Münster, 10 October 2013 - In the middle of September, leading representatives from the international insulation industry met in Paris at the 10th World Insulation and Acoustic Congress (WIACO) to discuss issues currently affecting the sector and present innovations. The motto of this year’s congress was ‘Insulation: our contribution to a sustainable world’. Armacell was not only a silver sponsor of the congress, but also contributed interesting contents.
Thermal-acoustic insulation systems for industrial process lines
In his very well-attended presentation ’Acoustic treatment of industrial process pipelines with Flexible Elastomeric Foam (FEF) materials’ Dr Mark Swift, Armacell Head of Technical ES, described the special requirements for insulation systems in the energy and petrochemical sectors. He presented innovative product solutions which provide both thermal and acoustic insulation and at the same time protect the installations against corrosion under insulation (CUI).
As a participant in the round table on the subject ‘Development of industrial insulation in the future’, Armacell’s CEO Patrick Mathieu also emphasized the importance of noise control in these applications. This comparatively new field of application for elastomeric insulation materials has great potential, which has by no means been exhausted. At the same time, Patrick Mathieu used the forum to remind the insulation industry of its responsibility to its customers. He said that it was unacceptable that insulation materials on the market did not comply with the certificates described in leaflets or – as random samples had shown – did not have the stated technical properties. It was the building operators or, in the case of a complaint, usually the installers who suffered. But in the end, he pointed out, such dubious behaviour was damaging for the whole industry, which should take appropriate measures.
Energy-efficient insulation of industrial installations has enormous savings potential
A further highlight of the WIACO was the presentation of the EiiF Study ‘Climate protection with rapid payback’ which proved the enormous energy-saving potential of industrial insulation. Using selected case studies, EiiF Foundation Director Andreas Gürtler showed that technical insulation is one of the best available techniques (BAT) for reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption in industrial processes. In addition, these measures require acceptable investments with very short payback periods.
The WIACO was held in the ‘Auditorium Centre Marceau’, in the immediate vicinity of the Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysees. It was hosted by the French association of insulators (SNI, Syndicat National de l'Isolation). The world congress takes place every four years and is organized alternately by the FESI (Fédération Européenne des Syndicats d’Entreprises d’Isolation) in Europe and the NIA (National Insulation Association) in the USA.
