Gypsum industry news

UK: France-based Saint-Gobain subsidiary British Gypsum has launched the Gyproc SoundBloc Infinaé 100 gypsum wallboard in the UK. The board is the group’s first to feature 100% recycled gypsum. The producer said that construction firms supply used plasterboard from jobsites as raw materials, by means of British Gypsum’s collection service. The service also covers used adhesives and fillers.

Oman: National exports of gypsum were 12Mt in 2024. Former Zawawi Minerals director and CEO Ramachandran said that year-on-year growth was 7%, with volumes up from 11.2Mt in 2023.

US: Alternative wallboard developer Xeriant says that it has appointed Mark Sternberg to its advisory board. Sternberg is currently Chief Financial Officer at bio-engineering firm Debina Diagnostics. He previously worked as US Sales Manager of Saint-Gobain Abrasives and President of Moyco Precision Abrasives, which developed nano-diamonds, among other technologies.

Sternberg holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and an MBA from Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

India: Representatives of the Indian and Omani government are in a fifth round of talks over a proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Under the proposed agreement, the parties would reduce or eliminate customs on goods traded between the Indian Ocean nations. Gypsum is among India’s ‘key imports’ from Oman.

Ukraine: Knauf Ukraine has begun building its upcoming US$150m, 30Mm²/yr Ternopil gypsum wallboard plant in Ukraine, at Borshchiv in South Ukraine. Ukrainska Pravda News has reported that the plant will also produce 320,000t/yr of dry building mixes. Knauf Ukraine already operates a gypsum mine near the site.

Knauf Ukraine’s existing 25Mm²/yr gypsum wallboard and 200,000t/yr dry mix plant in Kyiv, Central Ukraine, employs 425 people, over 200 of them resituated from Knauf’s former Soledar operations in Russian-occupied Eastern Ukraine.