Gypsum industry news
Saint-Gobain appears on Climate Change A List 2021
10 December 2021Belgium: Saint-Gobain has appeared on climate charity CDP’s Climate Change A List 2021. The producer says that the listing recognises its environmental ambition and transparency. It has taken ‘significant and demonstrable action,’ including allocating Euro100m/yr until 2030 in capital expenditure and research and development funding to reduce CO2 emissions. It employs an internal carbon
price for investment decisions, which has risen by 50% to Euro75/t for capital expenditure. For research and development, it is Euro150/t.
Senior vice president human resources and corporate social responsibility Claire Pedini said “This is a recognition of the progress made and the commitment of the group with regard to the fight against climate change. Saint-Gobain is a key player in this respect and demonstrates at all levels its leadership and responsibility: maximising the positive impact for our customers thanks to our solutions, whilst minimising our own footprint as part of our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.”
Saint-Gobain to acquire GCP Applied Technologies
06 December 2021US: Saint-Gobain has agreed to buy construction chemicals producer GCP Applied Technologies. Reuters News has reported that the move continues Saint-Gobain’s industrial diversification, as it also seeks to maximise its growth opportunities from the US’s on-going infrastructure overhaul. Saint-Gobain expects to conclude the deal by 2023 and will finance the acquisition through cash on its balance sheet.
Chief executive officer Benoit Bazin said “After the successful acquisition of Chryso, GCP is the logical next step to expand Saint-Gobain's presence in admixtures and additives, which provide key solutions to de-carbonise the construction industry.” He added “This acquisition is a decisive step in establishing Saint-Gobain's leading position worldwide in construction chemicals, with total sales of more than US$4.51bn [combined], up from US$3.39bn.”
Saint-Gobian enters Kenyan market through gypsum wallboard plant acquisition and acquires majority stake in ABE Mauritius
18 November 2021Kenya/Mauritius: Saint-Gobain says that has acquired a gypsum wallboard plant in Nairobi, Kenya. The company says that it plans to build a construction chemicals line on the site of the plant. According to the Global Gypsum Directory 2021, Erdemann Gypsum and Tanzania Gypsum respectively operate 10Mm2/yr and 12Mm2/yr gypsum wallboard plants in the Kenyan capital city. Saint-Gobain has also taken over a majority stake in Chryso additives, mortars and waterproofers producer ABE Mauritius in Mauritius.
The company is seeking to expand its range of light and sustainable construction solution through the acquisitions. Its footprint in Africa extends over 12 countries across 29 facilities, nine of which it opened in the past two years.
Saint-Gobain plans US$400m investment in US expansions
11 November 2021US: Saint-Gobain plans to invest a total of US$400m in expansions to its operations including gypsum operations at four US sites. The group says that the sites are located in California and the Southeastern US. It said that the new capacities will apply the most advanced available technologies for industrial performance, safety and sustainability. This will reduce waste by 50% and CO2 emissions by 20% from current levels, according to the company.
Saint-Gobain said it hopes that the investments will strengthen its leadership in North America and accelerate its growth in the region by enriching its comprehensive range of solutions for light and sustainable construction.
Saint-Gobain increases nine-month sales in 2021
04 November 2021France: Saint-Gobain’s consolidated sales in the first nine months of 2021 were Euro32.9bn, up by 18% year-on-year from Euro27.9bn in the corresponding period of 2020. During the period, the company’s North Europe region’s sales increased by 18% to Euro11.2bn from Euro9.49bn, its Southern Europe, the Middle East and Africa sales increased by 18% to Euro10.6bn from Euro9bn, its Americas sales increased by 20% to Euro5.07bn from Euro4.22bn and its Asia-Pacific sales increased by 25% to Euro1.32bn from Euro1.06bn.
The group said that its strategic priorities are to accelerate its growth and impact and to continue profitability and performance-focused initiatives in order to maintain robust margins and strong free cash flow generation. In the full year of 2021, it is targeting record operating income and close-to-record second-half operating income.
