Kingspan: Influential Irish Insulation - [Business Breakdowns, EP.128]

This is Dom Cooke and today we’re breaking down an Irish business that has become the global leader in insulation products for buildings. Founded in 1965, the business is called Kingspan and today it has a market cap of nearly 13 billion euros. The bulk of their business comes from insulating big, commercial new builds – Tesla Factories, Apple’s Headquarters, the Emirates Stadium in London – all places where you’ll find Kingspan’s products.

To break down this business, I’m joined by Nick Griffin, the Founding Partner and CIO of Munro Partners. We talk about the ESG tailwinds behind this business, how they’ve grown through acquisitions, and their interesting go-to-market motion. Please enjoy this Business Breakdown of Kingspan.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here. 

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Show Notes

(00:02:35) - (First question) - He gives us a detailed description of Kingspan

(00:03:28) - Investing in a company based on the other side of the world

(00:05:14) - Whether Kingspan is more commercial or residential driven 

(00:05:55) - Kingspan’s origins

(00:08:35) - Description of an insulated panel and how it is used

(00:12:38) - What makes their panels the best in the world

(00:15:25) - The benefits of doing both commercial and residential panels

(00:16:08) - Industry characteristics and its overall market share

(00:17:54) - The pricing mechanism and pricing power behind the product

(00:21:26) - Kingspan’s expansion into the world market 

(00:22:53) - The secret sauce behind the success of Kingspan 

(00:25:01) - Kingspan’s economy to scale

(00:27:42) - What he finds interesting about Kingspan’s financial profile 

(00:29:15) - Splitting revenue growth between organic and inorganic growth

(00:32:35) - The visibility of Kingspan’s products and their measurable efficiency      

(00:34:50) - His expectations for Kingspan’s growth over the next 10 to 15 years

(00:34:05) - The margin structure of the acquired businesses

(00:37:12) - The life expectancy of the insulation product

(00:38:35) - Risks behind insulated panels and the industry

(00:42:22) - His evaluation of business modeling for acquisitions 

(00:43:23) - Which competitors does he watch most closely   

(00:44:49) - The lessons learned from studying Kingspan for 10 years 

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