1. In the 1970s, our products got their familiar red-and-white-striped packaging.
2. A loft can be a tight space, making it challenging for insulation slabs. During the 1970s, insulation was typically installed in attics using rakes.
At the end of the 1990s, one of our customers gave us the idea to use a blowing machine for installation. We also figured out that blowing allowed us to utilize the cutting waste. Blowing wool thus solved two problems at once: how to work in tight spaces and what to do with waste. It quickly became one of the hottest items on the market.
Today, blowing wool is the most common insulation solution for pitched roofs. For the house owner, it saves time and money. It is also good for the environment, as cutting waste ends up in the attic instead of at the dump.
3. The Innova Project - a New, Innovative Method for Carrying Out Energy Efficient Renovations on Multi-Storey Buildings
The Innova project started at the beginning of 2010 and aimed to motivate housing cooperatives to carry out energy efficiency improvements. The project searched for innovative methods and solutions for energy efficiency upgrades of the existing building stock.
In August 2010, a four-storey 33-apartment rental building in Riihimäki, built in 1975, was selected for the Innova renovation solution. The existing facades were prefabricated concrete sandwich elements, characteristic for the area. It was renovated to meet the Finnish Passive House requirement, that is, the heating energy demand after the renovation is, at a maximum, 25 kWh/m²a.
4. In 2002, a new European fire classification system was introduced.
In the new system the amount and composition of the adhesive layer affected the reaction to fire classification. We developed a glue to keep our panels with stone wool insulation as non-combustible (A2-s1, d0) products.
As we were actively following fire safety standardisation in Europe, we became the first manufacturer in Europe to introduce a non-combustible A2-class panel. A dramatic fire in the Netherlands almost 9m high occurred where partition made of PAROC panels prevented the fire from spreading to the other end of the building.
5. In the late 1960s, the market for industrial noise control and sound proofing were dominated by vertically installed baffles. Stone wool had just become the material to use as sound absorbent.
During the oil crisis in the early 1970s, the demand for energy efficient solutions emerged. In 1973, we started using the product 379 (today known as PARAFON Buller) to mount the tile horizontally on the roof. The investment paid itself back in a couple of months. Today PARAFON Buller is one of our most well-known products.
6. We started stone wool production in Lithuania in 1997. 20 years later Paroc is a leader of energy-efficient and fire-proof stone wool insulation solutions in the Baltics.
7. PAROC building insulation products have carried the CE mark since 2002 when the EN 13162 standard “Mineral wool products for thermal insulation” was published. Since then, all products subject to the harmonized EN standard have been tested and CE marked accordingly.
8. In 1999, Paroc is carved out from Partek and it becomes an independent company, and the company name was changed to Paroc. The work on establishing our new corporate identity begins. We show growth in Western and Central Europe with technical insulation products.
In the ensuing years, building energy efficiency becomes increasingly important, with more directives coming from the EU further increasing the demand for high-quality insulation.
1. 2016 exceeded expectations for innovation sales. The best metric for our innovation work is the percentage of sales from innovations. In 2016, sales from our innovations increased by a massive 74% over 2015. This represented 20 percentage points over the target we set ourselves for 2016. It is important to note that innovation sales case from both new solutions and improvements in the production process.
We began a large investment in our Polish factory located at Trzemeszno. The objective of the project was to upgrade an existing production line and thereby improve the productivity and increase the capacity by 30%. The upgraded one of the production lines enabled delivery of more advanced technical insulation products to Central Europe.
In 2016, in we generated over 250 documented ideas for improvements in product, technology and processes. Around two thirds of the idea came from R&D teams. But a growing portion (currently around 20%) came from employees that are outside R&D through, for example, innovation competition.
2. Paroc becomes a member of Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V., a non-governmental organization, focused on promoting sustainability throughout the constriction and real estate sectors in Germany.
3. One activity we carried out to boost our operation excellence was the Six Sigma Green Belt training, which promotes problem solving based on statistical data. With our own Six Sigma in-house Black Belt, a more experienced in Lean Six Sigma, we are able to increase understanding of new tools and methodologies among plant workers to address root causes of problems, eliminate unnecessary variations and increase the stability of operations.
Participants get to work on a wide range of individual examination projects, from variations in gas consumption to travel costs. Although we are still reviewing the outcome, results to date suggest that the programme can save an impressive 20-30,000 euros per project.
The pilot Green Belt program was carried out in Parainen factory in 2016 and will be rolled out in all factories in 2017. The target for the 2017 productivity improvement had been set at almost double compared to the performance in 2016. To achieve this, the company will continue to invest in increasing efficiency and capitalize on ongoing improvement projects. The target for the waste out of plant for 2017 is 13% (2016 result was 15%).
4. In 2016, we laid the groundwork for increasing responsible sourcing from transportation suppliers. One challenge here is the fact that our sourcing strategy for transportation differs from region to region as it takes into account local market conditions. However, we have seen good initial progress by including responsible sourcing requirements already at the tendering stage and we are ready for wider roll-out in 2017. The current percentage of responsibly sourced transportation is approximately 82%.
Patrik Ahlbäck, Purchasing and Logistics Director, explains why suppliers have reacted favorably to the requirement for more transparency: “Transportation companies have responded positively to our sourcing requirements as they see this both as an industry trend and good practice as the mark of an industry forerunner. They recognize that more efficient transportation means lower costs and emissions, a better reputation, and so a competitive edge.”
Going forward, we will favor route-based sourcing in more and more markets. We will also gain more transparency into and control over our supply chain, since as a consequence, we will work more closely and more directly with local, smaller companies.
