Gypsum industry news

France: Saint-Gobain says that a cyber attack that hit its operations in late June 2017 is unlikely to negatively affect its first-half financial results by more than 1%. It is still investigating the impact of the incident and will report more fully in its results on 27 July 2017.

The building materials producer added that it had restored its remaining operations still 'experiencing difficulties' back to normal. It said that since early July 2017 the 'vast majority' of its businesses had been operating normally and that no personal data was disclosed to any third party. It does not expect the event to have any future commercial impact.

US: National Gypsum is upgrading its paper plant in Oxford, Alabama. The work includes replacing a boiler at the site first installed in 1950s, according to the Anniston Star newspaper. The investment is intended to reduce operational costs and increase energy efficiency. Paper produced at the plant is used in the manufacture of gypsum wallboard at the company's other plants. No value for the upgrade has been disclosed.

Switzerland: Ivo Schädler has been appointed as Sika's regional manager for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and will join Group Management. He succeeds Paul Schuler, who was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) in May. Both commence their new roles on 1 July 2017.

Schädler, aged 51 years, began his career at Sika in 1997. He held various management positions at the Swiss national subsidiary before becoming General Manager for the UK and Ireland in 2012. In this role he completed the acquisition and integration of Everbuild Building Products, a UK manufacturer of sealants and adhesives. In 2015 he was appointed Area Manager Europe South and Head EMEA Target Market Refurbishment.

Schädler is a qualified materials science engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) and also holds an MBA. He is a Swiss national and is married with two children.

India: Gyproc India is preparing to open a 30Mm² gypsum wallboard plant in Gujarat by the end of August 2017. The US$62m plant has taken about two years to build, according to the Hindu newspaper. The subsidiary of France's Saint-Gobain currently operates three wallboard plants at Haryana, Maharashtra and Karnataka with a total production capacity of 55Mm².

Tanzania: Knauf plans to invest an additional US$5m in a production site in Mkuranga district. The German company has already invested US$10m into the unit, according to the Citizen newspaper. The company started operations in the country in 2014 and it employs over 150 people. It is its first unit in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Zachopoulos Georgios, the managing director for East Africa, said that the subsidiary sources most of its raw materials locally and that it mines gypsum in the south of the country. He added that the company is focusing on promoting regular gypsum boards of 9mm and 12mm and boards of 12.5mm for moisture-resistance and fire resistance for the East African region. It will also offer other products from its portfolio, including related powder, steel sections, screws and tape offerings. The company exports 8% of its production at present and it hopes to increase this to 20 – 30% in the coming years.

France: Saint-Gobain has been hit by a cyberattack. The building materials producer said that it subsequently isolated its systems in order to protect its data. It added that its production lines were continuing to operate and that it was still serving its clients. It is not known whether the company has been infected with the Petya ransonware virus. However, the company operates a gypsum wallboard plant in Ukraine, where that attack was first reported on 27 June 2017.

US: Taishan Gypsum and its owner China National Building Material Company (CNBM) say they have settled with Lennar Homes, LLC and US Home Corporation in one of its lawsuits about alleged defective gypsum wallboard. Fellow subsidiary Beijing New Building Material (BNBM) and Taishan Gypsum have agreed to pay the companies concerned US$0.5m and US$6m respectively in instalments by 31 July 2017. In return the plaintiffs have agreed to drop all claims and allegations within three days of receipt of the payment.

South Korea: KCC has completed the third gypsum wallboard line at its Seosan plant in South Chungcheong. Following the upgrade, the plant has increased its production capacity by 40% to 24.2Mm2, according to the Maeil Business Newspaper. Commercial production on the new line is expected to start in July 2017. KCC also says that it has become the largest wallboard producer in the country.

UK: British Gypsum has completed a Euro7.4m upgrade of its Barrow-Upon-Soar gypsum mine. The investment is expected to secure supplies of gypsum to produce gypsum wallboard for 20 years at the company's production sites at East Leake in Nottinghamshire and Fauld in Staffordshire, and at British Gypsum's sister business Saint-Gobain Formula based at Newark, according to the Loughborough Echo. The upgrade will allow the mine to be expanded using conveyors, fans and other mining equipment.

US: National Gypsum has published 17 health product declarations (HPD) for a range of products that cover nearly all of its interior wall systems.

"At National Gypsum, we recognize that sustainable building design isn't just a trend but has become the preferred business practice for top architects and developers in the country," said John Mixson, vice president of sales and marketing.

The HPDs cover all product brands and 40 products. They include: Gold Bond Brand; Fire-Shield Type X; Fire-Shield Type C; XP Fire-Shield Type X; XP Fire-Shield Type C; High Strength Fire-Shield LITE; High Strength Fire-Shield LITE 30; SoundBreak XP Fire-Shield; eXP Interior Extreme; eXP Tile Backer; eXP Sheathing; eXP Shaftliner; DEXcell Brand Glass Mat Roof Board; DEXcell Brand Cement Board; and PermaBase Brand Cement Board.