IF-GIPS is building a large new gypsum dry-mix plant in the west of Ukraine and also plans to become a big player in the Ukrainian wallboard market...
Global Gypsum (GG): Please can you introduce IF-GIPS to our readers?
Vitalii Vivcharuk (VV): IF-GIPS was established as a subsidiary of its parent company IFCEM as a raw gypsum producer in 1967. Its plant is located in western Ukraine, close to the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, where it has extensive captive natural gypsum reserves.
Since 2017, the company has developed and marketed a range of gypsum-based dry building mixtures under the trademark KRUMIX. Today the range covers the entire range of finishing works for internal building projects. These are made in a 50,000t/yr facility. Around 16,000t/yr of this is gypsum powder and 34,000t/yr is dry mixes based predominantly on gypsum. In terms of market share, we are currently second in Ukraine, with around 15%.
GG: Does IF-GIPS supply to other countries?
VV: We have established partnerships in Poland, Moldova, Romania and Hungary, with exports currently accounting for 10% of all sales. However, we anticipate a significant increase in the percentage of exports when we start production at our upcoming new facility in 2024.
GG: Please tell us more...
VV: The new plant is a 300,000t/yr dry mix facility that is located close to the current plant in Ivano-Frankivsk. It will increase our output by a factor of six. It is less than 200km away from the borders with Poland, Hungary and Romania. Much of its output will be products in the KRUMIX range, although we will continue as an important supplier of gypsum plaster to the domestic and international markets.
GG: What stage has the project currently reached?
VV: The decision to establish a project of this magnitude is not spontaneous, requiring significant market research and careful planning. The market situation has undergone significant changes in the past two years due to Covid-19, the ongoing invasion in the east of Ukraine and rapidly rising prices. However, the green light was finally given in early 2023.
The project is currently in an active construction phase. The infrastructure and engineering, civil works and main buildings are complete. The next stage will be to install the equipment, with completion anticipated by the middle of 2024. IF-GIPS opted for equipment from Parget Makina, the well-known Turkish supplier of equipment to the global gypsum industry. We were impressed by Parget's balance of high-quality technological solutions, the reasonable cost and high degree of professionalism. Shortly after it is commissioned we will begin the first shipments from the new plant.
GG: Which markets will the new plant target?
VV: IF-GIPS aims to strengthen its position in the gypsum plaster market and establish itself as a leader following commissioning. Based on our calculations, production will exceed domestic demand and enable us to significantly increase exports. As production ramps up, we will expand the regions in which we have supply partnerships, so that we cover a large part of Eastern Europe. We will hold negotiations to contract the volumes of gypsum from the new plant towards the end of 2023, continuing into early 2024. Distribution will be by road and rail.
GG: Does IF-GIPS have any other plans?
VV: Alongside the ongoing completion of the new gypsum-based mixtures plant, the company is currently pursuing another ambitious project: the construction of a 30Mm2/yr gypsum wallboard plant, also in Ivano-Frankivsk. This is not a dreamland project. As with our new dry mix plant, it has been researched in great detail and will become a reality. However, due to ongoing discussions regarding a number of factors, we are still at least two years from producing our first IF-GIPS wallboard.
GG: How has the war affected IF-GIPS and construction materials producers more widely?
VV: During the full-scale invasion, the two largest plaster and gypsum wallboard plants in the east of Ukraine were destroyed. This has resulted in the loss of approximately 80% of the production capacity for plaster and wallboards of Ukraine as a whole. However, this was almost exactly matched by a decline in demand. Today, Ukraine is broadly self-sufficient in terms of gypsum products, with strategic imports coming from abroad as necessary.
It is unfortunately still too early for new projects in the east of Ukraine, but we hope that this will not be the case for too long. However, global players are proceeding cautiously with their investments and are selecting the markets with higher anticipated investment returns.
GG: What is the 5 - 10 year plan for IF-GIPS?
VV: Within the next 5 - 10 years, the company aims to strengthen its position in the gypsum dry mix sector, with no less than a 25% of the market share and number one position in the gypsum dry mixtures market. Additionally, the company seeks to uphold its reputation as a trusted gypsum supplier to other manufacturers.
Regarding wallboard, IF-GIPS aims to develop the market within Ukraine, offering customers top-quality product at affordable prices, while achieving a market share of 25 - 30%.
Finally, in the gypsum trade sector, we will need to replace the flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum that is being lost in the markets that we operate in due to the closure of coal-fired power stations. This will be replaced with long-term contracts for the supply of natural gypsum with partners in Eastern Europe.
GG: Thank you for talking to us today Vitalii. It is greatly appreciated.
VV: You are very welcome!
Vitalii Vivcharuk
Vitalii Vivcharuk is Commercial Director at IF-GIPS, a producer of gypsum-containing dry building mixtures located close to Ivano-Frankivsk in the west of Ukraine. He has worked in the gypsum sector since 2017, prior to which he was employed in various roles at IF-GIPS' owner IFCEM,
for which he has worked since 2007.