5. Expanding Leadership through Safety training to all employees, preventive safety at plants and internal mentoring, we will look at creating a Group-wide leadership development program. As we push ahead to our target of zero accidents by 2020, we will continue with a wide range of safety initiatives at each site, which include clarifying roles and responsibilities of individual employees towards their safety and the safety of others, and developing instructions for machinery design and maintenance. We will also introduce an employee pulse survey every six months and we plan to implement code of conduct training to all employees. In addition, in autumn 2017, we will roll-out training relating to forthcoming EU legislation on personal information.
“2017 will be a lot about continuing the good direction and momentum to date. I’d say if we can hire the right people, recognize achievements and potential, give our employees opportunities and engage them, and grow even better leaders, we’ll be doing a great job. This will have a huge impact on our culture and team spirit. It will impact stakeholder trust and customer orientation, our readiness to execute on our strategy and our contribution to sustainability”, Taija Lehtola, Group HR Director, sums up forthcoming sustainability activities in employee safety and well-being.
6.The significant investments we made in a new line in our plant in Poland. A new state-of-the-art stone wool production line will be built in the existing plant in Trzemeszno. The plant offers a good platform for further growth in Central and Eastern Europe thanks to the already existing infrastructure, optimal geographic location, and experienced workforce. The utilization of the latest Paroc technology will ensure high capacity, efficiency, and product quality. The investment is expected to be completed in 2019. The total value of the investment amounts to approximately 60 million euro. The total annual production volume is expected to increase by 60‒70 thousand tons across the building and technical insulation.
7.Investing in the right talent and building a culture of performance and sustainability is essential to Paroc’s future success. In 2016, we began implementing safety behaviour, leadership and employee value proposition programs, the latter of which aims at engaging potential and existing staff in the benefits and opportunities of working at Paroc.
8.The sustainability network was a new initiative in 2016, which aims to better manage common aspects, such as target-setting, monitoring, communication and reporting, and ensures there are as few gaps and overlaps as possible. The sustainability network will change the way our core sustainability issue owners work together and strengthen the company-wide sustainability community.
Further we will continue developing our sustainability program and focusing on the identified priorities for example in energy and material efficiency, responsible sourcing and supply chain management, but also focus on increasing stakeholder transparency as a result of implementing the sustainability program.
1. Sustainability requirements are driving change among our customers, suppliers, stakeholders and end users. The change is both a significant opportunity and a huge challenge. Paroc wants to be at the forefront of this change.
Over the years, we have aimed at both short- and long-term environmental, social and economic sustainability by developing operations with a focus on resource and energy efficiency. In more recent years, we have started and participated in several projects dealing with everything from our products’ environmental impact to knowledge on how to build energy-efficient houses and how to make energy-efficiency renovations as cost effectively as possible.
We can proudly claim to have pioneered both low-energy house concepts as well as cutting edge concepts for cost-effective energy refurbishments. As we develop our offering, we aim to reduce the energy use in the built environment – without forgetting aesthetic values. The built environment consumes 40% of all energy in the EU. This presents a huge opportunity for solutions that make a difference.
2. Our wool recycling service to customers demonstrates responsibility, enhances our reputation and helps meet EU regulation and building certification schemes. There is clearly increasing interest from customers in rewool. However, the service does not come without challenges. Currently, the wool is often contaminated, arrives in relatively small bags and cannot be stored inside. All this means that there is a high percentage of costly manual work involved, even before we can begin to process it. To improve the cost efficiency of rewool and reuse it for production as opposed to the current lower-value bi-products, such as briquetting, we are looking at increasing the involvement of external waste management partners and also helping customers to reduce the amount of waste themselves.
Our main metric for waste is measuring the amount of waste out from plant. Our target is to recycle more materials ourselves. In 2016, we fell short of our target of 11% (actual 15%) due mostly to the new line we installed at our Poland Trzemeszno plant and closing our Lappeenranta factory in Finland. In addition, there was an impact on waste from a quality issue at Russia’s Tver factory and installation of new machinery at our Hällekis plant in Sweden. Despite this temporary setback in reducing waste, we can still see and overall trend of waste reduction in Paroc – 85% of the total amount of waste was recycled.
3. The biggest environmental impact of our supplier operations is the extraction and transportation of natural resources.
Paroc has around 100 suppliers for materials directly related to production, such as fibre, and around another 100 other suppliers, including those for transportation and traded products. In addition to these, we have suppliers for indirect services, such as maintenance and security. Our suppliers are mostly in Europe, the majority in countries we operate in, and in Asia.
As well as a growing number of external audits, we also conduct internal audits on our suppliers and six quarries in Finland, which all have ISO9001 and ISO14001 certification. It is also important to keep in mind that in most of our supplier countries, governments and authorities already impose strict legislation on such topics as human rights, environmental performance, worker rights, company finance and health and safety.
We are pleased to announce that in 2016, we were able to take the level of production materials certified from responsible sources up to 75% among first-tier suppliers (typically stone raw materials and chemicals). At the same time, in both internal and external audits, none of Paroc’s suppliers were identified as having significant actual or potential negative impacts in the supply chain for labor practices or the environment.
4. LOWERING EMISSIONS THROUGH CLEANING TECHNOLOGY
The introduction of new cleaning technology is part of our ongoing efforts to minimize emissions during melting, such as CO, sulphur/nitrogen oxides and dust, and limit downstream emissions, such as binder chemicals, formaldehyde, ammonia and dust. This is in line with EU legislation on emissions, which, for example, introduced even stricter emission sanctions during 2016.
