Gypsum industry news
Eternit to re-launch marketing in Peru
03 October 2016Peru: Eternit plans to re-launch its image to better target the local construction sector. The aim of the marketing re-launch is to increase sales of gypsum wallboard and fibre cement the country, according to an interview with CEO Fegale Manzur in the Gestion newspaper. The two lines represent half of the company's sales driven by its US$77m Huachipa plant that was built in 2015.
Eternit inaugurates new wallboard plant in Peru
17 April 2015Peru: Etex's Eternit aims to double Peru's demand for wallboard construction systems, having invested some US$35m in its new, modern plant on the Huarochiri industrial estate in Lima, which was inaugurated recently.
The new plant will produce 12.2Mm2/yr of wallboard. National demand for wallboard in Peru is 10Mm2/yr, although this segment is growing at an estimated annual rate of 20%/yr. Eternit is already looking at a first expansion in 2020. The company will now focus on the residential sector, where there is huge potential for growth. Consumption of wallboard systems per capita ranges between 6m2 and 8m2 in developed countries, compared to 2.8m2 in Chile, 0.6m2 in Colombia and <0.3m2 in Peru. Eternit aims to double this figure by 2018 or 2019. Currently, excess wallboard production from Peru is exported to Ecuador and northern Chile, where there is higher wallboard demand.
Novochile plans gypsum wallboard exports to Peru
13 November 2014Peru/Chile: Chilean building materials importer and trader Novochile plans to export to Peru. The company recently opened a 16Mm2/yr capacity gypsum wallboard and timber boards plant in Chile.
New Eternit plant in Huarochiri will be operational from March 2015
02 September 2014Peru: Wallboard producer Eternit, which is owned by Etex, will inaugurate its 12,000Mm2/yr capacity wallboard plant under the Gyplac brand in Huarochiri, Peru, in March 2015. Investments in the new infrastructure have reached the US$33m. Eternit sees opportunities in the residential segment, while any excess production will be exported to Ecuador, Bolivia and Central America.
All Eternit operations will be concentrated in Huarochiri by 2019. Gyplac wallboard sales are expected to grow by 20%. Eternit company sales of more than US$210m are projected in Peru during 2014, 8% more than in 2013. Revenues are expected to double in the next five years. Other product lines could be incorporated from 2018 if operations prove to be successful. Eternit, which controls 45% of the Peruvian wallboard market, is introducing Equitone and Promat products as well.