solution.

The Service has earned a very strong reputation for its highly comprehensive level of support, providing what Celotex believes to be an almost unrivalled degree of personal assistance from an insulation board manufacturer. Indeed, the company frequently receives compliments from enquirers that prove this claim. Many are repeat customers of many years’ standing who have come to rely upon the speed and depth of assistance available to them.

Celotex can provide U-value calculations for all product applications, Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) ratings for dwellings and advice on any aspect of product selection, including compliance with current building regulations and advice on future requirements. The company also offers a full suite of supporting product literature, available in both printed and downloadable formats.

The support package is also fully backed by a highly skilled national sales team.

The series is a video diary of the lives of television producer Russell Harris, wife Jannette and children James and Sophie during the seven-year long renovation of a derelict Grade II listed, octagonal, stone-built Victorian water tower into a spectacular, ultra-modern family home.

Surrounded by mature beech, oak and lime trees, the Harris’ new home has been designed to sympathetically merge with its pastoral environment and affords majestic views of the delightful surrounding countryside. Featuring winter and summer lounges, a stunning water feature and a roof deck with Japanese hot tub at its summit, Lymm Water Tower is a highly successful blend of contemporary minimalism and classic Victorian design cues.

The use of slimline Celotex GA3000 boards between joists facilitates the achievement of a sleek roof profile, accentuating the Tower extension’s clean lines and external colour scheme, yet sacrificing nothing in terms of meeting current thermal insulation standards.

Celotex GA3000 is a multi-purpose rigid polyisocyanurate foam (PIR) thermal insulation board with reflective foil facings. It is used in all common roof, wall and floor applications. These include lining of timber frame and masonry walls, pitched roof sarking, inter and under rafter insulation and insulation of heated and unheated concrete floors.

The house is located in a two-acre lake and historic walled garden complex that once formed part of a Victorian residence dating from 1832. Planning permission was granted to the site owners, landscape designer Phillippa Lambert and graphic designer husband Steve, as part of a package to restore the lake and recreate the garden.

The house employs renewable natural resources and is intended to have minimal environmental impact.

The major focus on maximising energy conservation is exemplified in the widespread use of Celotex GA3000, supplied through Encon Insulation.

Although underfloor heating has been installed, it is never likely to be used, such is the extremely high insulation specification that cocoons Haddon Lake House.

The Celotex GA3000 insulation forms a thermal sheathing layer that encapsulates the whole building structure, thereby maximising the thermal efficiency of the structure.

Internally the floor specification also incorporates a layer of Celotex GA3000 insulation underneath a screeded floor that contains the underfloor heating elements Celotex GA3000 space saving insulation boards offer the most straightforward and cost effective solution to meet or exceed current and future thermal insulation standards.

The environmental impact of Celotex insulation has been fully and positively assessed by the BRE – for more details contact Celotex to receive an Environmental Information Sheet or visit the downloads section to download a pdf copy.

Celotex is among the very first to receive the Award for Excellence in Risk Assessment by insurer Royal and SunAlliance. The accolade was recently launched to acknowledge well-managed clients. Reflecting on the award, Celotex Chief Executive Mr Digby Harper commented: "Celotex has established itself over many years as a market leader in supplying products to the market which meet the highest standards set by the fire insurance industry. Indeed our technology in foam plastic insulation is still unmatched by any direct competitor in this respect.

"This award is, of course, mainly about the way we manage risk in our own business. But it is nice to have our care and attention to detail recognised, and to be able to tell our market place that we actually practice what we preach.

"What makes sense for our business must also make sense for our customers".

Celotex recently announced a refinancing package via a management buyout and is currently engaged in a multi-million pound capital investment programme at the Hadleigh site.

Celotex, the UK brand leader for PIR foam insulation board, announces that it has negotiated a management buy-out, by which Celotex Group Limited, comprising the current management and ABN AMRO Capital has purchased the shares of Celotex (Holdings) Limited from a group of private shareholders in a deal valued at £29 million. The management buy-out comes at a very positive time for Celotex with demand for insulation materials growing at a fast rate, driven by tightening building regulations, which are requiring ever-higher levels of insulation. Further changes to The Building Regulations are already planned in 2006, which will give an already buoyant market a further boost. The UK and other major countries are committed to tackling the problems of global warming and depletion of fossil fuels and a continued drive to better insulation in buildings is a key area of focus.

