Company history

Fletcher Insulation operates Australia wide, with three insulation manufacturing facilities in Sydney and Melbourne. The company manufactures glasswool batts (Pink Batts), glasswool blankets, glasswool industrial boards and rolls and Sisalation reflective foil laminates. The company is a fully owned subsidiary of Fletcher Building Limited, one of Australasia’s largest building materials companies.

Plant description

The Dandenong plant is Australia’s largest insulation plant. It produces 42 per cent of the glasswool insulation used in Australia. The plant has recently undergone an upgrade of its furnace with the installation of two new INTECH melters at a cost of $8 million. Victorian Minister for Climate Change Gavin Jennings commissioned the furnaces in October 2007.

The energy efficient INTECH furnaces deliver significant energy savings and emission reductions. The Dandenong plant now sets a new benchmark for the industry with its recycling and water savings and harvesting measures. It is predicted that there will be a 20 per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the plant once process optimisation has been completed. The new furnaces allow for greater operation flexibility and unlike the previous furnace which needed to operate continuously, the new furnaces can be switched off when not in use, saving energy and additional greenhouse gas emissions.

INTECH is a division of Fletcher Insulation. The INTECH electric glass melter was designed and developed from Australian technology for use in the manufacture of glasswool insulation for the building and automotive industry. The INTECH melter has been sold to manufacturers around the world, including the largest glasswool manufacturer Owens Corning in the USA.

Product description

All the glass used in the glasswool comes from recycled sources and makes up 70 per cent of the raw material used. Sources of recycled glass are a mixture of bottle glass, reused plant cullet and laminated window glass which would otherwise go to landfill.

Insulation is universally recognised as the most cost effective way of saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions while creating a more comfortable home and work environment. Heating and cooling accounts for over 40 per cent of energy used in the average Australian home. Of this energy, up to 45 per cent can be saved by installing Fletcher ceiling and roof insulation, while wall and floor insulation can help save even more. When properly installed, Fletcher residential glasswool insulation batts require no maintenance. They are non-combustible, cannot be blown around the roof space and continue to perform safely, at their specifications, for the life of the building, more than 70 years.

“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today and energy use is one of the key contributors to climate change. Companies like Fletcher Insulation are leading the way in this with better environmental outcomes that also deliver business benefits. With almost 85 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Victoria arising from energy use, it is essential to reduce energy use by both industry and households. This initiative will do both.”

The Hon Gavin Jennings MLC Minister for Climate Change, the Environment and Innovation