Glass wool manufacturing has resumed in Hungary after a 16-year break, as the first trial products rolled off the production line at a new thermal insulation plant built in northeastern Hungary (Szerencs) through a strategic partnership between Hungarian Masterplast Group and Poland’s Selena FM.

The facility, developed through a strategic partnership and operated under their joint venture Pimco with a 50-50% stake, will begin full-scale production in Q3 2025. The €47.5mn investment was supported by HUF5.6bn (€14mn) state grant.

Hungary’s last glass wool plant shut down in March 2009, ending decades of domestic production. Since then, the country has depended entirely on imports for this strategic insulation material, despite growing demand driven by rising energy-efficiency targets in the construction sector.

Masterplast acquired the initial development project in early 2023, with Selena joining as an equal co-owner. The factory uses cutting-edge, eco-friendly technology, including electric furnaces, recycled glass as raw material and a plant-based binder. A solar park and energy storage facility are also planned to partly cover the plant’s energy needs from renewable sources.

The new factory has an annual capacity of 19,000 tonnes of glass wool, with products intended for both the domestic and Central and Eastern European markets

"The launch of production is more than the opening of a new facility, it is the rebirth of a strategic building material in Hungary," said chairman Tibor David

The restart of production comes at a time of rising demand for insulation materials, driven by stricter EU energy-efficiency regulations and Hungary’s revised Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme (EKR), adopted in June 2025. The construction industry expects the scheme could generate HUF1.5 trillion in orders by 2027 and facilitate the energy renovation of up to 150,000 residential properties—many of which will require glass wool insulation.

Masterplast ranks as Europe’s second-largest and the world’s third-largest fiberglass mesh producer. With a direct market presence in nine foreign countries, the company operates production facilities in Serbia and Germany.

Its product portfolio also includes roofing foil, EPS and XPS and modular building elements.

To enhance agility and accelerate product development, Masterplast restructured its business model in 2024 to ensure each business unit has an independent leader with full value chain control.

The company posted €136mn in revenue for the year, down 6.2% from 2023, reflecting continued pressure from weak construction demand across its core markets.  Net losses shrank to €4.8mn from €15.6mn EBITDA returned to positive territory with €2.2mn a profit, recovering from €6.1mn loss, as management focused on cost controls and operational efficiencies.

 After the earnings report, Tibor David said 2024 had brought improvement after a difficult 2023, with positive EBITDA for most of the year and strong performance in its EU-focused fiberglass mesh segment. Capacity utilisation remained low in several other product lines.

Management expects a continued recovery in 2025 and a major breakthrough in 2026, driven by EU climate targets, rising demand for energy-efficient building materials and internal efficiency gains.

Masterplast shares gained 6% to reach HUF2,580 on Tuesday, July 1, driving the stock into positive territory for 2025.