Search OUR HERITAGE A tale of stone From our first stone wool production in 1937 to the extensive range of solutions we supply today, ROCKWOOL Group products have evolved to enhance many aspects of modern life. All People New Inventions Business Development 2017 80th birthday This year, at ROCKWOOL Group we celebrate 80 years since our founders first produced stone wool in Hedehusene, Denmark, where we are still headquartered today. Continuity like this is unusual in the business world. Why have we endured so long? It’s because ever since we were founded, we’ve had one single-minded purpose: unlocking the unique strengths of stone to enrich modern living. Everything we do is organised around this ambition. 1/5 1992 Focus on energy efficiency The Kyoto protocol was the first agreement among nations to mandate country-by-country reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Kyoto emerged from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was signed by nearly all countries at the 1992 meeting popularly known as the Earth Summit. This was a key milestone in ROCKWOOL’s history, creating awareness of how insulation can contribute to significant reductions in CO2 emissions. It also initiated a debate in the EU about how to reduce energy consumption and energy dependency. This resulted in an EU paper presented in 2000, which for the first time documented that 40.3 percent of total energy consumption in the bloc comes from buildings. 1/4 1981 The ROCKWOOL Foundation The ROCKWOOL Foundation was established in 1981 by Claus Kähler and his five siblings. Each donated shares from their own holdings to ensure that the Foundation – at that time owning 25 percent of all shares – would be a major shareholder and have a major say in the future development of the ROCKWOOL Group. The Foundation is an independent and financially self-supporting organisation, which aims to generate knowledge that can help tackle problems facing society today. It achieves this through impartial scientific research into social and economic issues, and by carrying out practical interventions. The Foundation’s work is particularly focused on issues related to the sustainability of the welfare society. Research is conducted by both the ROCKWOOL Foundation’s Research Unit and specialist external researchers, while practical interventions are managed by the Foundation’s Interventions Unit. 1/6 1970 Always innovating Constantly optimising the ROCKWOOL mineral fibre technology and pursuing new ideas have always been key priorities for the Group R&D organisation. In the 1970s, this led to the development of a fibre that could replace asbestos to reinforce materials and products such as bitumen, paints, adhesives and brackets. Launched in 1974, Spinrock Fibres were a radical innovation for the 1970s, demonstrating how looking for healthier, more sustainable and environmentally friendly products has always been part of ROCKWOOL’s DNA. 1/5 1962 I/S Kähler & Co founded; expansion continues In 1962, I/S Kähler & Co was founded, with wholly or partly-owned limited companies in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany. Later that decade, expansion continued with the acquisition of a factory in Moss, Norway in 1965 and the start of operations at the greenfield factory in Vamdrup, Denmark in 1966. Three years later, in 1969, the company signed a licence agreement with FLUMROC AG of Switzerland, and acquired 26 percent of its shares. 1/4 1958 Claus Kähler, 22 years as CEO Claus Kähler began his career managing stone wool production, aerated concrete and the gravel pits in 1948. By that time, 82 people were employed in Hedehusene, with all operations run by one organisation. In the 1950s, Claus set up separate production entities and created the basis for future profitable growth: in Denmark, turnover expanded from DKK 2.5 million to DKK 20 million during the decade and technological expertise grew significantly. Claus Kähler became CEO of Henriksen & Kähler in 1958, holding the position for 22 years. 1/4 1940 Inspector Jørgensen, innovator During World War II, Inspector Jørgensen found innovative ways to get round the scarcity of raw materials. To keep production going he substituted peat briquettes for oil, used skimmed milk instead of oil for water repellence and replaced cotton with paper thread for sewing stone wool mats. 1/4 1935 Stone wool production licenced I/S Henriksen and Kähler acquired the licence to produce stone wool in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany from New Jersey, USA-based Baldwin-Hill. The production process, based at the time on steam-blown fibres, was used to make loose wool and sewn mat products. It was a further 17 years before the more efficient and versatile spun wool production process was introduced. 1/3 Organization ROCKWOOL Products & Applications Roof Insulation Floor Insulation Ceiling Insulation Internal Wall Insulation External Wall Insulation HVAC Insulation Passive Fire Protection Acoustic Insulation Industrial Insulation Marine & Offshore Insulation OEM Insulation Rockflow - Urban climate adaptation Resources & Tools Investors Downloads Case Studies Renovation Energy Efficiency E-Learning Job Opportunities Sustainability Blog Advice and Inspiration Blog Renovation Case studies Learning Why stone wool COP26 About Us Investors Newsroom Careers Our thinking Sustainability Corporate governance Business ethics History Annual Report 2020 Racing Contact Supplier information Investor Relations Find us Contact ROCKWOOL Core Solutions Career opportunities Unsolicited applications ROCKWOOL Group ROCKWOOL International A/S Hovedgaden 584 DK-2640 Hedehusene Denmark Tel: (+45) 46 56 03 00 Fax: (+45) 46 56 33 11 Contact us Social .cls-1{fill:#d20014} Legal Notice Privacy Statement Our Trademarks Cookie Declaration Declaration Of Performance ROCKWOOL Rockfon Rockpanel Grodan Lapinus Copyright © February 2017, ROCKWOOL International A/S Choose a different country or region to see content relevant to your location. 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