The success over recent years of the Celotex brand can be strongly attributed to the fact that the Companys products provide the same insulation performance at about half the thickness of most other insulant materials.

PIR foam board enables the specifier, developer or builder to retain traditional detailing with little need to change their current building methods and also enables house builders to achieve higher building densities without the need to increase the footprint of the building.

This will mean that PIR will continue to grow its share of the market.
In response to strong demand growth Celotex recently announced a £4.5 million expansion of its production facilities which will gear the company up to cope with the expected additional demand. The financing package provides a further £5.7 million to support further planned investment in the run up to forthcoming Building Regulations changes, scheduled for 2006.

The senior management team of Celotex, leading the management buy-out, has extensive experience of the insulation market. It comprises Digby Harper (Chief Executive), Mark Goddard (Finance Director) and Richard Crisp (Marketing Director). Paul Moxon from ABN AMRO Capital will join the board of Celotex Group Limited following the deal.

Ian Taylor, UK Head of ABN AMRO Capital, said: "When we met the management of Celotex we could see that it was a strong company in a growth market, and quickly decided it was a deal we wanted to do. We worked closely with the management team to structure the buy-out and are delighted to announce the deal today. The company has some great opportunities and we look forward to helping management capitalise on them over the coming years".

Digby Harper, Chief Executive of Celotex, said: "This is an important year for Celotex, with our new production facility coming on stream shortly, and a strong new product pipeline. We are delighted to have partnered with ABN AMRO Capital and now have the backing of a major financial institution to support us through an important growth period".

Following independent Single Burning Item (SBI) testing to BS EN 13823: 2002, Celotex LG3000 has also achieved Euroclass B of the harmonised European Standard BS EN 13501-1: 2002 ‘Fire classification of construction products and building elements’.

The product is unique in being exposed directly to the flame during fire testing which contrasts with many other materials that are only approved as part of built-up roofing and cladding systems.

The elimination of an additional protective layer enables architects and specifiers to maximise internal space, due to the lightness and slim profile of Celotex LG3000.

Its suitability for above and below purlin installation makes it ideal for use in both new and refurbishment applications, where Euroclass B fire performance is required.

Celotex LG3000 provides very good thermal insulation levels.
It also features a textured, white painted, aluminium facer, for an attractive and durable surface within the building when installed above or below purlins. It is available in a range of thicknesses to meet most design requirements (initially 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 mm).

The company is supporting the product launch with three new brochures; two specifically detail installation above or below purlins. A third document outlines the issues surrounding the importance of fire testing and product marking for insulation materials.

The companys newly constructed 4,000 m² production and warehousing facility has been built in response to increasing demand for its products. It was officially opened at the event by Mr Tim Yeo. Mr Yeo is MP for South Suffolk and Shadow Secretary of State for Public Services, Health and Education.

Guests encompassed a wide cross-section of Celotex customers, suppliers and shareholders, together with members of the local community and the East Anglian construction industry.

Recent changes to thermal insulation standards in the United Kingdom Building Regulations, aimed at reducing global warming and CO2 emissions, have resulted in an unprecedented period of growth for Celotex.

Its range of polyisocyanurate (PIR) tuff-R™ and double-R™ boards have zero ozone depletion potential and are CE marked, demonstrating their full compliance with new European harmonised standards.

The product range provides very high levels of insulation performance at minimal thickness, compared to many alternative insulants. This saves space, enhances design flexibility and ultimately reduces building costs.

Installation of an additional production line will begin in the new factory extension in June and will be fully operational by the beginning of 2005.

When fully commissioned, the extra line will put the company in a very strong position in advance of further relevant changes to The Building Regulations, scheduled for 2005 and 2010.

It will greatly increase manufacturing capacity and enable Celotex to introduce new products and enter additional markets.