13th Global Gypsum Conference, Exhibition and Awards 2013
21 - 22 October 2013, Toronto, Canada
Review by conference convenor Dr Robert McCaffrey
13th Global Gypsum Conference 2013 image gallery (large gallery - may take time to load)
The 13th Global Gypsum Conference actually started with a popular short course, given by Mark Flumiani of Innogyps, entitled 'What you need to know about gypsum,' attended by 55 delegates. The course covered the basics of gypsum chemistry and plaster and board manufacture and it is intended that it will be repeated in the future.
After conference registration, delegates were invited to attend the conference 'welcome party' in the Global Gypsum exhibition area. The busy evening event was a time to greet old friends and to visit some of the 36 exhibition stands showcasing gypsum equipment, additives and services.
Conference first day
The conference first day was opened by Robert McCaffrey, conference convenor, who welcomed delegates and reminded them - since they were now in litigation-prone North America - that they should be careful not to be party to any anti-competitive discussions, either intentionally or inadvertently. The sponsors of the conference, Gyptech, Grenzebach, Johns Manville, Erisim Makina and Sicit 2000 were thanked profusely.
Robert Morrow, partner at Innogyps, gave the first presentation at the Global Gypsum Conference and wished delegates a particular welcome to Canada. He pointed out that gypsum is used for wall and ceiling coverings, in dental work, mouldings, for storage vessels, as a fertiliser and cement additive and in many other ways. However, on the other hand, gypsum is not load bearing, it is heavy, it is not good in very humid conditions and it is relatively energy-intensive to produce. Drywall and plaster product demand are not price sensitive - lower prices will not drive increased housing demand. However, dry lining penetration is driven by the cost of labour and capital: as labour costs rise, gypsum products are used more and more. Robert pointed out that in the US in particular, there has been a marked cyclicality in demand, starting with demand growth, leading to new entrants, eventual excess capacity, inevitable falling demand, painful consolidation and finally new demand growth. Robert suggested that the US market is not going to 'recover' back to its former state in the very near future, so that producers have had to figure out a way to survive. In general, they have focused on reducing costs and on supplying customers as close to their plants as possible. Robert Morrow pointed out some of the barriers to entry, such as access to gypsum, paper, energy, costs of building a factory and of freight, legislative barriers and the final hurdle of customer acceptance.
Robert McCaffrey of Global Gypsum gave the second presentation, which was an overview of global wallboard markets and companies. The US was named as the largest wallboard producer by capacity, followed by China, the UK and Japan. Canada, Mexico, much of Europe, Turkey, Russia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia were all named as '3rd Tier' producer countries, with production capacity of between 100 - 500MM2 per year, although Russia, Brazil, India, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Iran were all singled out as countries with either fast growth or high potential for plasterboard demand growth. In Europe, the UK, France, Germany and Russia were named as the largest producers by capacity, with Spain, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Ukraine in the second tier. Western Europe has plateaued in terms of wallboard demand, but Eastern Europe and Russia are still growing as their economic development level increases to Western European levels. Asia continues to show very strong potential for wallboard demand growth, with Thailand and Indonesia leading the way.
Bob Bruce of Innogyps, a gypsum laboratory and consulting company based in Hamilton near Toronto which had also helped with organisation of the conference, next spoke about disruptive innovation in the gypsum industry. 'Sustaining innovation' is commonly used to transform companies to optimise them to changing circumstances. On the other hand, disruptive innovation is the technology that destroys previous industries, such as digital cameras, email, mobile phones, mini-mills (which innovated to overtake the old capital-intensive steel mills) and LED light bulbs. A number of disruptive technologies have swept through the gypsum industry, from the use of alabaster as a load-bearing material, to the use of plaster, the invention of wallboard in the 1890s and the introduction of manufactured gypsum elements for load-bearing structures using additives to decrease creep. What will be the next disruptive technology that sweeps over the industry? Will it be insulating boards incorporating aerogel? (A sample was brought to the conference by another of the delegates). What about conductive board that allows you to plug in your light directly into the board? It's been done! Might we see conductive wallboards used as radiative warming elements in a house? In fact, Bob suggested that 3D printing of gypsum might actually be the most disruptive technology out there for the current wallboard industry. The first 3D printer capable of making entire rooms has been created in The Netherlands. It is possible that 3D printing will be able to include wiring and plumbing and the systems will be able to print solar panels as well. Bob passionately advocated the use of gypsum for 3D printing of dwellings, rather than other materials such as concrete, or resin and sand, with the suggestion of increased speed of building and dramatically decreased cost when using gypsum. Bob suggested that any innovation that offers significantly improved value to the customer will eventually prevail. South America or the Middle East are good prospects for the economic roll-out for the first examples of this disruptive innovation. Bob ended with a final question: will these kinds of systems grow the gypsum business, or will it replace the gypsum industry? Collectively, we will be the ones who decide.
