Countering the trend of many western companies, which have disengaged from Russia, flexible insulation and engineering foams specialist Armacell (Luxembourg; www.armacell.com) in early January announced that it is opening its own production facility in the country. Located in Lobnya, north of Moscow, the plant will turn out a wide range of products, including high-density materials, with output earmarked not just for Russia, but also Kazakhstan, Belarus and Azerbaijan. The decision to set up production in the country comes amid rising local demand for high-performance insulation products, Armacell CEO Patrick Mathieu said.

The Luxembourg-based group – which is due to be acquired by private equity funds managed by Blackstone (New York / USA; www.blackstone.com) and Lego majority shareholder Kirkbi (Billund / Denmark; www.kirkbi.com) before the end of Q1 this year (see Plasteurope.com of 05.01.2016) – first entered the Russian market in 2008. Two years later it set up its OOO Armacell Rus subsidiary, which operates warehouses in Novosibirsk, Krasnodar and St. Petersburg. Since then, the company says its customer portfolio has become increasingly diversified, and it has steadily expanded its distribution network in the country.