Saint-Gobain to acquire IMPAC
22 October 2021Mexico: Saint-Gobain has agreed to acquire construction chemicals producer IMPAC. The company operates a construction chemicals plant in Monterrey, where it employs 630 people. The takeover aims to strengthen Saint-Gobain’s Latin American regional position and to accelerate its growth by growing its light and sustainable construction product range. The transaction is due to close in late 2021 or early 2022.
Brazil: Saint-Gobain plans to expand the capacity of its Mogi das Cruzes gypsum wallboard plant with the installation of a third production line. The plant will produce wallboard with its expanded capacity from early 2023. The Mogi das Cruzes plant currently has a gypsum wallboard production capacity of 22Mm2/yr.
France: Saint-Gobain has launched Grow & Impact, a new strategic plan to increase profitable growth. The plan consists of new annual financial targets for 2021-2025, including organic sales growth of 3 - 5%, an operating margin of 9 – 11%, a free cash flow conversion ratio above 50%, a return on capital employed of 12 - 15% and an annual dividend payout ratio representing 30-50% of recurring net income. The company also announced a Euro2bn share buyback programme for 2021 – 2025.
Saint-Gobain has forecast full-year energy and raw materials costs of Euro1.5bn, up by 36% from its previous estimate of Euro1.1bn. Euro1.1bn (73%) of the new estimate is forecast for the second half of 2021. The group said that it will need a positive price impact of around 6% over the full year and of 8% in the second half of 2021 in order to offset this. CEO Benoit Bazin said “The Group will build on the success of its new local organisation and its multinational culture driven by performance and by proximity to its customers, in order to benefit fully from strong growth on its underlying markets. By capitalising on innovation and the power of data to enrich our range of solutions, Grow & Impact will enable us to outperform our underlying markets and maximise our positive impact in numerous areas.” He added “Our vision is to become the worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction. In a world moving towards net-zero carbon, Saint-Gobain aims to provide a full range of solutions that address three major issues of our time: drastically reducing the 40% of CO2 emissions linked to construction, protecting natural resources and facing the challenge of rapid urbanisation in emerging countries.”
CertainTeed announces upcoming Jacksonville gypsum logistics facility
22 September 2021US: CertainTeed plans to establish a new gypsum logistics facility in Jacksonville, Florida. The Saint-Gobain subsidiary plans to integrate a terminal dock operation on the St Johns River with environmental restoration of the riverside at an additional cost of US$70m. The site previously belonged to Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation until 1978.Construction is due to begin in 2022 and reach completion before 2025. Once operational, the dock will be equipped with a bulkhead, a conveyor, an unloading ramp, truck staging areas and a small office. The site will employ an estimated 32 people.
Vice president and general managerJay Bachmann “We are deeply grateful to the City of Jacksonville for their support of our new logistics facility on the St Johns River, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Greenfield to ensure the responsible stewardship of this Superfund site.” He added “This project will return a heavily contaminated Superfund site to productive use, creating dozens of full-time jobs and strengthening our company’s ability to serve our customers.”
British Gypsum signs Building a Safer Future charter
13 September 2021UK: British Gypsum has signed the Building a Safer Future (BSF) charter as part of its wider commitment to raise building standards across the construction industry and provide transparency to its customers. The charter comprises five commitments that require registered signatories to put building safety first. The commitments include spearheading change and being the voice of building safety within the industry, being transparent in sharing key information with residents, clients, contractors and other stakeholders, and making safety a key factor when selecting construction partners.
Marketing director Stacey Temprell said “We recognise that becoming a registered signatory of the BSF charter is an important first step towards achieving the culture and behavioural change required in relation to the charter’s objectives around building safety. In confirming our support as a registered signatory, we will now be working to ensure that we embed the principles of the charter into our organisation’s activities.” Temprell added “In addition to signing the Building a Safer Future charter, we are making further improvements to ensure our product and system performance data is always up to date and accurate, so joining like-minded businesses in signing the Charter is a great way for us to demonstrate our commitment to this shift in building standards and put safety first.”