Gypsum industry news
Dahab Sinai orders gypsum plant from Claudius Peters
28 March 2019Egypt: Dahab Sinai for Manufacturing and Building Materials has ordered a gypsum plant from Germany’s Claudius Peters to be built in the Suez region. The new plant will be used for the production of basic plaster for wall and ceiling plaster products. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2020 with commissioning to follow in the the third quarter of the year. No value for the order has been disclosed.
Claudius Peters will supply a grinding and calcining plant with a EM47 type mill with a stucco throughput capacity of 25t/hr. A homogeniser for product optimisation is connected behind the calcining process. After the cooling process the produced basic gypsum can be adapted to the market requirements by adding setting regulators and hydrated limestone. This part of the plant is also included in the scope of supply. The finished product is bagged by means of a four spout packer RotoFill type R6/4L with a capacity of 1137bags/hr. Various silos, a truck loading and unloading plant, the complete electrical equipment and control systems as well as the raw material handling with corresponding conveying technology are also part of the delivery.
The new plant will be used to supply the local market but exports to Africa and Europe are also planned. The plant is designed in such a way that further plant equipment can be installed at a later stage. The mixing plant can be extended with the admixture of further additives. Furthermore, a reserve space for the later retrofitting of a bag applicator with loading equipment has been taken into consideration.
Wacker’s silicones division drives sales in 2018
19 March 2019Germany: Wacker’s silicones division has driven its sales growth in 2018 despite a contraction in the polysilicon market. Its group sales rose by 1% year-on-year to Euro4.98bn in 2018 from Euro4.92bn in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 8% to Euro930m from Euro1.01bn. It blamed this on issues at its Charleston plant in the US, an on-going insurance claim and higher raw material and energy costs.
“From today’s perspective, 2019 is not going to be an easy year,” said chief executive officer Rudolf Staudigl. “For our chemical divisions, we are confident that our excellent products will keep us on our growth path. On the other hand, solar-grade polysilicon overcapacities in China are slowing the earnings trend at our polysilicon business – and thus at the group – despite our leading market and quality position.” He added that a ‘particular’ challenge facing energy-intensive companies like Wacker was the increase in electricity prices in Germany.
Knauf to open training centre in Ghana
11 February 2019Ghana: Germany’s Knauf plans to open a training centre to provide knowledge and skills to construction professionals. It will be opened by Isabel Knauf, Member of the Knauf Group Management Committee, Gerd Müller, the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Christiane Laibach, chairwoman of the Management Board of Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), according to the Ghana News Agency. The opening is part of the German African Business Summit. The centre will offer up to 800 training positions per year. It is part of a wider training initiative being organised by Knauf, DEG and the BMZ in Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.
Knauf appoints Christopher Griffin as head of USG
07 February 2019US: Germany’s Knauf has appointed Christopher Griffin as the head of USG following the completion of its acquisition. Griffin, currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of Knauf Insulation North America, holds over 35 years of experience in the building materials industry, including 18 years with USG where he served in several senior roles, including chief operating officer.
"Bringing USG and Knauf together offers a compelling value proposition for both USG's and Knauf's customers. Knauf is committed to growing the strength of USG brands and its presence in North America. Our highly complementary businesses, products, and global footprint position the combined company to better meet the needs of customers. Following the closing of the merger, Knauf intends to maintain USG's existing corporate headquarters in Chicago," said Alexander Knauf, General Partner of Knauf.
Other personnel changes of note include the appointment of Joseph W Holmes as the Senior Vice President of the Gypsum Division. Stephanie Holdt, currently Vice President of Controlling at Knauf will join USG as Senior Vice President and chief financial officer.
Haver & Boecker focuses on Adams products for Powtech exhibition
04 February 2019Germany: Haver & Boecker is focusing on its Adams packaging product line for the Powtech trade fair taking place in early April 2019 in Nuremberg. The company says that the system offers the clean packaging of powdery, bulk products into watertight polyethylene (PE) packaging. The closed packaging protects products from loss and secures the quality against environmental impacts.
"Manufacturers are producing and packaging where the raw materials are located, which often means in countries with special climatic conditions. The packaged products are also exposed to extreme environmental conditions during global transport. This is precisely why the packaging has to withstand these conditions and absolutely protect the product," said Robert Brüggemann, Business Unit Head at Haver Chemicals.
Haver & Boecker’s Machinery Division is exhibiting at Powtech with a sustainability and resource conservation focus along with the motto ‘perfect Flow for our blue planet."
Germany: Gebr. Pfeiffer says it is planning to use its TRT Triplex dryer to partially calcine gypsum. Testing at the Gebr. Pfeiffer test station has yielded ‘positive’ results and further installations are being considered to explore the concept. The product uses the uniflow principle, where both material and hot gasses flow in the same direction and pass through the dryer tubes from the centre outwards.
The engineering company has received an order for a TRT 5000/8.0 Triplex dryer from Shree Cement in India. The dryer will be used to dry flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) gypsum from a captive coal-power plant for use in cement plants. In the planned dryer plant the moisture of the FGD gypsum will be reduced to a residual moisture of <2%. Artificial gypsum from the dryer will be used at other cement grinding plants in the country. The 50t/hr dryer will be installed at the end of 2018 and is expected to start commercial operation in mid-2019.
Germany: Schenck Process has signed an agreement to buy Raymond Bartlett Snow from the Arvos Group. The acquisition is expected to close on 29 June 2018. No value for the deal has been disclosed.
Raymond Bartlett Snow designs and builds size reduction, classification and thermal processing equipment. It operates locations in the US, India and Brazil, all of which will become part of the Schenck Process Group.
US: The board of directors of USG has authorised its management to commence negotiations with Germany’s Knauf regarding a potential sale of the company. USG has advised Knauf that it is prepared to agree to a customary confidentiality agreement to facilitate sharing appropriate due diligence information. The board added that it, “…remains committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders and will evaluate all options to do so.”
Knauf made a US$5.9bn bid for USG in March 2018 that was rejected. It then urged shareholders to vote against director nominees at USG’s annual general meeting. Warren Buffett, the chief executive officer Berkshire Hathaway, subsequently agreed to back the opposition to the directors. Berkshire Hathaway holds a 31% stake in USG and Knauf holds a 10.5% stake.
US: Knauf has complained about USG’s decision to block its request for the company’s current stocklist materials that would allow it to communciate with other USG shareholders. The German competitor to USG and minority shareholder said in a letter to the board of USG said, “Questioning Knauf’s ownership of USG stock and whether we have ‘proper purpose’ for requesting these materials are the tactics of an entrenched management trying to thwart our right to communicate with fellow stockholders in connection with the annual meeting.” Knauf also threatned legal action in Delware if USG failed to provide with the information it desired.
USG rejected a US$5.9bn bid by Knauf to take it over in late March 2018. Knauf subsequently sent a letter to USG’s shareholders asking them to vote against director nominations in protest against the rejection.
James Hardie completes acquisition of Fermacell
04 April 2018Germany: Australia’s James Hardie has completed its acquisition of Fermacell for Euro473m. It agreed to buy the gypsum wallboard producer from Xella International in November 2017 and then took out a loan in December 2017 to cover the purchase.
James Hardie plans to include European Building Products segment in its report of quarterly results from the first quarter of 2019. This new segment will include the on-going James Hardie European Fiber Cement business and the newly acquired Fermacell business. The current International Fiber Cement segment will be renamed Asia Pacific Fiber Cement and will include its Australia, New Zealand and Philippines businesses.