Located outside the city of Soissons in northern France, the new production facility will use ROCKWOOL’s cutting-edge large-scale electric melting technology, which is environmentally well-suited in France where the electricity grid is low carbon. The authorities have issued the environmental permit and construction is expected to begin in 2022. Start of operations is expected in 2024.
“This investment in new capacity will contribute to meeting the growing demand for our insulation products in France. Creating more energy efficient buildings is an essential element in reaching French, EU, and global climate goals, and our insulation plays an important role in doing so. Utilising the electric melting technology also contributes to meeting our own ambitious decarbonisation goals”, says ROCKWOOL Group CEO, Jens Birgersson.
This electric melting technology has been in use since 2020 at ROCKWOOL’s manufacturing facility in Moss, Norway, where it has reduced carbon emissions by approximately 80 percent. Because this technology can use large amounts of recycled materials, it will contribute to creating greater circularity in the construction sector. The Soissons facility will use this same technology, albeit on a larger scale.
Throughout the planning of the new production facility, ROCKWOOL has engaged closely together with the French authorities and the local community.
The Chairman of Business France and Ambassador for International Investments Pascal Cagni underlines how the project fits into French national plans, stating, “France has forward-looking plans to substantially increase the energy efficiency of its building stock and further develop the circular economy. Business France and I have been following ROCKWOOL’s new manufacturing project since 2018, and we are delighted with the announcement of this investment in Soissons, which illustrates the attractiveness of our regions and of France as an industrial nation”.
Rafael Rodriguez, ROCKWOOL’s Managing Director for France and Southern Europe, says, “We are pleased that our investment in Soissons will enable us to better support the government’s ambitious efforts as well as the social and economic development of the local communities. With our more than 40-year history in France, this new facility is a natural next step for us in a market that continues growing in importance”.
