Gypsum industry news

UK: Knauf UK and Ireland has announced the launch of a new gypsum wallboard recycling service in partnership with waste management company Encore Environment. The partners will trial the service at contractor Manchester Design and Build’s renovation of the Piccadilly Warehouse in Manchester.

Knauf UK and Ireland national client development manager Jon Watts said “The existing Sittingbourne recycling plant and service is fantastic. However, with this partnership we’re able to really tap into on-site recycling and ensure as much goes back into the supply chain as possible. This is critical, as we don’t want plasterboard being transported all over the country. It’s broken down locally and then gets distributed back to plasterboard manufacturers.”

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.

Europe/US: Tristan Suffys, secretary general of Eurogypsum, the European gypsum association, presented the association’s net zero roadmap at the Global Gypsum Conference 2023 in Chicago, US, on 9 November 2023. Live and online audiences heard Eurogypsum’s full life cycle-based carbon footprint analysis, according to which European gypsum wallboard currently generates CO₂ emissions of 2kg/m², 14% lower than 2008 levels. On its pathway to net zero by a deadline of 2050, Eurogypsum plans to reduce wallboard’s CO₂ emissions from raw materials by 13%, from transport by 12%, from production by 69% and from end-of-life processes by 6%.

Suffys said “Presenting our roadmap today in Chicago is a clear signal that global warming requires global action. We want to engage with other regional actors along the way to climate neutrality.”

Eurogypsum president Jörg Ertle added “We are committed to making this transition a reality. First examples show that we can move towards net-zero emission production if we have access to low-carbon energy at affordable costs and optimal raw material supply, but this will require significant investment from our sector.”

France: Saint-Gobain says that its like-for-like sales were stable year-on-year during the first nine months of 2023. In real terms its sales were Euro36.5bn during the first nine months of 2023, down by 4.9% year-on-year from the corresponding period in 2022. The group partly attributed this to comparison effects from its previous divestment of assets, including its distribution division, and negative currency exchange effects. Across its businesses, Saint-Gobain’s volumes dropped by 5.9%. Geographically, a ‘resilient’ renovation market offset a slowdown in new construction projects to raise sales in Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa by 1% year-on-year, but failed to do so in Northern Europe, where sales dropped by 5%. Sales fell by 5.5% in Latin America, as Brazil experienced the impacts of macroeconomic difficulties, but rose by 5% in North America. Across the Asia-Pacific region, organic sales growth was 5.1%.

Saint-Gobain said “In a difficult macroeconomic environment, the group continued to outperform its markets thanks to the pertinence of its strategic positioning at the heart of energy and decarbonisation challenges and to the strength of its local organisation by country, which enables it to offer comprehensive solutions to its customers.” It added “The group continues to focus on developing sustainable and innovative solutions with a positive impact, supported by strong innovation and investments for growth.”