Plant expansion in Visé

Knauf Insulation is investing in Visé and expanding its business. Its Visé-based plant will become the largest glass wool manufacturing site in Europe. This exciting new development was announced on Friday in the presence of the Walloon Minister for the Economy, Jean-Claude Marcourt.

Knauf Insulation, a major division of the German group Knauf, which already has a firm foothold in Belgium, is rolling out plans to further boost its business activities in the Liège region. Once this expansion process is complete, Visé will be home to Europe’s largest glass wool manufacturing plant. The development was announced during a guided tour of the Visé site, in the presence of Jean-Claude Marcourt, Vice-President and Minister of the Economy, SME, Foreign Trade and New Technologies of the Walloon Government, who welcomed this project as an economic boon for the region’s development, backed also by Wallonia: “In these times of economic crises and uncertainty, I am delighted to see that Wallonia can continue to drive forward its activities in the energy-saving sector. This project shows that major industrial groups are continuing to invest in our region, aware of the excellent prospects it offers for the future.”

This capacity increase at the Knauf Insulation plant in Visé is part of a long-standing expansion strategy launched by the group. In the wake of the success enjoyed by the ECOSE® Technology, new investments have been signed off for Western Europe and the investment in the Visé plant is a direct consequence of this dynamic. The Visé plant is designed to produce more sustainable glass wool, allowing ECOSE® Technology to manufacture a mineral wool that is easier to handle, has a higher level of durability and boasts all the usual advantages of traditional mineral wool. From a practical point of view, the Visé plant currently has a production capacity of 90,000 tonnes of glass wool. After expansion, the capacity will increase to 120,000 tonnes, becoming the biggest in Europe. The total investment is estimated at 66 million euros.

Léon Bustin, Visé Plant Manager at Knauf Insulation, explains these choices: “The significant investment of 66 million euros makes sense when we analyse the promising future prospects in our sector in France, in Germany and in the Benelux area. It was therefore only natural for us to upgrade our production tool at a European level. Our Visé plant can be held up as a model, both from a yield perspective and in terms of its ecological credentials.” Mark Leverton, Managing Director for Western Europe at Knauf Insulation adds: “This expansion project once again goes to prove that the insulation sector is booming at a European level. At a time when European energy needs are spiralling upwards and the solutions to save this same energy is more than ever essential, the insulation sector holds a bright future – as does our site in Visé.”