Superglass owner targets US amid global growth plans

Insulation maker Superglass is rolling out ambitious expansion plans. Picture: Contributed

The new owner of Stirling-based insulation products manufacturer Superglass has unveiled ambitious plans for expansion at the site, where it aims to boost headcount, as it looks to use the acquisition as a 'launchpad' for growth across the US.

Russian roofing and insulation group Technonicol International snapped up the firm in an £8.7 million deal announced earlier this year, prompting the Scottish company to leave the stock market after a troubled nine years.

Technonicol said it has created a division to concentrate on new business opportunities Stateside, as well as in the UK and Ireland, adding that it aims to achieve “significant market share in North America” in the next five years.

The group has also made a series of senior appointments “as it begins to integrate Superglass and facilitate the growth of the newly-created region”.

These include Superglass chief executive Ken Munro taking on the same role at Technonicol in the UK, Ireland and US.

He will drive growth in these regions, leading and developing the Superglass business, and will continue to be located in Stirling, where Superglass has been based since its inception in 1987 and has 150 employees, and which will serve as the headquarters of the new regional business.

Munro said bringing Superglass into Technonicol “represents a significant step forward in the development of our business … I look forward to leading the integrated business across these geographies and to managing the expansion of Superglass as a key insulation brand within it.”

Technonicol, which has more than 50 production sites globally and exports materials to 81 countries, gave more detail on its ambitions, saying: “As further businesses are developed, both organically and by acquisition, they will be integrated into this unified regional structure, with new jobs likely to be created in Stirling as the regional headquarters takes shape.”

Sergey Kolesnikov, president of Technonicol International, said the group is “excited by the international growth opportunities [it] can now pursue”.

Other appointments include Stuart Rowell, group business development director at Superglass, who becomes regional sales director for insulation solutions, and chief financial officer Theresa McLean taking on the same role at the newly expanded regional business, where Mark Atherton, operations director at Superglass, becomes chief production officer and head of operations.

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