Kerry Satterthwaite of Roskill information Services presented the main findings from the company's new gypsum outlook multi-client study. Kerry pointed out that US housing starts are a hard set of statistics which are reliably used as a forward indicator of gypsum demand. A precipitous drop in starts was seen from 2007 to the bottom of the market in 2009, dropping from nearly 1.5M/yr to closer to 500,000 in 2008 - 2009. They have since only slowly drifted upwards to barely 600,000 in 2013. Kerry pointed out that if the rest of the world consumed plasterboard at the same rate as the US, then total global consumption would amount to around 70Bm2 per year, 20 times as much as present. Kerry suggested that around 55% of global gypsum production in terms of tonnage is actually used by the cement industry and that the evolution of demand for cement is actually of greater importance to the gypsum industry than is generally realised. Roskill forecasts that global gypsum demand will grow by above 5% per year to at least 2018.
Alfred Brosig next stood to give an update on the technical aspects of the Chinese drywall saga. He reiterated his view that hydrogen sulphide through the activity of sulphate reducing bacteria was at the heart of the problem. The bacteria produce hydrogen sulphide and carbon disulphide as a metabolic by-product. Alfred said that imported drywall was kept on barges and in warehouses for months in elevated dewpoint temperatures, waiting for permission to enter the US.Construction workers reported putrid smells when unwrapping boards and also heavy board weights due to high moisture contents. Weeks spent on ships passing through the humid Pacific and Caribbean would allow humidity to penetrate the drywall's packaging, which would condense in cooler night-time conditions and then be taken up by hygroscopic forces leading to saturation of the boards in the absence of air and allowing the activity of the sulphate reducing bacteria. Once installed in homes the putrid smell of Chinese Drywall was gone. However, it returned the next summer when temperature and relative air humidity was high. Condensation would also take place on the backside surface of drywall, due to the air conditioning in the house making the inside surface cooler than the dew point. Alfred denied that elemental sulphur might be a problem in drywall since, he said, there are no conditions which would allow elemental sulphur to be transformed into any form of gaseous sulphur compound.
After the presentation programme of the first day of the conference, a discussion forum was held which touched on a number of critical topics for the industry, including sustainability, recycling and the impending gypsum industry 'retirement crisis.'
The Global Gypsum Conference in 2013 was salted-through with networking opportunities, not only the popular long coffee breaks in the exhibition area, but also the 'Meet the delegate' sessions where each delegate has a chance to introduce themselves to the other delegates, as well as the 'Speed dating' sessions where delegates are brought together for half an hour but with just four minutes to meet each other before having to move on. The many opportunities for networking meant that the conference was rated the best ever for making contacts on the delegate questionnaires.
Global Gypsum Awards Cruise
After the first day of the conference, delegates took to the waters of Toronto Harbour to enjoy an atmospheric cruise aboard the dining yacht Northern Spirit, while enjoying views of Toronto's spectacular skyline and music from a funky local band. During the evening, the Global Gypsum Awards 2013 were presented, based on a two-stage online nominations and voting process open to all gypsum industry participants from around the world.
The Global Gypsum supplier of the year was Gyptech, while company of the year was Saint-Gobain. Plant of the year was the El Carmen plant of Panel Rey in Mexico, while the Global Gypsum product of the year was Gyproc's Activ'Air ceiling boards. A new category, 'Outstanding contribution to the global gypsum industry' was awarded to BNBM. The Global Gypsum personality of the year was awarded to well-known Scotland-born consultant Bob Bruce of Bob Bruce & Associates, Canada.
