Citing a worsening shortage of raw materials, insulation manufacturer Armacell (Capellen / Luxembourg; www.armacell.com) is playing offense: raw material and operating costs have “risen dramatically” in the past few months, the company writes, attributing this to high global demand for many commodities, combined with hoarding purchases.

“The construction industry as a whole and we as insulation manufacturers are under enormous price pressure. All types of plastics are affected by these drastic price surges,” explains Guillerme Huguen, the company’s head of purchasing and chief strategist. It does not seem out of question that Armacell will raise its prices again as a result: “With the prices for our raw materials, operating supplies, energy and logistics services continuing to rise, our options are limited in this extremely tense market situation,” adds Huguen, leaving more than one loophole open.

In May 2021, the manufacturer of flexible insulation materials for plant insulation and technical foams had already increased the prices for its entire product range by 7.3% and explained this measure with the increased raw material and operating costs.

In 2020, Armacell had suffered some setbacks: turnover fell by more than 8% to around EUR 590m, and EBITDA also shrank by more than 10% to just under EUR 120m. At the presentation of the annual figures, President and CEO Patrick Mathieu had still sounded confident, stating that the company had taken appropriate measures to cope with the changed situations and ensure that it emerges strengthened from the pandemic. The next price increase, which is now being prepared in a veiled manner, makes this optimism seem a little hollow. Armacell maintains a production network of 23 plants in 15 countries, with a workforce of more than 3,000 employees.