Unilin invests €40 million in new insulation panel factory in Poland
Wielsbeke, - Unilin, a global leader in interior and construction products, announces a €40 million investment in a new insulation production site in Leśnica, Poland. The company acquired a 12.3-hectare plot in the southwest of the country, where construction of a new factory for PIR insulation panels will begin in the course of 2025. This investment is part of Unilin’s strategic growth ambition and enables the company to serve the Central and Eastern European market with its insulation products. The new, state-of-the-art, fully automated production site with a capacity of 8 million m² is expected to be operational by the end of 2026 and will create 40 jobs.
Leśnica to become Unilin Insulation’s hub in Poland
Unilin has acquired a 12.3-hectare site in Leśnica, in the Strzelce district in southwestern Poland. The company is already active in the country in nearby Lubliniec, where it operates a sheet vinyl flooring factory under the name Lentex. At the new location, Unilin will begin preparatory groundwork over the coming months to build an advanced, fully automated production facility. The new factory, expected to be operational by the end of 2026, will create 40 direct jobs.
The new plant will manufacture PIR insulation panels for both pitched and flat roofs, floors, and walls under the Utherm range. These types of insulation products play a crucial role in the development of energy-efficient and future-proof housing. By improving the energy performance of buildings, they help reduce energy costs, lower the environmental footprint, and contribute to a more sustainable and comfortable living environment.
Geographical expansion into Eastern and Central Europe
Wim Messiaen, CEO of Unilin, explains: "Currently, our insulation activities have no presence in the Eastern European region. The new plant is a perfect complement to our existing geographical footprint. Each production site serves customers within a radius of about 500 km, further than that is not economically or ecologically justifiable. Thanks to this investment, we can now tap into the growth market of Eastern and Central Europe. We’re targeting Poland, eastern Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Driven by the Green Deal and economic growth in the region, we expect a significant increase in demand for our products there. In the coming months, we’ll be working on building a state-of-the-art production line with advanced automation. The line will even be capable of automatically dosing recycled raw materials, making it fully future-proof! The site will have a total capacity of around 8 million m². Thanks to the 12.3-hectare plot, Unilin also has room to double its production capacity in the future."
Unilin is one of the largest European manufacturers of polyurethane (PU) insulation products and the market leader in self-supporting roof elements. The company is also known for other construction materials such as structural and decorative chipboard and MDF panels, and flooring under the brands Quick-Step, Pergo, Moduleo, IVC, and Lentex. The new site will be Unilin Insulation’s ninth production site in Europe and its largest for PIR insulation. Currently, Unilin’s insulation division operates in Western Europe, with production sites in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
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Number 1 in PIR Insulation in Western Europe
Jeroen De Temmerman, President Unilin Insulation: "We’ve achieved impressive growth with Unilin Insulation. We are the number one in PIR insulation panels in Western Europe. Now, we want to extend that success to other regions. The new plant in Poland is an important next step in our growth strategy. Our success formula, focused on service and customer satisfaction, remains our guiding principle. We're also increasingly investing in sustainable innovation and circular solutions, such as our own take-back program Recover, our circular construction panel Rezillo, and our insulation panel made with circular polyol, Utherm Next.
Unilin’s insulation division originated in 1973 with self-supporting roof elements, a prefab solution for building pitched roofs. In that market, it remains the European market leader to this day. In 2009, the division expanded into producing PIR insulation panels. These panels offer excellent insulation performance while also being thin, lightweight, and easy to work with. Since its inception, the division has grown into one of the largest producers of PIR insulation panels in Europe.