The Global Gypsum Awards Cruise ended with a memorable and drenching rainstorm, leaving many delegates relieved that the yacht had not ventured out on to rough and stormy waters of Lake Ontario. On returning to the hotel, discussions continued late into the night at the hotel bar.
Conference second day
Ronny Velicogna of ADM started the second day with a presentation on the use of starch in gypsum. Wheat starch was originally used to improve the binding of the paper to the board. Now starch is also starting to be used for board strength optimisation. Starch protects gypsum crystals, which bond the paper to the core, from breaking when exposed to heat in the oven. The starch is distributed evenly in the slurry, but it migrates with water through the curing process and becomes concentrated at the board surfaces. Ronny mentioned the importance of having a balanced, well-functioning dryer to enable starch to migrate to the board surfaces to become effective. Natural plant-based starches are modified to enable them to migrate faster through the board. At higher water to stucco ratios, starch can migrate faster. If lower water to stucco ratios are required in the process, then more highly modified starches may be required.
Jeffrey Warren of Gyptech started his presentation with the bold statement that the gypsum industry needs better tools and went on to introduce the bench-top Gyptech Stucco Analyser. The analyser - developed after initial work by Dr Bob Bruce of Innogyps - is a laboratory instrument with a calorimeter for analysis of hydration reactions, which also acts as a database which grows as the instrument is used over time. The instrument has three approaches: it determines the percentage of hydratable material in the specimen (the material that can be used to generate strength in the board coat); the second level gives a stucco compositional phase analysis, with raw gypsum, hemihydrate, AIII, inerts and moisture quantification; while level three gives a full thermodynamic response data set 'with almost unlimited potential.' The analyser gives full detailed knowledge of the stucco samples, allowing users to see patterns, opportunities and changes and giving users the confidence to make informed decisions. The instrument can be used for board quality control, mill process control and optimisation, plant commissioning and start up, plant maintenance optimisation, analysis of additive set effects, equipment design and research and development, all leading to cost optimisation. Jeffrey admitted that the analyser is not necessarily a commercial prospect for Gyptech, but instead is part of 'what Gyptech is,' and is part of Gyptech's complete solution for the gypsum industry.
Dustin Neumann of Neumann Process Control next spoke about the possibilities for reducing energy consumption in a well-balanced wallboard dryer. Dustin firstly recommended that manufacturers benchmark their equipment against similar equipment in the industry, to gain an idea of the amount of efficiency that could be gained through engineering improvements. He suggested that there are five main routes to improving dryer efficiency: increasing board entrance temperature, preheating the dryer air, reducing the exhaust temperature, reducing infiltration and reducing the evaporation rate by increasing the level of finished board moisture. Some of these routes are more practical or cost-efficient than others. A full description of Dustin's approach to board dryer optimisation was included in the November 2013 issue of Global Gypsum Magazine.
Michael Sellers of MTorres next spoke about the importance of consistent unwinding in gypsum board production. The company started in 1975 when a machinery operator had a great idea for a splicer: his boss didn't think so, so the machinery operator left to start his own company which now operates on all continents and in 60 countries. What his ex-boss now thinks of the idea is not known. As mentioned by Michael Sellers, the essence of consistent unwinding is tension control, effected through controlling the feed rate and through measuring and controlling the actual tension value. Paper breaks, slack, wrinkles, misalignment and elongation may occur if tension is controlled incorrectly. When completing a splice, the running roll has to be stopped, the two paper rolls or have to be joined, the new roll has to be accelerated to line speed and during this process there should be no spike in tension. MTorres offers a piece of equipment that can accomplish this. A high speed board line may have more than 15,000 splices each year, any one of which could end in chaos and economic loss if not completed correctly: a reliable solution is required.
Anna Thomé of Akzo Nobel Chemicals AG next spoke on how additives can be used to increase the utility of alternative gypsum sources for use as levelling compounds. Anna pointed out that beta-gypsum and FGD gypsum are typically not suitable for self-levelling flooring applications, having high water requirements. Even alpha-gypsum and anhydrite, which can be used for flooring, require complex formulations including superplasticisers, defoamers, retarders, cellulose ethers and redispersive polymer powders to work. Now Akzo Nobel has developed a new technology, Elotex Cast, that will allow practically all types of gypsum, including beta and FGD gypsum, to be used for flooring applications. Cast - calcium sulphate technology - leads to reduced water demand, good surface stabilisation, excellent levelling properties, simplified formulation and easy handling and lower shrinkage risks.
