Gypsum industry news

India: UltraTech Cement has transported a shipment of 57,000t of phosphogypsum by coastal and inland waterways to its Gujarat plant at Kovaya in Amreli district. The subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group says this is the first operation of its kind in the country, according to Orissa Diary.

K C Jhanwar, the managing director of UltraTech Cement, said "The cement industry plays a pivotal role in driving the circular economy in India through the use of industrial and municipal waste in cement manufacturing. This industry-first initiative of UltraTech Cement in using inland and coastal waterways for transport of phosphogypsum will help to further strengthen the role of the cement sector in driving the circular economy in India."

The cement company sourced the phosphogypsum from the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative and Paradeep Phosphates. Legacy stock of the by-product from fertiliser plants in the country are estimated to be about 70Mt.

India: Saint-Gobain India is planning to invest around US$215m towards capacity expansion plans in 2023. The building materials producer said in an interview with the Financial Express newspaper that it is part of a wider scheme to spend up to US$970m between 2022 and 2025. It aims to increase its annual revenue to US$3.7bn by 2030. The expenditure is separate from any plans for mergers and acquisitions. The company is expanding all its businesses in the country, including gypsum wallboard, glass, construction chemicals and ceramics.

India: The state government of Karnataka has approved the allotment of 6 hectares of land to Everest Industries. Reuters News has reported that the company is considering building a Rapicon reinforced aerated concrete and gypsum wallboard sandwich panel plant at the site.

India: Saint-Gobain India plans to invest US$759m – US$1bn between 2021 and 2025 to expand its light materials capacity. The Hindu newspaper has reported that the majority of the investments will go towards capital expenditure projects, while the remainder will fund new acquisitions and accelerate the company’s digitisation. It estimated that new acquisition will total US$144 – 150m in value.

Oman: Oman exported 8.74Mt of gypsum in 2021. Data from Oman-based Zawawi Minerals shows that the country had a 44% share of the gypsum export market to Asian, the Middle East and south-east Africa. Its main destination was India, followed by Bangladesh. Thailand followed with exports of 4.91Mt for both gypsum and anhydrite (32%) and then Iran with 4.2Mt (21%). Other exporting nations included Australia, Mexico and Bhutan. Total recorded exports to the region were 19.8Mt.

India: The government has imposed an anti-dumping duty on imports of calcined gypsum from China, Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Press Trust of India newspaper has reported that the duty will remain in place for the duration of the five-year period ending on 31 December 2026. The Commerce Ministry said that the duty’s aim is to guard local suppliers against the impacts of below-cost imports in accordance with World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulations.

India: The Industries and Commerce Department of the Andhra Pradesh state government has granted Saint-Gobain India an extension to the duration a package of financial incentives will be available for the construction of its new gypsum wallboard plant at Atchutapuram, Visakhapatnam. The company now has until June 2022 to commence commercial production, according to the Hindu newspaper. The producer’s total investment in the project is US$268m. When finally commissioned, the plant will employ 450 locals. It will also manufacture float glass.

Saint-Gobain India also received permission from the department to change its name to Saint-Gobain Industries.

Oman: Gypsum exports fell by 2% year-on-year to 8.81Mt in 2020 from 9.01Mt in 2020. This has been attributed to weaker demand in key markets caused by a global economic slowdown and the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Oman Daily Observer newspaper. However, industry figures remain optimistic about the future for the sector given the country’s continued position as the world’s largest exporter of gypsum. In 2020 the country exported 2.49Mt of gypsum to Vietnam, 1.49Mt to India, 1.41Mt to Bangladesh, 0.8Mt to Indonesia, 0.78Mt to Japan, 0.49Mt to South Africa and 0.37Mt to South Korea.

India: USG Boral India hosted a virtual event for the launch of its new Sheetrock gypsum wallboard on 14 October 2020. The company said that the product is suited to a range of interior applications.

India: France-based Saint-Gobain has opened a 600-bed coronavirus hospital in a converted office building in Surat, Gujarat. The total building time for the project was just 17 days, which the company said was ‘due to the choice of materials, namely gypsum wallboard over bricks and mortar.’ The Hindu BusinessLine newspaper has reported that the company used 4830m² of gypsum wallboard to build partition walls throughout the eight-storey building, in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.