Our history
URSA, a modern company with 60 years of insulation expertise
URSA’s history dates back to 1949 when POLIGLAS was established in Spain. In 1988 it was acquired by the Uralita Group. The German firm Pfleiderer AG also entered the insulation business in 1991. The lives of these two companies ran parallel – POLIGLAS growing predominantly in Western Europe through the construction of new factories, while Pfeiderer grew the business especially in Eastern Europe – until in 2002 the Uralita Group purchased the Pfleiderer insulation division. In 2004 URSA was officially born and since then it has not stopped expanding (within Europe and beyond), launching innovative and award winning insulation products.
The origins
1949 - The beginning
POLIGLAS was established by the Masiá Mas-Bagá family specialising in the business of natural lighting and moulding of thermoplastics.
1955 - Dämmstoffe Held is established
The insulation firm Dämmstoffe Held GmbH was established in Dinslaken, Germany.
1959 - POLIGLAS start in the insulation business
POLIGLAS first entered the insulation business by producing GLASCOPOR Expanded Polystyrene. The first subsidiary company was created in Madrid in 1973 and was followed by the one in Seville in 1976.
1970 - Dämmstoffe Held builds glass mineral wool plant
12 years after it started operations, Dämmstoffe Held GmbH built a glass mineral wool factory in Wesel (Germany).
The first expansion
1974 - Poliglas builds first glass mineral wool plant
The first POLIGLAS glass mineral wool plant was built at El Plà de Santa Maria (Tarragona, Spain) which started selling its products under the brand GLASCOWOOL.
1983 - POLIGLAS, S.A. France is born
POLIGLAS, S.A. France was established with a subsidiary in Toulouse; a big step towards the Group’s international expansion.
1987 - The first XPS plant
The first POLIGLAS extruded polystyrene (XPS) plant was also built in El Plà de Santa Maria (Tarragona, Spain), and it soon started selling GLASCOFOAM XPS.
First acquisitions and international growth
1988 - Uralita Group acquires POLIGLAS
The Uralita Group, a leading Spanish manufacturer of building materials, acquired POLIGLAS and its insulation business.
1991 - Pfleiderer also enters the insulation business
The German firm Pfleiderer AG, wanting to enhance its product portfolio, entered the insulation business through the acquisition of the manufacturer Dämmstoffe Held GmbH located in Wesel (Germany).
1992 - A glass mineral wool plant in Slovenia
Pfleiderer, in line with its expansion strategy, acquired KRKA Novoterm d.o.o., a Slovenian company with a glass mineral wool plant in Novo Mesto. KRKA had a strong market share in the former Yugoslavia and it also delivered glass mineral wool to Italy and Austria.
1993 - Pfleiderer's fast growth and POLIGLAS market consolidation
This year POLIGLAS established its presence in Germany and Italy by founding local branches – POLIGLAS GmbH and POLIGLAS Srl..
Pfleiderer purchased Isoglass N.V., a Belgian firm with a glass mineral wool plant in Desselgem and presence in the Benelux, France and the UK. Pfleiderer also opened a new glass mineral wool plant in Delitzsch (Germany).
1995 - A new glass mineral wool plant in Russia
Pfleiderer continued growing, this time through the acquisition of a glass mineral wool plant in Chudovo (Russia) that had been formerly established by Mehr & Held GmbH, the engineering arm of previously mentioned Dämmstoffe Held GmbH
New products, consolidtion all over Europe
1996 - Pfleiderer increases production capacity. POLIGLAS builds its 2nd XPS plant
Due to market growth, production capacities of the Novo Mesto (Slovenia) and Desselgem (Belgium) plants were increased. At the same time, Pfleiderer technika izolacyjna Polska was established as a sales subsidiary in Poland.
POLIGLAS built its second extruded polystyrene plant in Queis (Germany).
1997 - POLIGLAS starts its stone mineral wool business
POLIGLAS continued with its European industrial expansion program through the acquisition of the Isolyth Rt. plant in Tapolca (Hungary) and the launch of the stone mineral wool branded GLASCOROCK. Pfleiderer opened a sales office in Kiev (Ukraine).
1998 - A new glass mineral wool plant and new international sales offices
POLIGLAS France Industrie S.A. was established in St. Avold (France) paving the way for the construction of a new glass mineral wool plant in France.
This same year POLIGLAS Ltd. and POLIGLAS Dämmsysteme GmbH were established in London (England) and Frankfurt (Germany), respectively.
