Gypsum industry news

Canada: US-based GMS has agreed to acquire Yvon Building Supply and associated companies for US$144m. The deal includes Yvon Insulation, Yvon Insulation Windsor, Laminated Glass Technologies and Right Fit Foam Insulation. The transaction is expected to close in July 2024 and is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

GMS expects to fund the purchase with cash and its established revolving credit facility. Once completed, the Yvon companies are expected to continue to operate under their existing brand names and under the leadership of current president, Tom Scott. In addition, Yvon will partner with GMS Canada’s Watson and Blair brands in the local market.

John C Turner, Jr, the president and CEO of GMS said, “We look forward to this transaction expanding our product and service offerings, including further expanding our Complementary Products category, in the fast-growing Greater Toronto Area and throughout southern Ontario.”

Japan: Chiyoda Ute plans to decrease the price of its recycled gypsum wallboard product in June 2024. It follows increased production and equipment improvements. The company launched the recycled product in 2023 and it said that it was the first product of its kind in the world to use 100% waste gypsum board collected from construction sites.

Kazakhstan: Switzerland-based EuroChem has signed an agreement with China National Chemical Engineering for the design, construction and commissioning of a chemical complex in Janatas, Jambyl Region. The third phase of the ongoing project will see the building of a site that will produce synthetic gypsum and calcium chloride as byproducts of the main processes. These byproducts will then be used used in construction materials and as reagents for the road construction, coal and hydrocarbon industries.

During Phase I, a phosphate mining complex was built and commissioned. As part of Phase II, a contract has been signed and the company has started construction of a sulphuric acid facility to be commissioned in 2026. Following the realization of Phase III, in 2027, the group will launch a chemical complex. The combined total investment to date and planned capital expenditure will exceed US$1bn and the project is included in the Integrated Kazakhstan Industrialization Roadmap.

Oleg Shiryaev, the Group President of EuroChem, said “The total annual output will exceed 1Mt/yr of mineral fertilisers and associated industrial products. The products from the new complex will be in high demand in Kazakhstan, other Central Asian countries, as well as in China, Russia and European countries.”

EuroChem is a global fertiliser company that manufactures and supplies nitrogen, phosphate and potash products. It employs 32,000 people worldwide.

Japan: Chiyoda Ute is taking part in a demonstration project intended to demonstrate the recycling of gypsum wallboard. The so-called ‘horizontal recycling scheme’ includes construction company Mori Building, interior design company Senba and wallboard recycling company Tokuyama Chiyoda Gypsum. Based on the results of the demonstration the companies hope to build a wallboard recycling supply chain.

It is estimated that the volume of wallboard waste in Japan will exceed 2Mt/yr in 2032 and 3Mt/yr in 2047. However, there are concerns that the recycling rate is low and managed final disposal sites are becoming scarce. In addition, supplies of synthetic gypsum from coal-fired power stations are expected to decrease. At present the country imports over 2Mt/yr of gypsum.