Gypsum industry news

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.

Germany: 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.

Germany: Australia’s James Hardie expects to complete its acquisition of Fermacell in early April 2018. It agreed to buy the gypsum wallboard producer from Xella International in November 2017. Louis Gries, chief executive officer of James Hardie said that there had been no impediments in the transaction.

Germany: Wacker Chemie’s Supervisory Board has re-appointed Rudolf Staudigl as the company’s president and chief executive officer (CEO) for another three-year term from October 2018. It also extended the contract of Christian Hartel, who joined the Executive Board in 2015, until 2023.

Staudigl, aged 63 years, studied chemistry at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and obtained a PhD in chemistry in 1981. After research posts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the US and then Ludwig-Maximilians University, he joined Wacker Siltronic in 1983. He became vice president of operations at Wacker Siltronic Corporation in Portland, Oregon in the US in 1989, and president a year later. Staudigl joined Wacker Siltronic AG’s Executive Board in 1993. In 1995, he was appointed to Wacker-Chemie’s Executive Board. Since 2005, he has been an Executive Board member of Wacker Chemie AG and, in May 2008, he became president and CEO.

Hartel, aged 46 years, studied chemistry at the University of Constance. After earning his doctorate at the universities of Geneva and Frankfurt am Main, he began his career in 2000 at management consultants Bain & Company. In 2003, he moved to Corporate Development at Wacker. After various management positions at Wacker Biosolutions and Wacker Silicones, he became head of Raw Materials Procurement in 2010 and president of Wacker Silicones in 2012. In November 2015, Hartel was appointed to the Executive Board of Wacker Chemie.

Germany: Australia’s James Hardie is to buy Fermacell for Euro473m. The Australian company has entered into a definitive agreement to buy XI (DL) Holdings and its subsidiaries, including the gypsum fibreboard producer. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter 2018.

“Fermacell’s market position, go-to-market strategy and strong management team will enable us to scale and accelerate our European business, which has long been a strategic goal. Fermacell will diversify our geographic, product and end-market portfolio, complementing our strong positions in North America and Australasia, and will create significant growth opportunities and drive long-term value for customers, employees and shareholders,” said Louis Gries, chief executive officer (EO) of James Hardie.

Jack Truong, President, International Operations of James Hardie, added that Fermacell’s ‘broad’ European footprint and capabilities were expected to ‘accelerate’ his company’s fibre cement business growth in Europe. James Hardie is also ‘excited’ about the future growth opportunities of Fermacell’s core business in regions such as the UK, France, and Scandinavia.

Germany: Claudius Peters’ has launched an upgrade to its Rotary Drum Cooler (RDC) that is intended to low energy costs and includes new features. The product operates on the counter-current indirect principle re-using cooling air as preheated combustion air for the hot gas generator, with a reduction in plant energy costs. During the cooling process, the RDC enables homogenisation of materials, with reduction of unwanted calcining by-products such as soluble anhydrites and dehydrates. The cooler can handle up to 100t/hr of product.

“We are proud to have been supplying the gypsum industry with cutting-edge products for more than 20 years. Our Rotary Drum Cooler deploys state-of-the-art technology to maximise plant efficiency by reducing maintenance and energy costs,” said Claudius Peters’ managing director Reiner Fruehling.

Other features of the RDC include trunnion bearings, central axis feeding and discharge, aeroslide feeding and discharge, variable speed motor for soft start-up, improved automatic lubrication system and optional inlet housing for external cooling air.

Germany: Prof. Dr. Hans-Ulrich Hummel died on 18 August 2017 at the age of 63. Prof. Dr. Hummel had worked at Knauf since 1992 and led its research and development activities for more than 20 years. Most recently he was responsible for the Product Management, Patent Management and Quality Management departments of the Knauf Group.

A Knauf press release stated that his strong interest in new topics and his visionary ideas inspired his colleagues and carried the company forward in the technical and scientific fields. It added that he contributed decisively to the success of the Knauf Group with his future-oriented developmental work and great personal commitment and that he was a respected and appreciated leader, who was always receptive to the matters of his colleagues. Knauf said that it was 'highly grateful' to Prof. Dr. Hummel and that it would continue to honour his memory.

Prof. Dr. Hummel was Global Gypsum 'Personality of the Year' 2010.

Image source: Knauf website (adapted).

Germany: Weig-Karton has started its 'Driven by care' marketing campaign to reposition itself ahead of the 17th Global Gypsum Conference taking place in Poland in October 2017. The initiative originated as part of a process to engage with responsibility concepts for business partners, employees as well as the environment and wider society. It connects to the company's Uniplac plasterboard liner product line and its security of supply. The campaign will be represented by a visual of a globe in the form of two clasped hands.

"As a family-managed company, our thinking and actions are based on dependability, independence and a long-term view. That's why we, as a company group, stand for diligence, reliability and 'taking care of things,' said Michael Balzer, Sales Director at Weig-Karton.

The subsidiary of Weig Group produces its Uniplac line at plants in Germany and Paraguay. Both sites use their own supply of raw material with recycled waste paper.

Germany: Rigips has inaugurated its first gypsum recycling plant at Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia. The subsidiary of Saint-Gobain will recycle gypsum with New West Gypsum Recycling Germany. Waste material from buildings from the Rhine-Ruhr region and the northern part of Rhineland-Palatinate will be sent to a reprocessing site operated by New West Gypsum first before being despatched to the Rigips plant where it will be returned to the production process. Rigips intends to open more gypsum recycling plants following the start-up process of its new unit.

"With the start of the plant, Rigips assumes a pioneering role for the entire drywall construction industry. As the first manufacturer, we in North Rhine-Westphalia are now able to implement the idea 'from gypsum to gypsum'. Thus we cover the complete product service life cycle, from the raw material extraction via the production and installation to the demolition and the recycling," said Werner Hansmann, chairman of the management at Rigips.