Michael Schinabeck and co-authors from BASF Construction Polymers then spoke about some of the challenges involved in trying to use clay-contaminated stucco and some of the advantages offered by a new superplasticiser. These additives are used to improve flow behaviour, to modify rheology and to reduce water demand typically through electrostatic repulsion. Of course, reducing water demand means that less water is added to the stucco and less water is required to be evaporated. Michael pointed out that clays in stucco have a variety of deleterious effects, including possible thickening of stucco mixtures requiring addition of higher levels of water to achieve flowability. The new Melflux CR 1000 L superplasticiser is a completely new molecule structure with an anionic backbone and an electrosteric dispersing mechanism. The new additive has no negative influence on setting time and reduces water demand for even heavily clay-contaminated stuccos. In addition it has no influence on the pore structure of the solidified stucco. The new additive is about to reach the market after extensive testing and legislative control.
Markus Lackmann of Haver Filling Systems spoke about the filling of well-known valve bags versus form, fill and seal bags (FFS). The form, fill and seal bags have been used for the last twenty years or so, but mainly for non-dusty fillings where an imperfect seal would not lead to dusting. However, the sealing of FFS bags has improved to the extent that they are now accepted in fussy big box building material retailing stores where cleanliness is at a premium. Markus said that the secret to filling an FFS bag is to extract the air from the product before the bag is sealed, which can be done by vibrating the bag and the product during filling. Haver now makes machines capable of filling up to 2000 FFS bags per hour.
Aleksey Eremin of the Moscow State University completed the programme with a presentation on quantitative phase analysis of multiphase gypsum using XRD. Russian gypsum manufacturers have recently replace traditional calciners with rotary and fluidised bed kilns with lower energy consumption. Rietveld methodology can be used to quantify crystal phases through an iterative procedure to minimise the deviation between experimental and calculated diffractograms. Having the ability to quantitatively analyse the composition of multiphase gypsum samples allows Aleksey and his colleagues to try to optimise the mineralogical mix of industrial stuccos used for self-levelling floor screeds.
Conference prizes and farewells
After the conclusion of the conference programme, delegates made their way to the CN Tower, the world's tallest free-standing tower, for a farewell party with stunning views over Toronto and Lake Ontario. At the event, sponsored by Gyptech in recognition of its 20th anniversary, a number of conference prizes were given out, including the best presentations based on delegate voting. Alfred Brosig was awarded third place for his dramatic presentation on the ongoing Chinese wallboard saga. Bob Bruce of Innogyps was awarded second place for his thought-provoking speech on disruptive innovation in the gypsum industry. However, the best presentation prize was awarded to Michael Schinabeck for his eloquent summary of the effects of a new superplasticiser on clay-contaminated stuccos. Gyptech won the 'best exhibition stand' award for its impressive purpose-built construction in the exhibition hall. Celebrations of the win and of the company's 20 years of 'Proven technology worldwide' continued into the night at the company's popular hospitality suite back at the conference hotel.
Delegates commented on the conference:
- "A nice combination of work and fun;"
- "Good job!"
- "Good conference as usual;"
- "All important players come together in this one concentrated event;"
- "Great opportunity to connect with customers;"
- "We are glad to participate and look forward to next year."
Where next?
The Global Gypsum Conference has taken place around the world, in Bangkok, San Francisco, Miami, Barcelona, Prague, Cancun, Shanghai, Dubai, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Las Vegas, Istanbul and in 2013 in Toronto. The conference organisers had been asked many times to organise the event in an up-and-coming region with plenty of wallboard production and potential for more. With this in mind - and also with an eye out for cost-effective hotel accommodation, ease of access and logistics, relative ease of visa acquisition and general reputation for efficiency - the organisers were pleased to announce at the event, to popular acclaim, that the venue for the 14th Global Gypsum Conference on 29-30 September 2014 will be the Estrel Hotel in Berlin, Germany.
"Also, bis Berlin": See you in Berlin!
