Knauf Insulation is celebrating the official opening of its new Experience Center in Belgium — a new knowledge base designed to inspire building excellence across Europe.
The new center will provide practical insight into how to create low-carbon, energy efficient buildings that are healthy, comfortable and fire safe while tackling Europe’s unskilled labor crisis by equipping installers with the expertise they need to deliver real energy-saving performance.
Photovoltaic electricity production
During the opening, Knauf Insulation also unveiled the installation of 6,000 photovoltaic panels that will provide the company’s Visé Mineral Wool plant with 1,700 MWh every year elevating the site into the top four industries in Wallonia in terms of photovoltaic electricity production. This installation will save 790 tonnes of CO2 year – the equivalent CO2 emissions of 525 households.
Jean-Claude Carlin, Knauf Insulation’s Group CEO, said: “Buildings are responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the European Union and almost 75% of the EU’s building stock is inefficient1. This is wasteful, expensive and environmentally disastrous.
Prefabricated building panels
The center features full-scale reconstructions of a pitched roof, ventilated façade, internal and external walls
“Our new 500m² Knauf Insulation Experience Center will enable the upgrading of buildings to greater levels of low-carbon energy efficiency and significantly improve their performance in terms of fire safety, thermal and acoustic comfort as well as ensuring indoor air quality excellence.”
The center features full-scale reconstructions of a pitched roof, ventilated façade, internal and external walls, wall cavities, a loft and internal partitions as well as specialized SUPAFIL MAX Frame System equipment that installs blowing wool in prefabricated building panels.
Certified expertise installers
Each reconstruction reveals in detail how Knauf Insulation solutions are tailored to deliver real energy savings in different areas of buildings as well as demonstrating the best way to install these solutions to maximize their performance in terms of fire safety and interior health and comfort.
Mark Leverton, Knauf Insulation’s Managing Director Western Europe, said: “Europe is facing a shortage of skilled labor and this center will provide the certified expertise installers need to improve their skills. In addition it will build on Knauf Insulation’s vision of focused customer centricity by improving the energy efficiency and building comfort of installers’ customers.” Also attending the official opening was Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Wallonia’s Minister for Economy, Industry, Innovation, Digitalization and Employment.