5. In 2016, we laid the groundwork for increasing responsible sourcing from transportation suppliers. One challenge here is the fact that our sourcing strategy for transportation differs from region to region as it takes into account local market conditions. However, we have seen good initial progress by including responsible sourcing requirements already at the tendering stage and we are ready for wider roll-out in 2017. The current percentage of responsibly sourced transportation is approximately 82%.
Patrik Ahlbäck, Purchasing and Logistics Director, explains why suppliers have reacted favorably to the requirement for more transparency: “Transportation companies have responded positively to our sourcing requirements as they see this both as an industry trend and good practice as the mark of an industry forerunner. They recognize that more efficient transportation means lower costs and emissions, a better reputation, and so a competitive edge.”
Going forward, we will favor route-based sourcing in more and more markets. We will also gain more transparency into and control over our supply chain, since as a consequence, we will work more closely and more directly with local, smaller companies.
6. As our overall business directly contributes to building a safer and more sustainable environment, both forms of innovation benefit sustainability. The former through the creation of more long-lasting, safe and environment-friendly building solutions; the latter through directly reducing the cost, energy, raw materials, waste and emissions associated with producing these products. The best metric for our innovation work is the percentage of sales from innovations. In 2016, sales from our innovations increased by a massive 74% over 2015. This represented 20 percentage points over the target we set ourselves for 2016. While one could argue that the target set for 2016 might have been modest (and it has indeed been raised for 2017), it is important to note that innovation sales came from both new solutions and improvements in the production process.
Sales from innovations in 2016 increased 74% Innovation, as Joakim Westerlund, Chief Operating Officer explains, is never easy: “Two of the challenges to turning new ideas into real innovation in our customer offering and production process are the need both to prioritize the sheer number of tasks that our R&D people face and the need to balance daily firefighting with systematic and long-term development work. We are addressing these through clearer prioritization of tasks and nominating separate dedicated teams for R&D projects and for more ad hoc work.”
7. NEW AND IMPROVED EPD CAPABILITY
During the year we produced more Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), especially in acoustic products, and set up the capability to produce our own EPDs, with third-party certification. This increases our ability to provide our customers and partners with more detailed sustainability information on, for example, environmental performance, materials and safe handling, for each individual product. This also helps them gain credits in building certification and related schemes. Our EPD improvements also increase transparency to end users and the public at large showing the environmental impact of the product and the different stages of the products life cycle. The EPD also enables our customers to compare our products to others.
8. CUSTOMER ORIENTATION DRIVING OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
Feedback mechanisms to ensure customer satisfaction are key inputs to making improvements in our operations, which also impacts our contribution to sustainability. Based on analysis of ongoing customer feedback, identifying the responsibility for responding to individual situations and follow-up action, NPS is Paroc’s main method to track and improve customer satisfaction.
In 2016, based on approximately 2,000 sets of customer feedback, our NPS score for key accounts was 54, which was the exact target we set ourselves.
1. PAROC Air – the roof insulation solution against moisture. Paroc's innovative ventilated roof insulation against moisture is the clear market leader. All our competitors can do is copy it. Moisture has always been a problem in building construction.
In the middle of the 1980s we developed a flat roof insulation solution with ventilation to solve the moisture problem.
Today this solution is known as PAROC Air. It is the most popular flat roof solution in many of our markets. All our competitors in the insulation business can do is copy it.
2. Paroc carefully studies industry trends when developing new solutions.
PAROC® Prewis™ for seamless rendered facades Architects’ love for rendered facades inspired us to develop our own prefabricated, insulated rendered facade panels.
We launched the solution in 2004. The result combines the ease of prefabricated panels with the beauty of a seamless rendered facade. Rendered facade lamella PAROC Linio 80 is non-combustible stone wool insulation for use as a base layer of thin rendered facade in existing and new buildings. The lamella has excellent thermal insulation and alkali resistance properties. It doesn't accumulate moisture or react to changes in temperature. With rendered facade insulation lamella you can easily create a smooth base layer for thin rendering, improve the sound insulation and increase the fire resistance of walls. Lamellas are installed with adhesive mortar. Separate mechanical fasteners are not normally needed (check the system owner instructions).
3. To minimize energy use and transport all energy is kept within the system to the intended destination with appropriate insulation of the core components in the ventilation system and distribution ducts. Usually, equipment is insulated when manufactured and does not need any further on-site insulation.
Ventilation machines need internal sound reduction in order to prevent the sound from the equipment spreading through the ducts. In some cases thermal insulation is needed and, in other cases, condensation insulation. For ventilation machines internal insulation, Paroc recommends following solution: use PAROC InVent slabs with G5 facing.
You can clean the G5 facing with a nylon brush, making maintenance easy.
If the ventilation machine is insulated with insulation placed between two metal plates, the recommended product is PAROC InVent slabs with N-facing.
4. The thin rendering solution is the most common thermal rendering system in Europe, both in new buildings and renovations. Lamella insulation is particularly recommended when:
• It requires no mechanical fasteners. (Check the system owners instructions!) The lamellas are glued to the supporting wall with adhesive mortar.
• It is fast and easy to install.
• It provides an even foundation for the rendering due to the sawed surface.
Lamella insulation is especially recommended for walls with high insulation thickness. The lamellas have very high tensile strength, making them suitable for situations where high mechanical strength is required, such as high rise buildings.
Rendered facade lamella PAROC Linio 80 is non-combustible stone wool insulation for use as a base layer of thin rendered facade in existing and new buildings. The lamella has excellent thermal insulation and alkali resistance properties. It doesn't accumulate moisture or react to changes in temperature. With rendered facade insulation lamella you can easily create a smooth base layer for thin rendering, improve the sound insulation and increase the fire resistance of walls. Lamellas are installed with adhesive mortar. Separate mechanical fasteners are not normally needed (check the system owner instructions).
