Gypsum industry news

Russia: Türkiye-based Parget Makina has begun construction of a plaster plant for Litox under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

In a post to LinkedIn, Parget Makina General Director Cevdet Karaibrahimoğlu said that the site of the project is in Southern Russia, where Litox is a leading producer of plaster and dry mixes.

Belgium: Etex has renewed its five-year collaboration with Cognizant for the latter’s generative AI services. Etex says that the partnership will continue to optimise applications, security and data management, with a view to reducing its costs.

Egypt: Knauf Egypt has entered into a partnership to supply Hassan Allam Construction with building materials for more than 100 upcoming projects. Arab Finance News has reported that Knauf Egypt’s delivery on the contracts will reflect its commitment to the Egypt Vision 2030 national sustainable development strategy.

Knauf Egypt recently invested US$640,000 in a collaboration with the German Society for International Cooperation to train 4000 Egyptian construction sector specialists per year.

Romania: Saint-Gobain Romania has signed a 5-year renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) with OMV PetRom. Under the PPA, OMV PetRom will provide power from wind and solar power plants to Saint-Gobain Romania, beginning in January 2026. Total energy supplied under the contract will be 800GWh. This will cover 100% of the producer’s electricity consumption.

Saudi Arabia: Canada-based Gyptech has won a contract to carry out an expansion project at a gypsum wallboard plant belonging to United Mining Industries. The project is scheduled to conclude 18 months after its commencement date. Reuters has reported the value of the contract as Euro12.3m.

North America: Saint-Gobain has signed a 100MW solar power purchase agreement (PPA), called Danish Fields, with TotalEnergies. The Danish Fields PPA will supply Saint-Gobain North America with solar energy for 15 years, commencing in 2024. Saint-Gobain says that it expects the PPA to eliminate 90,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions across its operations. This is the group’s third deal of its kind.

Saint-Gobain North America CEO Mark Rayfield said “With this agreement, Saint-Gobain North America will further reduce its CO₂ emissions, demonstrating how fast the manufacturing industry can transform when long term solutions are at hand. This renewable energy project is a new milestone on the way to meeting Saint-Gobain’s commitment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions by 33% by 2030 compared to 2017, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.”

Bosnia & Herzegovina: The economy ministry of Central Bosnia Canton says it has extended a contract by 10 years granting mining rights of a gypsum deposit to Rudnici Gipsa. The deal covers the Elezovac quarry in the Donji Vakuf municipality, according to SeeNews. The original contract had a duration of 25 years and was set to expire in 2024. Rudnici Gipsa produces raw gypsum as well as asphalt, concrete and aggregates.

UK: XPO Logistics, a leading global provider of freight transportation services, has been awarded a multi-year contract renewal by Etex. XPO distributes several hundred thousand tonnes of products for Etex each year in the UK. It uses a dedicated fleet to deliver gypsum wallboard to builders’ merchants and building sites from Etex's manufacturing plants in Bristol and Ferrybridge. It also supports distribution centres in Basildon and Grangemouth. The customised network is managed by XPO teams on-site, and draws on XPO’s wider resources for transport and storage as needed to supplement seasonal fluctuations in demand. Under the new agreement, XPO will remain a single-source provider for transport and on-site logistics management, and will collaborate with Etex to prepare for higher distribution volumes. Etex’s planned significant investment in the Bristol site will increase production and warehousing capacity to support the company’s expansion in the UK.

UK: Etex has awarded a contract for construction of its new Euro167m Bristol gypsum wallboard plant in North Somerset to McLaughlin & Harvey. The plant will include a post-consumer gypsum recycling facility and is scheduled for commissioning in 2022.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: State-owned power company RiTE Ugljevik has agreed to supply 250,000t/yr of gypsum for Beijing New Building Materials (BNBM)’s upcoming Ugljevik gypsum wallboard plant in Semberija Region. The power supplier produced 300,000t of flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum in 2022.