Shaping our future in Asia Pacific

Why is the plant so important to customers?
We are giving our customers access to highly effective quality solutions which they really appreciate – our insulation with ECOSE Technology®. The plant also brings us physically closer to our markets and, as we are installing the latest technology, we can respond faster in terms of product development or service to customers. This investment also demonstrates we have a long-term commitment to the region.

Why is the plant capacity significant?
It has been built bigger than current demand in the market which gives great growth opportunities. And, as the biggest, most efficient plant in the region, it also provides Knauf Insulation with a cost leadership position which in turn helps our customers to stay competitive for the long run.

Which key countries will the plant serve?
Today we have four main markets: Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australia and we will be developing new partners and customers in those countries as well as looking at new markets such as growing economies like Vietnam or Indonesia as well as developed economies nearby such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Asia is the fastest growing region for insulation and we see strong growth potential.

What is the plant contributing to the success of Knauf Insulation’s culture?
We think there is a good match between our culture and the strengths of the people we see in the region. There is a lot of entrepreneurship and enthusiasm there. People are extremely active and motivated to participate.

How is the plant building on the company’s culture of continuous improvement?
We are starting not only with the best equipment and the best plant design, we are also starting with all our continuous improvement backgrounds from day one. We are recruiting people with previous experience or people with the right attitude who we feel will work well in a framework where we will empower plant operators and local teams.

Safety is also a priority.
From day one we have put in place all the safety processes we have developed over the years. We are following the same standards as anywhere else and have had zero Lost Time Accidents (LTA) on the site. On September 27 we celebrated 500,000 hours without an LTA.

How are relationships with local suppliers?
We are developing local suppliers, not just for building and manufacturing, but also equipment. Suppliers from Malaysia, China and Vietnam, for example, are extremely capable and very competitive and they could be very useful to our global business in future.

What new products can be discussed?
In New Zealand and Australia we have a new forming technology that will introduce more rigidity to our solutions providing a better installation experience.

The plant will also use a high percentage of recycled glass.
There are countries in the region with a surplus of glass from bottle banks and sometimes more bottles than can be recycled.

We will be able to consume a large part of that glass rather than sending it to landfill. For example, we are working with the Singapore government to see whether we could improve the collection of bottles locally and include that glass in our process.

What will be the economic impact of the plant in the Asia Pacific region?
We have created jobs for 180 people locally. Then around the region 20 more commercial jobs. In terms of the local economy the benefits will be around US$40 million a year – local services, jobs and materials – and then probably another US$10 million in other countries for services such as transport and sea freight. Overall the full economic impact in terms of sales is about US$100 million in turnover.

To what extent has Knauf Insulation’s Asia Pacific team contributed to the plant’s success?
Since 2010 they have achieved so much and that has enabled this massive investment. We are starting with a good level of capacity utilisation because they have been able to develop the right mix of customers. The local team and the customers are the ones we should congratulate for getting this investment approved. It’s a fantastic partnership.

Any final thoughts?
It’s the first investment but there will be more in Asia very soon.