Knauf and Veolia announce £10m investment

(L-R) John Sinfield, MD of Knauf Insulation and Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive VP at Veolia UK & Ireland
(L-R) John Sinfield, MD of Knauf Insulation and Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive VP at Veolia UK & Ireland
(L-R) John Sinfield, MD of Knauf Insulation and Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive VP at Veolia UK & Ireland
(L-R) John Sinfield, MD of Knauf Insulation and Estelle Brachlianoff, senior executive VP at Veolia UK & Ireland

Knauf Insulation has entered into a long term contract with Veolia, which will see £10m invested in a new glass cullet processing facility, next to its manufacturing plant in St. Helens.

The new facility will be operated by resource management company Veolia and will create 18 new jobs once complete at the end of 2017.

It will see Veolia clean, dry and refine tens of thousands of tonnes of recycled glass, to be used by Knauf Insulation in the production of its energy saving insulation products. The crushed glass “cullet” will be melted and spun into the glass mineral wool products it sells to some of the UK’s biggest housebuilders and construction firms.

John Sinfield, managing director at Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, said: “The construction of the new facility will help grow the St Helens’ economy by creating permanent jobs and using local firms to complete its construction.

“Working with Veolia on this investment perfectly aligns with our goals for improving the efficiency and sustainability of our processes. And, given recent building product shortages impacting the construction sector, the announcement also highlights our commitment to proactively working to safeguard our supply.”

Cllr Graham Morgan, chair of Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority, said: “The authority is always working with its contractors to promote the circular economy in relation to the reuse and recycling of raw materials, and this new facility is an excellent example of local solutions that can reduce costs and the impact on the environment.

“We’re also pleased that Veolia’s investment has created 18 direct local jobs at the facility, and many more along the supply chain in the area.”

The process of using glass cullet uses less energy than traditional methods of manufacturing mineral wool insulation, with the associated energy saving generated from recycling a single glass bottle equal to powering a 100-watt light bulb for almost an hour.

www.knaufinsulation.co.uk

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