People are increasingly insulating their homes; companies are seeing a rise in demand

Prague - The demand for insulation of buildings significantly increased last year. The reasons were both the growth of construction production and the rise in energy prices. Some insulation companies saw demand increase by as much as fifty percent. This was found by ČTK in a poll among companies dealing with building insulation. Most companies expect an increase in contracts this year as well. However, companies are troubled by long delivery times for insulation materials.
    "Interest in insulation was significantly higher last year compared to previous years. More panel houses in cooperative ownership and private ownership are being insulated. The demand for our products and related services increased by 35 percent in 2006," said Petr Antl from Saint - Gobain Weber Terranova to ČTK.
    According to Antl, development this year will likely follow a similar trend. He noted that demand remains high, with a shortage in the supply of insulation materials arising. "According to our budget, we are planning a 15 percent increase in demand. We have increased production capacity in two manufacturing plants and boosted staffing in customer service centers," Antl added.
    "Demand for insulation has been increasing for several years; however, this trend significantly deepened in the second half of last year. According to our estimate, demand increased by more than 50 percent compared to the same period in 2005," said Dana Hochmannová, marketing manager of Rockwool, to ČTK. According to her, manufacturers were unable to cover such a sudden increase, partly because the increased demand for insulation is felt across Europe.
    "Despite the fact that we also imported materials from factories in Hungary and Poland last year and thus supplied the historically largest volume of insulation to our market, we have not been able to meet the interest due to the current hunger for insulation," Hochmannová added. She noted that demand continues to grow this year as well.
    The Sto group saw a 10 percent increase in demand last year. Tomáš Holenda from Sto expects an increase in contracts this year as well. "Currently, the problem is the supply of mineral insulations, which have long delivery times," Holenda told ČTK. The demand for building insulation also increased for the Plzeň construction company Prestol, which expects heightened interest again this year.
    According to experts, people in the Czech Republic realize that the costs of insulating a house will pay off in the future. What they invest in insulation will return to them in a few years as saved heating costs. Insulating buildings is also seen as ecological, as people will burn less fuel and thus emit fewer pollutants into the atmosphere. According to Petr Antl from Saint - Gobain Weber Terranova, the return on costs for a family house is around six years. Builders, according to Hochmannová from Rockwool, realize that spending money on insulating a house is one of the best investments.