KINGSPAN, the Co. Cavan-based insulation company, has been criticised in a report into the 2017 Grenfell disaster that claimed 72 lives.
The firm's K15 product was not responsible for the fire and only a small amount was used in the building's construction, which Kingspan was not aware of until after the disaster.
Extenral cladding, which was not manufactured by Kingspan, was found to be the main reason the fire spread so rapidly.
However, the report found that the way Kingspan's K15 was tested and marketed 'created conditions that encouraged unethical practices in the supply of insulation for use on high-rise buildings'.
Responding to the report, Kingspan said it has 'long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business'.
'Persistent dishonesty'
Today's report said that Kingspan 'knowingly created a false market' for insulation intended for use in buildings more than 18m in height.
It said Kingspan's claim that the product had been successfully tested and was suitable for use in any such buildings was false as the test was for 'complete wall systems and its results apply only to the particular system tested'.
"As Kingspan knew, K15 could not honestly be sold as suitable for use in the external walls of buildings over 18 metres in height generally, but that is what it had succeeded in doing for many years," it added.
The report said that K15 was marketed based on a test carried out in 2005 but it later changed the make-up of the product and tests on the product in 2007 and 2008 'were disastrous'.
However, the report added that 'Kingspan did not withdraw the product from the market, despite its own concerns about its fire performance'.
The report claimed that Kingspan concealed from the British Board of Agrément (BBA) that the product to which a 2008 certificate referred was different from the product that had been incorporated into the system tested three years earlier.
In a re-issued BBA certificate in 2013, Kingspan persuaded the organisation to include a statement that wrongly implied that K15 was a product of limited combustibility.
Later Kingspan tests on systems incorporating K15 used modified or trial versions of the product.
"The story of the development and marketing of K15 for use on buildings of over 18 metres in height between 2006 and 2019 is one of deeply entrenched and persistent dishonesty on the part of Kingspan in pursuit of commercial gain coupled with a complete disregard for fire safety," concluded the report.
Report welcomed
Responding to the findings, Kingspan said the failings 'were in no way reflective of how we conduct ourselves as a Group, then or now'.
"Today is another extremely difficult day for the relatives and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and we extend our deepest sympathies to those impacted by the tragedy," it read.
"We welcome the publication of today's report which is crucial to a public understanding of what went wrong and why.
"It explains clearly and unambiguously that the type of insulation (whether combustible or non-combustible) was immaterial, and that the principal reason for the fire spread was the PE ACM cladding, which was not made by Kingspan.
"Kingspan has long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business.
"These were in no way reflective of how we conduct ourselves as a Group, then or now.
"While deeply regrettable, they were not found to be causative of the tragedy.
"Kingspan has already emphatically addressed these issues, including the implementation of extensive and externally-verified measures to ensure our conduct and compliance standards are world leading.
"We remain committed to playing a leading role in providing safe and sustainable building solutions, including continuing to work with government and industry partners."
