Level(s) is a sustainable buildings assessment framework, an initiative that many stakeholders, including Knauf Insulation, hope will pave the way for future, Europewide, building legislation. In addition to contributing valuable research, the state-of-the-art building is a centre for sustainable building training and a showcase for some of Knauf Insulation's cutting-edge solutions, including the Urbanscape® Green Roof Solution and Heraklith Wood Wool. The creation of pioneering solutions has been the hallmark of the Slovenian operation since Rock Mineral Wool production started in the village of Bodovlje, 60 years ago, under the Termika name.

"Changes are a constant in our company and we are proud of them, they are our inspiration and assurance for the future. The value of KIEXC building is more than EUR 3m and over the past five years we have invested more than EUR 80m, which is twice our profit. Consequently, we are pleased that the added value that we are creating remains in Slovenia and at the same time weaving the global team of the group." Mr Tomaž Lanišek, General Manager, Knauf Insulation, Škofja Loka, stated at the ceremony to The Slovenia Times.

KIEXC is a case study for sustainable construction at the European level. The building itself was designed to demonstrate Knauf Insulation's pioneering approach to the future of sustainable construction. As Saša Bavec, former CEO at Škofja Loka and now the director of the newly formed Systems Division and Knauf Insulation's Marketing Director, highlighted "This building has been in progress for the last seven years because of the many additional idea. Today, it has become the place where all of the employees from Škofja Loka come together, where Slovenian installers of insulation can teach and learn. From the international perspective, we usually say that everything within 500km is close enough to bring people to learn how to insulate the right way. It probably covers 20m - 50m people."

Knauf: a family name and a corporate group of global dimensions

Established in 1932, Knauf is a family-owned, multinational manufacturer of building materials and construction systems. Originally, a producer of conventional gypsum materials, Knauf now delivers systems and complete solutions for buildings worldwide.

Knauf Insulation, which is part of the Knauf Group, has more than 40 years of experience in the insulation industry and is one of the fastest growing and most respected names in insulation worldwide. With strong and steady financial performance and with turnover exceeding EUR 1.7bn, the company today employs over 5,500 people across 35 countries and has 38 manufacturing sites in 16 countries.

Knauf Group has more than 27,400 employees worldwide, with 220 factories in over 80 countries. Knauf Group remains an independent, family-owned company driven by the values of partnership, commitment, entrepreneurship and humanity, with turnover of EUR 6.5bn.

Asking how the idea to build KIEXC came about, Mr Jean-Claude Carlin, President of the Knauf Insulation Board said: "The idea of KIEXC came two years ago from my predecessor who believed that the plants are the best promotion for the customers. KIEXC was born to bring the customers and installers closer to the factories, and to share best practices and tools with them. In addition, the management team in Slovenia is quite special and entrepreneurial, and we are lucky to have such people who always want to go the extra mile and so we let them build their success."

 

 

About the Knauf Insulation Experience Centre (KIEXC)

• KIEXC is the first building in Slovenia, to be certified to the strict international and independently audited building sustainability standards of DGNB - Germany's highly demanding Green Building Rating System - and has also been awarded ACTIVE HOUSE certification for sustainable performance;
• The 832m2 centre contributes research to a pilot project known as Level(s), a European Commission initiative designed to create better building sustainability standards across EU countries;
• The centre will provide an educational base for the latest construction techniques, energy advisory consultations and training, complete with virtual reality demonstrations;
• The centre was created using digital Building Information Modelling (BIM) and features an Urbanscape Green Roof and wall, six different façade types, two different flat roof designs, as well as insulation solutions that offer outstanding fire, acoustic and thermal performance in addition to best practice solutions from project partners including Knauf Insulation, Knauf, Knauf AMF, Velux, Sika, Semmelrock, Zummtobel, TEM, Alukoenigstahl, Alkam and F. Leskovec;
• The centre is heated by the waste energy from production and is categorised as a near zero-energy building with a thermal performance that is 50% higher than that demanded by regulation.