50 years of Poliglas and growth beyond Europe
1999 - POLIGLAS acquires Fibraver while Pfleiderer adds two more glass wool factories
POLIGLAS celebrated its 50th anniversary. This very same year, it acquired Fibraver in France, together with a glass mineral wool plant in Beaucaire (France).
Pfleiderer acquired a glass mineral wool plant in Salgotarjan (Hungary) while the factory in Dabrowa Gornicza (Poland) started operations.
2000 - St. Avold facilities start operations
New POLIGLAS plant in St. Avold (France) started production of glass mineral wool.
The forging of a new company
2002 - Uralita Group purchases Pfleiderer’s insulation division
Uralita acquired Pfeiderer’s insulation division.
POLIGLAS started the development of the Adriatic project related to the construction of an XPS plant in Bondeno (Italy).
2003 - Capacity increase in Bondeno
POLIGLAS started installing a second production line in order to increase the capacity of the recently built XPS factory in Bondeno (Italy).
2004 - URSA is born with a new image
As a result of the merger of POLIGLAS and Pfleiderer, URSA was born as a new company combining the expertise of the two businesses. A totally fresh and new image for URSA was created and a new logo and corporate image were launched.
In parallel, the new brands were launched, the flagship ones being URSA GLASSWOOL and URSA XPS
100 YEARS OF URALITA. CAPACITY KEEPS INCREASING
2005 - Capacity increase in Serpukhov
URSA built a second production line in its Serpukhov plant (Russia).
2006 - New XPS plant in St. Avold
URSA built an XPS plant in the existing production site of St. Avold (France) with a capacity of 250,000 m3.
2007 - 100 years of Uralita. New XPS plant in Russia and more capacity growth
Uralita Group celebrated its 100th anniversary.
URSA’s 5th production plant for extruded polystyrene insulation was built in Serpukhov (Russia) while the capacity of the St. Avold glass mineral wool plant (France) was increased up to 34,000 tons.
New product breakthroughs
2008 - A glass mineral wool plant acquired in Turkey
URSA’s expansion beyond Europe continued. This time through the acquisition of the glass mineral wool business of Ozpor, whose plant is located in Polatli (Ankara – Turkey).
2009 - Launching of innovative and revolutionary PureOne
URSA launched the premium product PureOne - the first white, soft and high performing mineral wool in Europe. This launch falls within the corporate strategy of offering the most innovative and sustainable product lines while additionally contribute to improve indoor air quality.
URSA TERRA, the new mineral wool insulation providing for a high quality acoustic insulation, was also launched this year.
2010 - URSA GEO is simultaneously launched internationally
URSA launched URSA GEO, an innovative product in its standard range that provides for high thermal and acoustic insulation, coupled with excellent mechanical and fire-resistance characteristics.
2011 - PureOne receives several European awards
Throughout its history URSA has received many awards, but few times has one of its product been so internationally acclaimed. URSA’s star product PureOne received a number of awards all around Europe such as Product Innovation BAU 2011, Green Brand Innovation certificate, end-consumer recognitions etc.
2017 - URSA TERRA launched in the UK
URSA TERRA has the added benefits of being softer and more durable making it more pleasant to handle and install. An innovative product range that maintains the high thermal and acoustic insulation values along with excellent mechanical and fire-resistance characteristics. Here is a video explaining the benefits of URSA TERRA.
Accelerating internal & external growth
2012 - URSA Insulation receives another Environmental Product Declaration
URSA Germany receives the Environmental Product Declaration after passing the evaluation under IBU standards (Institut für Bauen und Umwelt).
2013 - URSA new award for Product of the Year 2012
The readers of the journal Dachbaumagazin choose the high performance insulation PureOne from URSA as Product of the year 2012.
2014 - URSA starts production after earthquake
URSA’s extruded polystyrene manufacturing plant in Bondeno (Italy) starts the production after going through major reconstruction work, a consequence of the serious earthquake which hit the region of Ferrara on the 20th May, 2012.
2015 - URSA launches its new corporate image
The two polar bears, URSAs logo and emblem, remain present. A symbol of protection and adaptation to the environment, which represents the values that the company wants to deliver: well-being, closeness and humanity.
Xella acquires URSA
2017 - URSA becomes part of the Xella Group
Xella International GmbH acquires URSA, which continues operating as an independent business unit. Thus, URSA completes Xella’s portfolio of mineral based building materials creating opportunities to combining products of the new brand family to innovative solutions.
URSA joins the Etex group of companies
2022 - URSA becomes part of Etex
2022 sees Etex consolidate its portfolio of sustainable business activities through the acquisition of URSA. Etex secures a new business growth platform through the deal, alongside an opportunity to continue playing a pivotal role in addressing sustainability challenges.