Gypsum industry news

India: Grenzebach BSH has signed a deal with Classic Gypsum of Kolhapur, Maharashtra to supply a plaster and plasterboard plant. No value for the contract has been announced. The deal was formalised at the 16^th Global Gypsum Conference that took place in Bangkok, Thailand. 

India: Engineering company Essar Projects has won a US$44.7m contract from the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative (IFFCO) to build a phosphogypsum stack at its Paradip plant in Odisha, India's largest phosphatic fertiliser complex.
The project has two phases. Phase I, which is valued at about US$28m, involves completion of approximately 60% of the total construction and must be completed in 20 months. The second phase involves construction of the remaining 40% and will have to be completed in 10 months. Essar Projects has completed three projects for IFFCO Paradip to date.

"The fact that this is our fourth major back-to-back project with IFFCO, is a reflection of the customer's confidence in our capabilities. We are pleased to say that we have already delivered some key works of the current contract that had to be completed before the onset of the monsoon," said AV Amarnath, COO, Essar Projects.

US: According to local media, NB Power has paid J D Irving more than US$12.3m in penalties and contract renegotiation fees since 2009.

"The revelation that NB Power has a contract with J D Irving to provide gypsum from the oil-burning Coleson Cove plant until 2026 for Irving's wallboard plant and pay J D Irving when they can't deliver stunned many New Brunswickers," said David Coon, New Brunswick Green Party leader. "It reminds me of the contract this government currently has with J D Irving to supply an unsustainable volume of softwood from the Crown lands for years into the future or pay up if they can't deliver."

The 2005 contract commits NB Power's Coleson Cove generating station to provide a minimum amount of synthetic gypsum to Atlantic Wallboard every year until 2026. NB Power currently produces 20,000 - 30,000t/yr of gypsum. According to NB Power, the contract states that in the event of a production shortfall, NB Power must pay for the difference between the actual gypsum supplied and the minimum amount of gypsum agreed to in the contract. NB Power has paid US$5.33m in shortfall penalties since the 2009 - 2010 fiscal year. NB Power paid Atlantic Wallboard another US$5m in 2010 - 2011 so that it could reduce the annual cap that it is required to meet, thereby reducing the penalties it has to pay in the future.

Brent Staeben, director of marketing and communications for NB Power, said that the contract was again renegotiated recently, costing another US$2m. "The contract has evolved over time to reflect the fact that the production at Coleson is changing. We have been in constant talks and negotiations over the course of this contract with the buyer to ensure that it better reflects the production at the facility, said Staeben. NB Power has budgeted another US$829,000 for a penalty payment for 2015 - 2016.

Despite the fact that Coleson Cove is producing less gypsum than anticipated, Staeben sid that the contract still makes economic sense because the gypsum needs to be disposed of one way or another. "Originally we committed because we had some sense of how much we would be producing over time. We estimated that, at that time, when we looked into the future, we would need to landfill this," said Staeben. "The cost of landfilling would be significant, in the tens-of-millions of dollars. Even with the changing nature of production there, it's still a very, very good deal for New Brunswickers," he added.

"Without the synthetic gypsum from Coleson Cove, the project would not proceed as the economics to run a gypsum plant in Saint John, relying solely on natural gypsum rock, would not be viable," said Atlantic Wallboard's franchise application to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board in 2006. The document also stated that, "Over time, however, synthetic gypsum from NB Power's generating stations will be supplemented by natural gypsum planned to be imported from out-of-province sources to produce wallboard products."

Czech Republic/Germany: Claudius Peters has been awarded a contract from a German-Czech consortium for the delivery of a gypsum calcining plant with a capacity of 12.5t/hour for installation at a Czech power plant. Commissioning is planned for the beginning of 2016.

The scope of supply comprises a HIC (Horizontal Impact Calciner) to calcine flue gas desulfurisation (FGD) gypsum which has been ordered for the first time. The HIC has especially been developed for the calcination of synthetic gypsum. The material is further conditioned in a homogeniser with a capacity of 12.5t/hour. The material will be transported in tankers to Germany for further processing. This is the sixth homogeniser supplied by Claudius Peters.

US: Continental Building Products, a manufacturer of gypsum wallboard and complementary finishing products, has announced its results for the first quarter of 2014, which ended on 31 March 2014.

Net sales increased by 4.2% to US$87.0m in the first quarter of 2014, up from US$83.5m for the same period of 2013. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$20.2m, unchanged from 2013, operating income was US$6.3m, down from US$10.0m in 2013 and adjusted net loss was US$0.6m, compared to a net income of US$9.8m in 2013. Wallboard sales volumes were flat at 438Mft² due to adverse weather conditions. Lower wallboard sales volumes in Canada offset a 2.2% increase in US sales volumes.

"We achieved strong price gains in the first quarter of 2014 amid flat volumes, which were unfavourably impacted by adverse weather conditions in many of our markets in the eastern US," said Ike Preston, Continental's CEO. "Our adjusted EBITDA was stable compared to a year ago as our improvement in sales was offset primarily by higher energy costs. As we move forward in 2014, we believe the long-term recovery in housing markets remains in place and that we are well positioned to grow our business and leverage our low cost as demand improves."

New Zealand: A US$34m New Zealand government procurement deal to supply wallboard for the rebuilding of Christchurch has been split between New Zealand's only wallboard manufacturer, Winstone Wallboards, and multinational manufacturer Knauf. Home affordability and a lack of competition for building supplies in the country were cited by a Productivity Commission report as key issues in making the decision.

"Having Knauf set up shop in New Zealand will see increased industry competition that will provide consumers with more choice and could potentially drive down prices," said Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce. The government expects to save around 6% on wallboard costs.

Knauf, the world's second-largest wallboard manufacturer and one of only seven firms that dominate four-fifths of global production, already has a New Zealand operation, selling wool-based insulation material. The contracts will cover wallboard and associated fasteners, adhesives and jointing compounds being used in the Earthquake Commission and Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited reconstruction programmes. The contracts were let after a competitive tender that attracted nine bids.

UK: Eastern Waste Disposal Ltd has won a Euro0.85m multiple awardees contract award from Essex County Council to provide services for the collection and recycling of gypsum.

According to the description, "In accordance with its duties under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Essex County Council sought services in relation to the collection and recycling of waste gypsum and tyres sourced from recycling centres for household waste in Essex and waste collection authority/waste disposal authority premises, including transfer stations, in Essex."

The contract period will be 21 months from October 2011 until June 2013 with options for the council to extend.

Vietnam/Indonesia: Lafarge Boral Gypsum Asia, soon to be wholly-owned by Boral, has awarded a new contract to Claudius Peters Projects GmbH Germany for two gypsum calcining lines with a capacity of up to 30t/h to expand its gypsum wallboard production in Asia.

In Vietnam a fully-integrated line will be installed at the site of Lafarge Boral Vietnam Gypsum Co. Ltd near Ho Chi Minh City, extending the capacity of the current wallboard production line. The second line will be installed in Indonesia and will be part of an extension programme of the Cilegon installation of PT Petrojaya Boral Plasterboard.

Both of the lines consist of a Claudius Peters Mill EM59-585 along with the auxiliary equipment and controls of a complete raw material handling, gypsum calcining and cooling system.