IN Brief:
- Melanie Marquard joins ROCKWOOL UK & Ireland after more than 25 years in construction and building materials.
- Her remit covers specification teams for fire protection, roofing and external walls alongside distribution and merchant relationships.
- ROCKWOOL submitted reserved matters applications in July for a proposed second UK stone wool factory at Peddimore.
ROCKWOOL UK & Ireland has appointed Melanie Marquard as Commercial Director, placing the former Protan Western Europe managing director in charge of key customer and specification relationships as the manufacturer continues investing in its UK operations.
Marquard has worked in construction for more than 25 years and joins from Scandinavian roofing membrane manufacturer Protan, where she most recently served as Managing Director for Western Europe. Protan is also a ROCKWOOL customer, giving her previous experience of the stone wool manufacturer from a customer perspective.
Her new remit covers ROCKWOOL’s specification teams across fire protection, roofing and external wall applications. She will also support systems holders, distribution partners and merchants throughout the UK and Ireland.
The appointment arrives while ROCKWOOL is pursuing a substantial expansion of its UK manufacturing footprint. The company is developing proposals for a second stone wool production facility at Peddimore, north-east of Birmingham, alongside continued investment in its existing plant in South Wales.
ROCKWOOL has purchased 114 acres at the Peddimore site, which is allocated for manufacturing and already carries outline planning permission. Reserved matters applications for the proposed factory were submitted to Birmingham City Council in July 2026.
The applications cover the detailed design and appearance of the facility together with site layout, access, landscaping, drainage, highways and environmental matters. ROCKWOOL expects the council to determine the proposals during the second half of 2026.
If approved, Peddimore would become the company’s second UK stone wool manufacturing facility. ROCKWOOL says the plant could become operational in 2030 and would use its proprietary electric melting technology.
The factory remains a planning-stage development rather than a construction project under way. That distinction is important because the commercial director appointment coincides with the proposed expansion but does not itself signal that the new facility has cleared its remaining approvals.
The connection is nevertheless relevant to Marquard’s role. Additional UK production capacity would need to be matched by specification demand, distribution, customer support and relationships with the contractors and manufacturers using stone wool across building systems.
Her remit spans some of the construction sector’s more heavily scrutinised product applications. Fire protection, roofing and external wall systems involve technical specification as well as commercial supply, and products may pass through designers, system holders, merchants, distributors and specialist contractors before installation.
That makes accurate technical information part of the commercial relationship rather than a separate activity. Customers need to understand not only the physical product being supplied but how it fits within a wider construction system, which standards and documentation apply and where substitution could affect the intended performance.
Marquard said ROCKWOOL had an important role in helping customers deal with regulatory compliance, building performance and demand for more sustainable construction materials. She also pointed to the value of technical expertise as standards and regulations become more complex.
The company’s commercial teams therefore operate across both specification and supply. Architects and consultants may require support during design, while systems manufacturers and contractors need product information that remains consistent as projects move through procurement and installation.
Roofing and external wall applications are particularly dependent on those interfaces. The insulation forms one component in a larger assembly, meaning product choice has to remain compatible with surrounding materials, fixing arrangements and the performance basis of the completed system.
Fire protection creates a similar requirement for disciplined specification. A product’s individual characteristics do not automatically describe the behaviour of the whole construction detail, so manufacturers increasingly have to support customers with system information and evidence rather than relying on broad material claims.
Marquard’s background in roofing products also gives her experience of a sector where manufacturers work through several stages of the construction supply chain. Membrane and insulation products may both be specified long before site delivery, while commercial decisions can still be affected by availability, substitutions and programme changes closer to installation.
Nick Wilson, Managing Director of ROCKWOOL UK & Ireland, said her industry experience and customer perspective would support the company’s growth plans and relationships across the construction sector.
The Peddimore proposal gives those growth plans a physical dimension. New manufacturing capacity in the West Midlands would supplement the existing South Wales operation and place production closer to parts of the central UK construction market, while also creating another network of local supply and logistics requirements.
Planning approval remains the immediate constraint. Birmingham City Council is considering the reserved matters package, and ROCKWOOL’s own programme identifies 2030 as the potential operational date if the scheme proceeds.
Marquard therefore joins at a point where the business is balancing its established UK operation with the possibility of a substantial second production site. Her role will cover the commercial relationships needed in both circumstances: supporting current specification and distribution while preparing for the additional market capacity a new factory could eventually provide.
