Innovating for technical insulation
At Isover, technical insulation innovation is at the forefront of our mission to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. As part of the Saint-Gobain Group, we leverage advanced materials, cutting-edge technologies, and access to 8 corporate research centers worldwide, as well a a range of specialized and local development centers, alowing us to develop superior insulation solutions. Innovation drives every stage of our process, from product manufacturing to customer service, ensuring we meet the evolving needs of our customers with high-performance and sustainable solutions.
Why we innovate in technical Insulation
Innovation in technical insulation is crucial to improve energy efficiency, achieve economic benefits, and ensure regulatory compliance. At Isover Technical Insulation, we continuously innovate to develop solutions that reduce energy consumption of HVAC systems, industrial processes or other technical applications, leading to significant cost savings for our customers. Innovation also helps us stay ahead of market trends and regulatory changes, ensuring our products are always compliant with the latest requirements.
In our field, innovation significantly impacts industry standards and practices. At Isover, it is central to our strategy and drives our comprehensive range of products. These advancements push the industry forward, encouraging the adoption of more sustainable and energy-efficient practices.
Our innovation framework, which emphasizes customer centricity, sustainability, and risk minimization, ensures that we not only meet but also help shape regulatory standards.
How we innovate in technical insulation
Isover’s innovation framework is built on three key pillars:
- Mindset: We foster a culture of innovation by promoting trust, empowerment, and collaboration within the organization. It shapes our project teams and leaders to create a strong culture of innovation throughout all parts of the organization.
- Leadership: We set a clear strategic vision and support the spread of innovation practices across all levels.
- Projects: We ensure that our innovation projects are customer-centric, disciplined, and multi-functional. We focus on creating solutions that are desirable to customers, feasible, viable for our business, and sustainable. We use iterative learning and evidence-based decisions to minimize risks and maximize value throughout the development process.
Customer centric innovation
Customer centricity is at the heart of our innovation efforts. We prioritize understanding and meeting the diverse needs of our customers, recognizing that effective technical insulation goes beyond energy efficiency. Our innovations address critical requirements such as corrosion, fire resistance, acoustic and thermal performance as well as health and safety. Additionally, we optimize the dimensions and weight of each product to facilitate storage, transportation, and installation, thus minimizing environmental impacts.
Involving customers in the innovation process is central to our strategy. We actively engage with customers to understand and compile their needs, aspirations, and constraints. This customer-centric approach ensures that our solutions are aligned with market demands. Continuous engagement with customers throughout the development process allows us to validate concepts and adapt solutions to meet their needs effectively. This method fosters strong relationships, ensuring that our innovations are both practical and highly relevant to customer requirements.
A culture of innovation based on collaboration
Trust, empowerment, and collaboration are the core foundations of our innovation culture. We empower our teams to engage with customers to understand their needs, develop relevant solutions, and tackle risks throughout the development process. By breaking down boundaries and building cooperative, multi-functional teams, we ensure that all parts of the organization contribute effectively to innovation.
Main areas of innovation in insulation
In technical insulation, several key areas drive advancements and address modern challenges:
- Sustainability and environmental impact: Emphasizing the development of sustainable materials and processes, innovation in this area seeks to reduce the environmental footprint of insulation products during the whole life cycle. This includes utilizing recycled materials, improving the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes, and developing products that contribute to energy savings in their application.
- Advanced material science: By focusing our innovation efforts on research and development, new materials are developed to improve the thermal and acoustic performance of insulation. These materials are designed to be more efficient, lighter, and easier to install, addressing key customer needs and enhancing overall product effectiveness.
- Innovation in process: Focusing process innovation, we aim to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our production methods. This includes adopting iterative learning, evidence-based decision-making, and risk minimization throughout the development process. By embedding customer-centric and sustainable practices into our methodologies, we ensure that our innovations are not only effective but also align with environmental and economic goals.
- Health and safety enhancements: Our innovations aim to improve the health and safety aspects of insulation products, reducing risks during installation and use. This includes the development of materials that are safer for installers to handle, thereby promoting a healthier work environment.
- Regulatory compliance and standards leadership: Continuous innovation ensures that insulation products meet regulatory requirements. By staying ahead of changes in building codes and insulation standards, Isover drives industry practices towards higher levels of safety and efficiency, setting new standards for performance and sustainability.
Our R&D centers
As part of the Saint-Gobain Group, Isover leverages extensive research and development resources, enhancing our product offerings and influencing industry-wide standards.
- Saint-Gobain Research Paris: SGR contributes to research projects in a large range of fields such as glass, coatings, surfaces and building sciences in general. It brings together a broad range of scientific disciplines combining optics and physics of soft materials, as well as design and applied mathematics. The multidisciplinary nature of the center enhances our ability to carry out research work on both products and their manufacturing processes.
- CRIR (Rantigny Insulation Research Center): This applied research center concentrates key skills to support our product development process further downstream: physical, chemical, thermal measurement laboratories, an engineering service with a technical support team operating internationally across all our production sites, and a dedicated R&D department.
- LDC (Ladenburg Development Center): The engineers, physicists, chemists, technicians and laboratory technicians of the LDC are dedicated to the development of new products and systems as well as the further development and improvement of existing products, production processes and systems.
Some of our latest innovations
Our commitment to progress is evident in both our incremental advancements and groundbreaking innovations. By consistently pushing the boundaries of what's possible, we ensure that our products not only meet but exceed the evolving needs of our customers, providing superior efficiency and performance in every application. Here are a few of our latest innovations that showcase our dedication to excellence and our drive to lead the industry forward.
U Protect® Vent Sections
U Protect® Vent Sections are an easy-to-install all-inclusive insulation solution for circular ductwork ≤ Ø 250mm. Made of ULTIMATE™, our light stone wool, they offer excellent fire protection properties and are up to 50% lighter when compared to traditional stone wool insulation solutions. With a melting point > 1,000°C, U PROTECT® VENT SECTIONS are classified euroclass A2L-s1, d0, and can be used for fire resistant ductwork up to 60 minutes.
Sea CLIMAVER®
Made from dense and rigid glass wool boards, SEA CLIMAVER® self-supporting air ducts are a cost-effective, easy-to-install alternative to traditional insulated metal ducts for marine & offshore applications. This all-in-one metal-free system, delivered flat on a pallet, is assembled in a single operation and without the need for expensive machinery. SEA CLIMAVER® is a unique product to replace metal ducts, providing state-of-the-art insulation and comfort.
Isover TECH dB System
Isover TECH dB System is an all-in-one sound insulation solution that combines the Isover TECH dB Spacer, Mineral Wool, and Isover TECH dB Alu, achieving Class D3 standards according to ISO 15665. Ideal for industrial applications, the Isover TECH dB System delivers unmatched noise reduction and vibration control.