5. Storage tanks of various shapes and sizes are integral parts of many industrial processes. The temperature of the material stored in tanks can vary significantly from one process to another. Thermal insulation reduces heat losses to a minimum and maintains the right temperature in the tank contents to ensure that the processes work efficiently. Tank walls are often very high. Temperature differences between the insulation and cladding create the so-called chimney effect, where air flows upwards. Because of this effect, it is important to use insulation slabs with the right density to prevent air movement inside the insulation, and to minimize heat conduction.
Air movement decreases when using higher density products. The right density of wall insulation for low temperature tanks is about 40 kg/m3.
For low temperature tank walls Paroc recommends to use 35-50 kg/m3 PAROC Pro Slabs in one layer. For tanks with higher temperature, use 50-80 kg/m3 PAROC Pro Slabs.
6. PAROC Marine and Offshore insulation is made of stone wool and developed for the needs of the modern shipbuilding and offshore industry. Our products have been tested in various A-class and H-class deck and bulkhead constructions and in numerous fire door and panel constructions.
For a functional and cost-effective insulation solution for engine rooms, use PAROC Marine slabs and preformed blocks with facing. The products with facing are easy and quick to install and make the overall solution more lightweight than using uncoated products with sheet metal cladding.
Use PAROC Marine Wired Mats as thermal and fire insulation for smoke ducts and chimneys on ships. If required, the wire net can also be made of stainless steel to provide a higher temperature resistance than that of galvanized wire net.
For a functional insulation solution for car decks and engine rooms, we recommend PAROC Marine slabs and preformed blocks with facing. Our range of facings includes glass fiber cloth as well as aluminium foil. Products with facings ensure a clean and easily maintained final surface.
7. PARAFON Clinic is a durable acoustic tile developed for suspended ceilings in medical, lab and similar environments with stringent requirements for good hygiene and cleaning. The surface is a white reinforced glass-fibre felt that is particularly scratch resistant and that tolerates frequent wiping and cleaning using disinfectants, but not rinsing. PARAFON Clinic is installed in a grid system and gives a matt suspended ceiling with excellent acoustic properties. The reinforced and durable surface makes the product suitable even in areas that are particularly subject to wear such as e.g. school corridors and changing rooms.
PARAFON Clinic can be used in areas with clean room classification ISO 4 in accordance with ISO 14644-1: 1999 and in such instances should be installed together with Armstrong’s ISO 4-classified grid system CLEAN ROOM with recessed silicone seals in the profiles. Parafon Hygiene has a core of non-combustible PAROC mineral wool that remains dimensionally stable even at very high temperatures in the event of a fire.
8. As any heat loss from hot water pipes and heating water pipes represents preventable energy loss, you should use effective thermal insulation. Boilers heat water to the correct temperature, after which it is transported in pipes. You need thermal insulation to keep the water at the right temperature until it reaches its destination.
If the temperature of warm water drops too much, there is an increased risk of spreading diseases (e.g. Pontiac fever or Legionnaires' disease) via the warm water. These bacteria thrive in temperatures between 25–45°C, with an optimum at 35°C. Reduce this risk with proper insulation and thus prevent the water from reaching this critical temperature.
Insulating HVAC pipe elbows is easy with pre-fabricated insulation components PAROC Hvac Bend AluCoat T.
1. We recommend a reverberation time of 0.8 – 1.5 seconds at frequencies between 250 – 4000 Hz so that it can be tuned according to different needs. A shorter reverberation time is needed at official gatherings, while a longer time is used for concerts.
If the space is used for multiple purposes, and it differs from the shape of a rectangle surrounding space, use acoustic consultants for designing.
Acoustic solution, halls & auditoriums When designing acoustics for halls and auditoriums, clarify the main purpose of use and use both reflective and absorbing materials on the walls and the ceiling.
Recommended products: PARAFON Classic, PARAFON Colortone, PARAFON Royal
2. PAROC® Pipe Sections insulation – dramatically improved energy savings. Uninsulated or poorly insulated pipes create large energy losses.
Pre-fabricated pipe insulation, pipe sections, dramatically improve energy saving, installation speed and quality. Paroc started pipe section production in 1957. The technology we use is our own invention.
The focus on energy saving creates an increasing demand for the insulation of pipes. The insulation properties of PAROC pipe sections are being improved continuously.
PAROC Hvac Section AluCoat T and PAROC Hvac Bend AluCoat T is non-combustible stone wool pipe insulation for thermal and condensation insulation of pipework in buildings. It has a reinforced aluminium foil facing and tape in the longitudinal seam which prevents condensation and gives a quick installation.
General instructions:
• During the installation, both the object to be insulated and the insulation material should be at a minimum temperature of +10 Celsius.
• Allow the temperature of the insulating material to adjust to the ambient installation temperature.
• Always store the tape at room temperature.
• Check that the surfaces to be joined with tape are clean and dry.
• Ensure that pipe section seams are tight but without extra tension. The same applies at supports and other projecting parts.
3. Rendered Ceiling Insulation: Fixed with Adhesive
Spray mortar onto the surface of the lamella and press a plastic-coated fibreglass mesh onto the rendered layer before it has a chance to dry. Level the surface, and then spray or rub it once dry. A thin rendered ceiling is neat and tidy, seamless and identical in appearance to a traditionally rendered surface. The surface can also be painted.
