Gypsum industry news

US: CertainTeed has invited North American building professionals enter the ninth Saint-Gobain Gypsum International Trophy Awards, which are held every two years.

"We are always excited to review projects and recognise those that show creative and exceptional uses of CertainTeed gypsum products," said Dave Engelhardt, president of CertainTeed Gypsum. "The Saint-Gobain Gypsum International Trophy is a great way to show our appreciation and respect for the top talent among our building professional partners. Balancing the complexity of material performance specifications, meeting client needs and staying on time and on budget is a challenging feat. To further contribute to a project with an outstanding, notable design is worthy of recognition."

The competition promotes gypsum-related skills in the categories of innovation, residential, mixed use, sector specific, finishing applications and gypsum board craftsmanship and design.

CertainTeed will select the top projects completed or projected to be complete between April 2012 and February 2014 and work with principals on project presentations for the international competition. A representative from each of the chosen projects will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to Berlin, Germany to compete in the finals, meet counterparts from other countries and view projects submitted from around the world. The winning projects will also receive national and worldwide publicity, including press release and social media promotion.

UK: British Gypsum, part of France's Saint-Gobain group, has been crowned Manufacturer of the Year at the 2013 Building Awards. The company picked up the accolade at the construction industry event in recognition of its focus on innovation, sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility activities in the past 12 months.

The award win follows a number of key developments for British Gypsum in 2012. The manufacturer launched ground-breaking solutions and technologies such as ACTIVair, and became the first UK plaster and drylining producer to achieve a BES 6001 'very good' for a core range of products. In late 2012, British Gypsum also helped to raise over Euro120,000 in just 100 days for construction charity CRASH and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Mike Chaldecott, managing director at British Gypsum, said, "In the past year, we've focused on making key developments that have a real positive impact for our customers, so we're really proud that this has been recognised by the built environment industry at the highest level."

UK: British Gypsum, part of the Saint-Gobain group, has been shortlisted for a Best Practice award in the Eco Innovation category from the Association of Interior Specialists (AIS). Judges recognised the lengths to which the company went to help customers prove traceability of products and, in turn, meet and exceed environmental targets. British Gypsum was the first UK gypsum-based wallboard and drylining manufacturer to achieve a BES 6001 'very good' rating for its core range of products.

Four other companies have been shortlisted in the category and the winner will be announced at a ceremony during the AIS conference at the Forest of Arden Hotel, Birmingham, on 13 November 2012.

Turkey: The winners of the Global Gypsum Awards 2012 have been announced at the Global Gypsum Conference and Exhibition 2012, taking place on 16-17 October 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. Over 300 delegates and 50 exhibitors attended the conference.

Global Gypsum Plant of the Year was awarded to SaintGobain Rigips' Brieselang plant in Germany. Global Gypsum Personality of the Year was awarded to Jörg Bold of Bold-Technoconsult. Global Gypsum Supplier of the Year was awarded to WTW Americas. Global Gypsum Company of the Year was awarded to Knauf Gips KG. Isabel Knauf accepted the award on behalf of Knauf, while Knauf also won the Global Gypsum Product of the Year for its Safeboard X-ray resistant product. The ceremony took place at the Binbirdirek Cistern, a 1500 year old structure dating back to the Byzantine Empire.

The organisers also announced that the Global Gypsum Conference and Ceremony 2013 will take place in Toronto, Canada.

Image 1: Isabel Knauf accepting Global Gypsum Company of the Year for Knauf Gips KG at the Global Gypsum Awards 2012

Image 2: Global Gypsum Supplier of the Year was awarded to WTW Americas

Image 3: Bob Bruce, Innogyps, presenting at the Global Gypsum Conference & Exhibition 2012