Kingspan laying off 20 staff in North and sells its US door unit

KINGSPAN, the building materials and insulation group, is making up to 20 staff redundant in Northern Ireland as it prepares to close its manufacturing line of solar tubes at its Portadown site.

The redundancies come as the insulated panels division of the London and Dublin-listed Kingspan, whose global turnover exceeded USD $4.2bn last year, sold a speciality door company in the US for an estimated €5m.

Kingspan Environmental Ltd says the decision to close its solar tubes line in Portadown has been made due to continuing losses within the solar manufacturing operation, as well as the increase in raw material costs.

“Kingspan, which employs 400 people in Northern Ireland, has notified those affected of its decision which may see up to 20 staff made redundant,” said a spokesperson for the group which employs more than 13,000 in over 70 countries worldwide.

“Kingspan regrets having to take this decision and will work with everyone concerned on redeployment opportunities.”

In the US, Kingspan has sold Hercules, a manufacturer of controlled environment doors, to Cincinnati-headquartered Senneca Holdings.

The latter manufactures and distributes doors including traffic, corrosion-resistant, strip, cold storage, fire, and sliding doors.

Alswinn Kieboom, president of Kingspan Insulated Panels, said that Kingspan will continue to provide Hercules doors as an integral part of its offering.

“Senneca is a leader in the specialty door market and the sale of Hercules allows us to focus on our insulated panel business, while still offering customers a complete solution.

“Hercules customers will continue to receive industry-leading support from their existing Kingspan sales team,” he said.

The president of Senneca Holdings’ industrial business unit, Brian Leary, said the acquisition of Hercules is a unique opportunity for Senneca, allowing the firm to expand its manufacturing capabilities while providing a single point of contact for customers.