Painted Ceiling Insulation: Fixed with Adhesive
Glue PAROC CGL 20cy lamellas directly onto prepared concrete. Use the same adhesives as those used when installing ETICS. They should fulfil the requirements of this method and carefully tested products. Use a trowel to press the products onto the ceiling so as to avoid denting the surface with your fingers. No fasteners required.
Paint the ceilings by spraying with products specifically designed for the purpose and which meet the paint manufacturer’s instructions.
Rendered Ceiling Insulation: Adhesion with Concrete Casting
Lay the product over a new or thoroughly cleaned veneer mould. Stagger the seams and push the edges tightly against each other. Install the concrete reinforcement on top. Lay it as a ready-made iron mesh so that it is lifted off the insulation with wedged pieces over a sufficient surface area to provide support. Finally, paint the ceiling.
4. Design guidelines for fire protection of steel structures
You can estimate the thickness of protection needed in a wide range of situations with methods that assess the performance of fire protection materials. The procedure is in two parts. First, carry out a carefully designed programme of fire tests on both loaded and unloaded specimens. Second, apply a mathematical procedure to the results of the tests, which enables you to predict the required thickness. These tests determine both the insulation characteristics of a fire protection material and its physical performance under fire conditions for a range of steel sizes. They generate the maximum amount of data from a minimum number of tests. (ENV13381-4).
Using fire design codes such as the Structural Eurocodes, EC3–1.2 and EC4-1.2, (designated EN 1993-1.2 and 1994-1.2), you can calculate the load on the structure at the time of the fire by treating it as an accidental limit state. This allows you to specify to the protection contractor a limiting or failure temperature for a given structural section.
The protection contractor will then be able to use the required thickness of material to ensure that the steel section does not exceed this temperature within the fire resistance period. Simplify this process by specifying a maximum steel temperature, based on the worst case, for all beams or columns on one floor level.
Thicknesses are given for a range of steel temperatures. It is the responsibility of the design engineer, using design codes such as ENV1993-1-2, to specify the appropriate limiting steel temperatures.
5. PAROC Calculus - technical insulation calculation program. This software calculates insulation solutions made with PAROC Technical Insulation products. The calculations are based on equations described in standard EN ISO 12241. PAROC Calculus is available in two versions, one web-based and one downloadable version with increased functionality. Paroc Additional insulation calculator will help to answer the following questions: What impact would additional insulation have on the thermal insulation of your house structures? What impact would additional insulation have on heating energy consumption?
Fill the information in the calculator and find out how much energy you can save. At the same time as you cut down your energy bill, your living comfort is also improved!
6. We recommend following the installation guidelines for flat roofs:
• Remove all water, snow or waste from the supporting structure before installing a water barrier or insulation slabs. The supporting structure has to be smooth and even.
• Paroc delivers boards and slabs on disposable wooden pallets or stone wool supports that are intended to be handled using forklift trucks. The pallets require an even foundation. The packaging consists of stretch film that allows pallets to be stored outdoors without additional covering. Cover opened packages from the rain and wind.
• Roof insulation pallets are usually quite heavy (500– 600 kg), so locate them on the roof in a way that avoids damaging the supporting structure. Select a location for the pallets so that they don`t have to be moved during installation. If you transfer pallets, use a forklift with a special lifting fork or lifting slings. Avoid storing pallets on the insulated roof.
• Install insulation carefully. No gaps between the slabs or insulation layers are allowed. Avoid connecting four slab corners. Stagger the joint of the Insulation layers. For two-layer insulation, install the second layer immediately after the first one. For grooved insulations (Paroc Air), follow the separate roof plan for installation.
• Install the waterproofing layer immediately after installing the insulation or cover the insulated area temporarily during the night. Moisture from the installation phase dries fast due to the open structure of stone wool insulation. Grooved insulation slabs secure fast drying.
• Move insulation slabs on the roof with rubber-tyred trolleys. One person can handle slabs alone. Use a handsaw or knife to cut the insulation slabs. To make holes, use a knife.
• To lay the roof slope and drainage groove wedges, follow the diagrams that accompany the slabs or our brochures.
• Restrict the amount of pedestrian traffic on the insulation while you are laying it. Where there is frequent pedestrian traffic, put down gangplanks, either permanently or just during installation.
• Due to wind suction load and other structural forces in the roof structure, mechanically fix the roof membrane and insulation layers to the supporting structure. If necessary, mount thermal insulation with separate fasteners to avoid insulation movement during the installation phase. Mechanical fasteners have to be corrosion-resistant and flexible.
7. Fire is one of the first issues raised when timber frame construction is discussed. However, timber frame buildings must meet the same fire regulations as all other types of construction and therefore pose no greater risk to their inhabitants. Timber stud partitions and timber joist floors have been used for many years as fire separating elements and their performance has been proven time and time again in test and real fire situations. Timber has a high and predictable performance in fire because timber chars at a slow and known rate of ~ 40 mm per hour. More importantly, it retains its structural integrity.
If the fire classification of the construction has to be increased it can be done by using PAROC stone wool in timber structures.
8. Glass curtain facades are common in office buildings all over Europe. There are many kinds of glass facade systems available and all of them have specific requirements for insulation. Here we present one principal solution.
In industrial walls, the metal frame sets specific thermal insulation requirements. The thermal conductivity of stainless steel is about 400 times higher than that of timber and over 1000 times higher than that of stone wool. A continuous wall insulation layer on top of the studs significantly improves the thermal resistance of the structure. Continuing insulation layer breaks down cold bridges effectively.
