Kingspan in Brazil acquisition

Kingscourt, Ireland — Kingspan announced today that it bought 51% of Brazil's Isoleste Constructivos Isotermicos with four production sites in Brazil for an undisclosed sum.

Isoleste employs 360 and has sales forecast for 2017 of BRL 500 m ($ 158 m ) for the 2017 financial year. The firm produces 18 M m² of insulated panels/year.

The company has locations in Castanhal, east of Belem; Vitoria de Santo Antao on the coast; Anapolis, near Brasilia; Varzea Grande, in the centre of the country and Sao Jose dos Pinhais in the south. Four of the five locations are production site, but it is unclear which.

This is the firm's third announcement about Latin and South America.

Kingspan acquired 51% of Panelmet, which makes PIR insulated panels in the free trade zone on the outskirts of Variante Cartagena, Colombia, and in early August announced it had started PIR board production in Mexico City. In February Gene Murtagh, CEO revealed that his firm had earmarked EUR 600m for acquisitions in 2017.

Speaking of the Isoleste deal, Murtagh said he was 'delighted to create this partnership with the founders of Isoleste. Together with our recent investments in Colombia and Mexico, this acquisition firmly places Kingspan in a market-leading position across Latin America, with a strong platform for further expansion in the region.'