Gypsum industry news
India: Gyproc India is preparing to open a 30Mm2 gypsum wallboard plant in Gujarat by the end of August 2017. The US$62m plant has taken about two years to build, according to the Hindu newspaper. The subsidiary of France's Saint-Gobain currently operates three wallboard plants at Haryana, Maharashtra and Karnataka with a total production capacity of 55Mm2.
Knauf to invest extra US$5m in Tanzania 28 June 2017
Tanzania: Knauf plans to invest an additional US$5m in a production site in Mkuranga district. The German company has already invested US$10m into the unit, according to the Citizen newspaper. The company started operations in the country in 2014 and it employs over 150 people. It is its first unit in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Zachopoulos Georgios, the managing director for East Africa, said that the subsidiary sources most of its raw materials locally and that it mines gypsum in the south of the country. He added that the company is focusing on promoting regular gypsum boards of 9mm and 12mm and boards of 12.5mm for moisture-resistance and fire resistance for the East African region. It will also offer other products from its portfolio, including related powder, steel sections, screws and tape offerings. The company exports 8% of its production at present and it hopes to increase this to 20 – 30% in the coming years.
Saint-Gobain affected by cyberattack 28 June 2017
France: Saint-Gobain has been hit by a cyberattack. The building materials producer said that it subsequently isolated its systems in order to protect its data. It added that its production lines were continuing to operate and that it was still serving its clients. It is not known whether the company has been infected with the Petya ransonware virus. However, the company operates a gypsum wallboard plant in Ukraine, where that attack was first reported on 27 June 2017.