Good structural design is especially important in glass facades, because mistakes are easy to detect through the glass. Cold bridges cause moisture condensation, which result in colour changes on the surface. For physical as well as visual reasons. install a tight vapour barrier layer to prevent moist internal air from leaking through the wall structure and condensing on the glass. Effective ventilation of the facade also prevents possible condensation.
A wall insulation slab with black tissue forms an elegant background to the glass facade. The fire properties of the insulation strongly affect the fire performance of the final wall structure. All PAROC stone wool products presented here belong to Euro class A1.
• Internal surface
• Supporting structure: steel frame system / PAROC eXtra
• Air /vapour barrier
• Steel frame system / PAROC eXtra
• PAROC WAS 25tb or PAROC WAS 35tb
• Ventilation gap
• Glass facade
1. Paroc named Global Insulation Company of the Year 2016
Paroc Group has been named the Global Insulation Company of the Year 2016 at the 11th Global Insulation Conference – the most important annual event for the insulation industry. Paroc has won the prestigious title for the second time, repeating its success in the 2012 Gala.
This year’s conference, held in Hamburg, Germany at the end of September, saw a growing number of participants representing all stages of investment process – planners, engineers, contractors, insulation manufacturers, as well as construction researchers. The conference has successfully taken place with around 150 delegates from 27 countries, who debated on the newest market trends, manufacturing advances and innovative insulation technologies.
Paroc Group has been given credit for its highly innovative, yet sustainable approach to the insulation market. Last year saw a number of Paroc innovations which helped to create more value from proven materials. The award received by Paroc was largely based on the company's pioneering role in attention to environmental effects.
Apart from the Insulation Company of the Year title, awards were also given in the following categories: Equipment Supplier, Insulation Plant, Insulation Product, Technical Innovation and Personality of the Year. Nominations were received from participants in the global insulation industry in an online voting process. After input from a panel of judges, a final nominations list in each category was put to a final on-line vote, open to all participants in the glob al insulation industry.
Up to this date, Paroc has received two Insulation Company of the Year titles (first one in 2012), as well as the Insulation Product of the Year 2015 award for PAROC eXtra general insulation slab.
2. In Lithuania, we cooperate with Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and Kaunas University of Technology. In addition to giving open lectures about renovation and construction related topics including fare safety and energy efficiency, in Vilnius Gedelminas Technical University we have established a scholarship for architecture and civil engineer students presenting most advance project design, construction and energy saving solutions.
3.In 2016 employees decided on Paroc’s charity donation by voting and a donation was then made to the Baltic Sea Action Group to support its work for the preservation of the Baltic Sea.
4.With strong representation in both Eurima and an offshoot set up by mineral wool manufacturers, Fire Safe Europe (FSE), Paroc is committed to driving consistent, high safety standards across its market areas. This is simply because our products are among the safest on the market and people have the right to live and work in as safe environments as feasibly possible. It is also good to remember that we are building the future building stock so the choices we make today influence renovations made in 2050 and beyond.
Says Susanna Tykkä-Vedder, Development Manager: “It’s important we help the European Community build consistency in both the right things to measure and transparency for stakeholders. The construction sector in European Committee for Standardization (CEN) covers more than 3,000 work items on product standards and test methods (for use in building and civil engineering). As there are around 600 standards supported by 1,500 test standards related to our business, we need to carefully choose the ones we actively participate.” Many Paroc people are involved in Eurima's four main Committees working towards harmonised European regulations and standardization.
5. With its plant at Hällekis, central Sweden, Paroc supports the nearby Vättern lake region, one the worldwide biosphere reserves of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization. Each reserve promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use and aims to better understand and manage changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity.
6. CODE OF CONDUCT IS OUR BACKBONE - Vesa Karvonen, Paroc’s Director of Legal Affairs says: “Our Code of Conduct acts as an overarching guidance for the way each of us at Paroc works. A kind of backbone for aligning our everyday decisions and choices to legislation and the ethical expectations of our stakeholders. For Paroc, it is particularly relevant as we grow and internationalize, working with a more diverse range of suppliers, customers, authorities and other partners, and striving for a consistent way of working consistent across different cultures and business practices. Duly noted in the Code of Conduct are for example requirements for ethical behaviour and respect for human rights.”
In 2016, there were no major violations of our Code. While adherence to our Code relies heavily on training to specific employee groups, such as Procurement and customer-facing teams, we are planning more widespread information sharing and training for all employees in what our Code of Conduct means in practice, especially in everyday situations. As not all employees have access to PCs, we will especially target managers for on-line activities and mandate them to cascade the information to their teams.
In March, 2016, we launched an ethical reporting channel – Fair Play – on our web pages for external stakeholders. We released a similar channel for employees during 2015, which has been well-received. There were under 10 reports in total, almost all coming from employees and almost all genuine concerns. There were no major issues and no disciplinary action was taken as a result of further investigation. Follow-up was handled by issue owners.
Thanks to efforts to put systems in place the previous year, in 2016, we were fully sanctions compliant in accordance with the requirements of the Financial Services Committee (FSC).
7. With strong representation in both
EURIMA and an offshoot set up by mineral wool manufacturers,
Fire Safe Europe (FSE), Paroc is committed to driving consistent, high safety standards across its market areas. This is simply because our products are among the safest on the market and people have the right to live and work in as safe environments as feasibly possible. It is also good to remember that we are building the future building stock so the choices we make today influence renovations made in 2050 and beyond. Many Paroc people are involved in Eurima's four main Committees working towards harmonized European regulations and standardization.
8. In 2017, Paroc celebrates its 80 year anniversary. At the same time, Finland is holding its 100-year anniversary celebrations. As part of this, we announced our international sponsorship of Lahti2017 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships from February 22 to March 5.
