Nowadays not only new buildings must be energy-efficient. The topic is of great importance in the renovation of old buildings, too.
Insulating existing buildings: First England, now Spain
New buildings are not the only ones expected to be energy-efficient these days. Energy efficiency is now an important factor in the modernization of existing buildings as well. For more than 20 years, BASF has been a strong partner of the insulation-application industry in Great Britain for existing double-leaf outer walls. This application is now expected to enter the Spanish market as well.
Two market development teams, one in Great Britain and one in Spain, are an example of how BASF acquires transnational markets. "Cavity wall insulation, which consists of injecting loose insulation material into the air space of existing double-leaf walls, has been an established practice in Great Britain for years," says Andreas Moser, an architect and market developer for BASF in Barcelona. "But no one had heard about it here in Spain."
Moser and his colleagues recognized the potential for this application, and convinced the Catalan government to start a pilot project. Eight apartments were to be insulated in a residential district slated for modernization. "Because we at BASF produce Neopor® in granulate form, but not for the end market, that means we are not present at construction sites," explains Moser. "So we decided to work together with one of our major Neopor customers in England, namely Domestic and General Insulation (DGI) Ltd."
DGI took on the entire job of insulating and documenting all of the eight model apartments to the full satisfaction of the government representatives. This led to a call for bids to insulate two largescale apartment blocks with 120 units immediately thereafter. BASF will supply the Neopor, and DGI will carry out the contract. BASF and DGI are also working on a technical certification process for this application on the Spanish market.
"When things get rolling, it all sounds very easy," says Moser. "But in fact our team of market developers has been working for several years on acquiring this market, with support from product managers, technical service specialists, and sales departments at the Business Units in Spain, Great Britain, and Germany." In other words, it is a true example of team success. DGI has benefited as well. It has recently founded the branch office of DGI Ibérica, and is also sounding out the Italian market.
