Knauf Insulation has launched Rocksilk® Flexible Slab, a new, multi-purpose, rock mineral wool insulation slab. The new product provides the trio of attributes – excellent thermal, acoustic and fire-protection insulation properties – for which rock mineral wool is so justifiably well known, in a versatile, light weight, semi-rigid slab. Rocksilk® Flexible Slab is the first of many exciting new products to benefit from Knauf Insulation’s recent multimillion-pound investment at its production facility in Queensferry, North Wales.

Rock mineral wool has excellent thermal, acoustic and fire insulation properties and Rocksilk® Flexible Slab offers designers and builders all three in a lightweight, semi-rigid, rock mineral wool slab. In this case, ‘flexible’ refers to the product’s versatility and the multitude of applications it can be used for – not its bendiness!

A typical use, for which Rocksilk® Flexible Slab is ideally suited, is to provide insulation in both timber and metal partitions and between floor joists, its low weight reducing stress on the structure. The slab is easy to cut using just a handsaw, the quality of the fibres giving a remarkably clean, crisp cut. Installation is quick, simple and effective – cutting it slightly oversize allows it to be quickly pushed into place between the studs or joists, its natural ‘scrunchiness’ helping to overcome minor variations in the construction and prevent air gaps. The precision with which it can be cut is also a benefit as it’s easy to install around any services that are present or to adapt if they’re fitted later.

Another result of the investment at Queensferry is, in common with all Rocksilk® Insulation products, that delivery now uses Knauf Insulation’s popular Supakube® unitised packaging format. Individual slabs are first packed in durable polypropylene sleeves before being palletised and stretch-wrapped to non-returnable pallets. The Supakube® delivery system provides significant benefits: handling and loading is more efficient, less storage space is required and, being weatherproof, Supakubes® can be stored outside – all of which add up to less handling and storage costs.

Rocksilk® Flexible Slabs come in one convenient size (1200mm x 600mm) in four thicknesses (50mm, 60mm, 75mm and 100mm) and with 16, 12, 10 and 8 slabs in each pack. Thermal conductivity is 0.037W/mK and, of course, being a mineral wool it’s totally non-combustible; a fact recognised by it having a Euroclass A1 fire classification, the highest rating possible.

The investment at Knauf Insulation’s Queensferry plant in North Wales was a major one. Apart from increasing capacity to 33,000 tonnes per year, all parts of the production line were either replaced or upgraded. State-of-the-art fiberisation equipment has lead to very high quality fibres being produced and this means the material is more consistent in both density and performance. The new packaging method follows its successful introduction with Crown® Glass Mineral Wool products last year. To mark the changes, Knauf Insulation have rebranded their rock mineral range from Rocksil®, to Rocksilk®, Rock Mineral Wool – what a difference a ‘k’ makes!

For further information, please visit Knauf Insulation’s website at www.knaufinsulation.co.uk or call the enquiries hotline on 08700 668 660 quoting KR 373 05.
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