Shared commitment to sustainability through for example energy and material efficiency boost the sponsorship cooperation. Paroc signed Lahti2017 partners’ responsibility commitment, which included requirements and guidance for management processes, health and safety, human rights and environmental impact. The event’s sustainability slogan ‘not for ten days, but for the next hundred years’ highlights durability and permanent operating models. Similarly Paroc throughout its history has also worked to promote sustainable development with continuous innovation and strive towards a better built environment.
1. The Grolsch Brewery is built on a huge 25 hectare area south of the town of Enschede near the German border. It replaced two older breweries of the Dutch beer producer Royal Grolsch N.V. The total area of the brewery complex will be 120,000 m2 including a tank building, process and bottling facilities, offices, and a distribution centre as well as a power plant. The brewery produces 3.2 million hectolitres (320 million litres) of beer annually and employs some 650 people.
The architect Andreas Helstedt from the Danish company HMT, specialists in brewery planning, wanted to create an impression of cassettes on the complex facades with PAROC shadow panels. Their V-shaped joints form a clear profile between the panels and emphasise the smoothness of the panels. In the high, massive tank building, “larger cassettes” were created with a new design where shadow joints were applied only to every second panel joint.
The Grolsch Brewery is one of the largest single projects in Paroc Panel System’s history, including approximately 50,000 m2 of PAROC panels:
Facades: PAROC shadow panels
Partitions: PAROC line 200 panels
PAROC corner panels.
2. The indoor football arena is the first and biggest object for sport and entertainment events in Belarus, located in the centre of Minsk. The well-insulated sports arena, with a synthetic football field and 5 000 seats, is also used for exhibitions and concerts. The flat roof is insulated using two layers of fire safe Paroc roof slabs.
Products used: PAROC ROS 60 and PAROC ROB 80.
3. MS Allure of the Seas is an Oasis-class cruise ship owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. As of April 2016 the Oasis class were the largest passenger ships ever in service, and Allure is 50 millimetres (2.0 in) longer than her sister ship Oasis of the Seas, though both were built to the same specifications. Designed under the name "Project Genesis", she was ordered from Aker Finnyards in February 2006 and her construction began at the Perno shipyard, Turku, Finland, in February 2008. She was named in May 2008 after a contest was held to name her and her sister. The keel of Allure of the Seas was laid on 2 December 2008, shortly after the shipyard had been acquired by STX Europe.
Upon her launch in November 2009, she became the world's largest passenger ship, taking the place of Oasis of the Seas. She was eclipsed by her sister ship, Harmony of the Seas, upon its launch in June 2016. Harmony has an overall length of 362.12 metres (1,188.1 ft).
Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Allure_of_the_Seas
Products used: PAROC Marine Slabs, PAROC Marine Mats, PAROC Pipe Sections and tailor-made products
4. FlyTour XD, designed by Arkkitehdit-Q4, consists of a cinema and a café. The building has a lot of wood elements, and the structures are made of cross-laminated timber. PAROC ROS and PAROC ROB roof slabs were used for insulation. The cinema is boarded with black, sound-absorbing PARAFON Buller acoustic slabs. The eye-catching ceiling of the café features a multi-layer construction with acoustic, sound-absorbing PARAFON Step slabs. The café interior was designed by Studio Arcibella.
Flytour XD was open to public from December 2016.
Products used: PARAFON Step, PARAFON Buller, PAROC ROB, PAROC ROS.
5. Passive house Granbäck is the first passive house in the Stockholm-region. The house is very energy-effective. The use of energy for heating is about 15–16 kWh/m² per year. The house also makes use of free energy from sunshine through the windows, electrical appliances, from the residents and so on. In spite of the fact that the house needs very little energy, it offers the same comforts as any ordinary house.
Products used: PAROC FAS 2 Rendered facade slab 50 mm, PAROC UNS 37z Wall slab 410 mm, 3 storeys, PAROC XMV 012 Air/vapour barrier
6. The MAX LAB Laboratory, hosted by Lund University, is Europe's largest research facility for synchrotron light (electromagnetic energy that is produced in so-called storage rings when electrons are accelerated to a speed close to the speed of light). The laboratory currently comprises three storage rings, which produce x-rays of very high intensity and quality. Researchers from all over the world visit the laboratory to use the x-rays for scientific research making the invisible visible.
A wholly new, circular facility, the MAX IV, is now being built. When it opens in summer 2016, there will be two storage rings. The outer circumference of the larger ring is nearly 700 metres, and the entire facility covers an area of just over 15 hectares.
Paroc Technical Insulation has supplied the pipe sections for thermal insulation of the entire complicated structure.
Products used: PAROC Hvac Section AluCoat T.
7. Acoustics play an important functional role in a bank. Customers and personnel discuss confidential matters to which no one else should be privy. Noise from outside the bank can also bother staff and customers. A workplace with an open plan office places huge demands on acoustic products and their installation.
The design firm Arkkitehtisuunnittelu Oy was well aware of this and opted to utilise PARAFON Royal Baffles in the bank, which are devices suspended from ceilings to reduce the strength of airborne sound. PARAFON Royal Baffles are referred to as "noise fly traps" and absorb sound excellently. The spacious environment in the bank could be retained by selecting sound baffles which perfectly suited the premises.
