Gypsum industry news

New Zealand: A US$34m New Zealand government procurement deal to supply wallboard for the rebuilding of Christchurch has been split between New Zealand's only wallboard manufacturer, Winstone Wallboards, and multinational manufacturer Knauf. Home affordability and a lack of competition for building supplies in the country were cited by a Productivity Commission report as key issues in making the decision.

"Having Knauf set up shop in New Zealand will see increased industry competition that will provide consumers with more choice and could potentially drive down prices," said Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce. The government expects to save around 6% on wallboard costs.

Knauf, the world's second-largest wallboard manufacturer and one of only seven firms that dominate four-fifths of global production, already has a New Zealand operation, selling wool-based insulation material. The contracts will cover wallboard and associated fasteners, adhesives and jointing compounds being used in the Earthquake Commission and Southern Response Earthquake Services Limited reconstruction programmes. The contracts were let after a competitive tender that attracted nine bids.

Australia: Construction materials company Knauf has appointed Mark Norris as the managing director of its Australian division. Prior to this, Norris spent 11 years managing Knauf's North Asia Pacific business, eventually becoming general manager for Greater China.

"Mark's significant experience in the construction industry and his authoritative knowledge on Knauf's systems and solutions, is invaluable in driving growth in Asia Pacific and establishing Knauf as a full system provider of innovative products and systems in Australia," said Jan Kreibaum, CEO Asia Pacific.

In 2011, Knauf purchased Lafarge's gypsum business in Australia. It has two manufacturing facilities, over 220 employees and a national distribution network in the country.

Turkey: The winners of the Global Gypsum Awards 2012 have been announced at the Global Gypsum Conference and Exhibition 2012, taking place on 16-17 October 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. Over 300 delegates and 50 exhibitors attended the conference.

Global Gypsum Plant of the Year was awarded to SaintGobain Rigips' Brieselang plant in Germany. Global Gypsum Personality of the Year was awarded to Jörg Bold of Bold-Technoconsult. Global Gypsum Supplier of the Year was awarded to WTW Americas. Global Gypsum Company of the Year was awarded to Knauf Gips KG. Isabel Knauf accepted the award on behalf of Knauf, while Knauf also won the Global Gypsum Product of the Year for its Safeboard X-ray resistant product. The ceremony took place at the Binbirdirek Cistern, a 1500 year old structure dating back to the Byzantine Empire.

The organisers also announced that the Global Gypsum Conference and Ceremony 2013 will take place in Toronto, Canada.

Image 1: Isabel Knauf accepting Global Gypsum Company of the Year for Knauf Gips KG at the Global Gypsum Awards 2012

Image 2: Global Gypsum Supplier of the Year was awarded to WTW Americas

Image 3: Bob Bruce, Innogyps, presenting at the Global Gypsum Conference & Exhibition 2012

China: German construction group Knauf is currently expanding its business in China as the local housing market booms. Knauf produces 65mm2/yr of plasterboard at its three existing plants in China. With a new facility in Greater Shanghai the production capacity will increase by more than 50%.

However, Knauf is facing heavy competition from two local state firms which have considerably larger production capacities. The German company intends to fight this with a long-term strategy envisaging investments in its own plants and training of drywall finishers and distributors.

Knauf, which entered the Chinese market in 1997.

Europe: Maurizio Casalini, managing director of Knauf Italy, has been appointed as the new president of Eurogypsum. His election was announced at the 29th Eurogypsum Congress, held by Eurogypsum (the European Gypsum Association), which took place at the Radisson Blu Hotel in historic Kraków, Poland on 10 – 11 May 2012.

The event, held under the title, 'Gypsum is at the core of a sustainable and resource-efficient built environment,' was attended by around 85 delegates from Europe, with some delegates also from the US. Co-hosted by Eurogypsum and Polski Gips (the Polish Gypsum Association), it was the first time that the conference had taken place in central Europe.

The Congress heard a variety of presentations from the European Commissioner Maria Spiliopoulou Kaparia, experts in gypsum extraction, architects, academics in the gypsum and insulation fields, companies concerned with recycling gypsum and other businesses.

Uzbekistan: Germany's Knauf International GmbH has opened its gypsum wallboard plant in Kagan, Uzbekistan. The project, which is run by Knauf Gips Bukhara, was built at a cost of around USD51.1m. Construction started in 2008 and was completed in June 2011. To date, the company has been operating the 20MM2/yr plant in test mode. The project is the second by Knauf in Uzbekistan.

Australia: Lafarge has announced the sale of its Australian gypsum operations to Knauf for net proceeds of Euro120m.

Lafarge's Australian Gypsum business represents two manufacturing facilities for gypsum wallboard and other compounds along with a national network of distribution and retail centres. In 2010, Lafarge's Australian operations generated EBITDA of Euro13m. The completion of this deal is expected to happen in the third quarter of 2011.

This news follows Lafarge's decision to sell its gypsum interests in Europe and South America to the Belgian Etex Group (announced on 14 July 2011 – read full story here). Under this proposed agreement, Lafarge would receive net cash proceeds of approximately Euro850m and in addition would receive a 20% interest in the new partnership. The partnership would combine the European and South American Gypsum activities of both groups.

Ukraine: Gross gypsum exports in the first five months of 2011 amounted to 27056 tons, bringing in USD2.01m. In May the country exported 6946t of gypsum, worth USD658,000. The values represent a 23% decrease in tonnage compared to the same period of 2010 and a financial decrease of 54.4%. May 2011 brought in 50.2% less than May 2010 in financial terms.

The leading exporters of gypsum in May 2011 were Knauf Gips Donbass LLC, Gipsovik OJSC, Ivano-Frankovsjiy Cement, Slate Combine OJSC and Mamalyzhskiy Gypsum Plant OJSC. The leading importer was Budfarfor Slavutsk Combine CJSC.

Uzbekistan: Germany's Knauf International GmbH (Knauf) has completed the construction of a 20MM²/yr wallboard production plant in Uzbekistan. The project, worth US$48m, was funded through a direct investment from Knauf. The contractor for the construction project was German Samo Engineering.

KnaufGipsBuhara, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Knauf International GmbH, will manage the plant. Following the full commissioning of the new production facilities, the wallboard production capacity in Uzbekistan will be doubled to 40MM²/yr, with demand closer to 60MM²/yr.