Rockwool International

Rockwool was founded as Korsør Stenforretning by constructor Henrik Johan Henriksen and brickyard-owner Valdemar Kähler in 1909 as a gravel mining company. In 1927, it purchased a chipping plant at Hedehusene. In 1937, a production of mineral wool (stone wool) was established at the site based on an American license acquired by Finn Henriksen during a visit to the States. By 1939, the focus of the company had fully turned toward the manufacture of insulation. In 2017, the company announced a North American expansion through establishment of a plant in Ranson, West Virginia through its subsidiary Roxul. In 2023 Rockwool was named an "International Sponsors of War" by Ukraine for selling products to the Russian Ministry of Defence for use on warships. In January 2026, the company announced that Russia had taken control of four factories on Russian territory. According to Rockwool, the value of the nationalized factories was $469 million. ==Brands==

Rockfon Rockfon is a brand of acoustic ceiling and wall solutions based on rockwool. Flumroc In 1969, Rockwool acquired a minority stake related to technology licensing in the privately held Swiss company Flumroc AG. In November 2017 Rockwool completed acquisition of all outstanding shares of Flumroc; company sales have been largely limited to Switzerland. Due to the broad recognition of the brand in Switzerland, Rockwool kept using the Flumroc brand. Roxul With the acquisition of a stone wool factory in Ontario, Canada, Roxul Inc. was established as the Canadian subsidiary. When business started in the United States, Roxul USA Inc. was established as the US subsidiary. On 1 January 2018, the North American insulation business rebranded to ROCKWOOL North America. == Management==

From 1987 to 2004, Rockwool Group's president and CEO was Tom Kähler. From 2004 to 2014, Eelco van Heel held those positions. As of 2015, Rockwool Group's president and CEO was Jens Birgersson. In February 2024, the company announced the appointment of Jes Munk Hansen as its new chief executive from 1 September 2024. ==Locations==

Rockwool International is represented in 38 countries (2016), operating 28 factories in the following countries: • Canada (Milton, Ontario • Spain (Caparroso since 2000) • Sweden (Eskilstuna - under construction) • Switzerland (Flums fully owned since 2017) • United Kingdom (Wern Tarw in Wales since 1979) • Thailand (Rayong since 2010) • United States (Byhalia,) == Intellectual property ==

In 2008, there were a number of actions by the World Intellectual Property Organisation in regard to internet domain names which have resulted in domain transfer to Rockwool, among these being "china-ocean-rockwool.com", "rockwoolfactory.com", and "rockwoolvietnam.com". In 2015, Rockwool International filed suit against Rock Wool Manufacturing Company hoping to quash potential consumer confusion in the face of the defendant having filed a trademark application for "Rock Wool"; the suit was dismissed by the court after Rock Wool's abandonment of their trademark application. == Rockwool Foundation ==

In 1981, six members of the Kähler family established the Rockwool Foundation with an endowment of 25% of each of their own stock holdings in Rockwool International. The Foundation has been referred to as a think tank by some authors. The Rockwool Foundation Research Unit was established as a fully independent unit with a focus on social science research in 1987 by the Foundation, led since 2003 by Torbin Tranæs. The Research Unit has been described as self-financed and non-partisan. The Research Unit has published on topics such as the extent of the financial black market in Denmark. In other published cases, it has been unclear whether the Research Unit or the Foundation have been the actor, as in the case of examining the British health care system with an eye toward the financial cost of emulating the Kaiser Permanente system, == Notes ==