Product: PARAFON Royal Baffle, dimensions 50 x 300 x 1200 mm
Project information
Category Room Acoustics
Year 2017
Country Finland
Address Itäkatu 1-7
City and zip code 00930 Helsinki
Contractor Inlook Sisustus Oy
8. The MAX LAB Laboratory, hosted by Lund University, is Europe's largest research facility for synchrotron light (electromagnetic energy that is produced in so-called storage rings when electrons are accelerated to a speed close to the speed of light). The laboratory currently comprises three storage rings, which produce x-rays of very high intensity and quality. Researchers from all over the world visit the laboratory to use the x-rays for scientific research making the invisible visible.
A wholly new, circular facility, the MAX IV, is now being built. The outer circumference of the larger ring is nearly 700 metres, and the entire facility covers an area of just over 15 hectares.
Paroc Technical Insulation has supplied the pipe sections for thermal insulation of the entire complicated structure.
Products used: PAROC Hvac Section AluCoat T
Max IV
Project information
Category HVAC
Year 2016
Country Sweden
Address Ole Römers väg 1
City and zip code 221 00, Lund
Architect FOJAB Arkitekter
Contractor PEAB
1. What is wool?
• Term
While in the United States the term “wool” is usually restricted to describing the fibrous protein derived from the specialized skin cells called follicles in sheep. In the UK the term may be used of any long curling fibre such as “wood”, “wire wool”, etc.
• Shearing
Sheep shearing is the process by which the woolen fleece of a sheep is cut off. After shearing, the wool is separated into four main categories: fleece (which makes up the vast bulk), broken, bellies, and locks.
• Scouring
Wool straight off a sheep, known as “greasy wool” or “wool in the grease”, contains a high level of valuable lanolin, as well as dirt, dead skin, sweat residue, pesticides, and vegetable matter. Before the wool can be used for commercial purposes, it must be scoured, a process of cleaning the greasy wool.
• Quality
The quality of wool is determined by its fibre diameter, crimp, yield, colour, and staple strength. Fibre diameter is the single most important wool characteristic determining quality and price.
• Production
Global wool production is approximately 1.3 million tonnes per year, of which 60% goes into apparel. Australia is the leading producer of wool which is mostly from Merino sheep. New Zealand is the second-largest producer of wool, and the largest producer of crossbred wool.
• Uses
In addition to clothing, wool has been used for blankets, horse rugs, saddle cloths, carpeting, felt, wool insulation and upholstery. Wool felt covers piano hammers, and it is used to absorb odours and noise in heavy machinery and stereo speakers.
• Market
United States sheep producers market wool with private or cooperative wool warehouses, but wool pools are common in many states. In some cases, wool is pooled in a local market area, but sold through a wool warehouse.
• Organic Wool
Organic wool is becoming more and more popular. This wool is very limited in supply and much of it comes from New Zealand and Australia. It is becoming easier to find in clothing and other products, but these products often carry a higher price.
• Bedouins
Bedouins (desert dwellers) have worn sheep wool and sheep wool fabric blend for centuries.
• Non-allergenic
Wool is also naturally non-allergenic. Allergic reactions to wool are either due to lanolin, or the many harsh and toxic chemicals that go into the treatment, and finishing of conventional wool garments and bedding.
Source http://infactcollaborative.com
2. General insulation slab PAROC eXtra is made of non-combustible stone wool and used for thermal, sound and fire insulation applications, such as walls, attics and floors, in all kinds of buildings. The highly insulating general insulation slab is soft and rigid. The slab is easy to handle, cut and install for different kinds of applications. The insulation doesn't settle, shrink or lose its insulation properties during its lifetime. The greater density of the slab is not prone to convection so the thermal resistance of the product is maintained even during extremely cold winters. To insulate a house of 300 m2 you would need 7 pallets of the Paroc eXtra with total weight of little over 2,5 tons. A young African Elephant has the same weight!
3. Edward Perry was the first industrialist who made an attempt to create mineral wool in "home conditions". In 1840, while at his factory in England, Perry reproduced the process of forming filaments from molten blast furnace slag. Earlier, he observed something similar in the eruption of a volcano, when the wind swept over the lava and sprayed it on thin silky threads.
However, the scientist forgot about the elementary safety precautions. All stages of the experiment were open: part of the fibers were scattered around the factory. After that, Perry refused to produce mineral wool.
Only in 1871 the German enterprise in Georgsmarienhütte started the first industrial production of mineral wool, taking into account all the mistakes of Edward Perry. In another 60 years, PAROC entered the business, offering the world its stone wool products.
4. You will not believe it, but the construction people recognize meowing of cats to be one of the types of air noise.
To reduce its level a multi-layer construction is a simple solution. The first "hard" layer reflects part of the sound wave, and the second layer (of sound absorbing material) absorbs the remainder. Materials like gypsum board or brick can be used as the first layer. As the second, sound-absorbing layer, PAROC is an excellent solution. Even such a simple step will increase the sound insulation index by 5-10 decibels.
5.Insulation, on average, reduces the cost of heating and cooling by 20%.
Only in the US, the insulation reduces the amount of emissions of carbon dioxide by 780 million tons per year. This is equivalent to over 150 coal-fired power plants. This is equivalent to the electricity use of more than 90 million homes per year. This is equivalent to 1 645 000 000 barrels of oil.
6. Something more about the wool?!
• The fleece of sheep has been used to make human clothing since the Stone Age.
• Lamb’s Wool was a drink made from apples, sugar, nutmeg and beer drunk on Twelfth Night.
• The fastest recorded time to shear a sheep is 39.31 seconds by Hilton Barrett of Australia.
• Alpaca wool comes in 22 natural colours.
• Wool absorbs and releases water vapour as humidity rises and falls, which is why it works so well as a natural insulator.
• The word jersey originally meant any knitted item make from Jersey wool, especially stockings.