Gypsum industry news

Canada: CertainTeed Canada’s Delta wallboard plant in Vancouver has recycled over 1Mt of gypsum. The unit achieved this breakthrough in collaboration with New West Gypsum Recycling (NWGR). CertainTeed Canada chief executive officer Julie Bonamy Racine, Delta Plant Manager Richard Sebastianelli and NWGR Vice President Richard McCamley all attended a celebration event held at the plant.

Bonamy said, “Surpassing 1Mt of recycled gypsum returned to production is an important milestone, which demonstrates Saint-Gobain and CertainTeed Canada’s commitment to sustainability and minimising our environmental footprint.” She added “Thank you to the provincial government of British Columbia and NWGR for your important partnerships and congratulations to our entire Vancouver team for your hard work to make this accomplishment a reality.”

Canada: Leading global gypsum recycling company New West Gypsum Recycling announced the death of its founder and chief executive officer Tony McCamley on 16 March 2023. It said that McCamley will be 'deeply and dearly' missed as a proud Irishman and for his sense of humour and love of his family.

The company said "Tony was an innovator and a visionary; he was passionate about his business and his family. He started New West Gypsum Recycling over 35 years ago and it has grown into a global business with a lasting environmental impact. His success is attributed to his hard work and dedication: his legacy will live on."

Norway: New West Gipsgjenvinning, a joint venture between Norsk Gjenvinning and Canada’s New West Gypsum Recycling, has won the innovation prize at Avfall Norge’s annual conference. It was among three finalists including Grønt Skifte, a company utilising CO₂ from biogas production of food waste to grow tomatoes, and Waste IQ, a digital platform that aids waste management. Avfall Norge is a trade association for the waste industry in Norway.

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.

Germany: Canada-based New West Gypsum Recycling (NWGR) has announced that it will invest in a new gypsum recycling facility in Hürth / Cologne, Germany. NWGR, together, with its local joint venture partner Schulz Baustoffe GmbH, will build a state-of-the-art plant with a gypsum recycling capacity of 90,000t/yr. It will begin operations in January 2017.

NWGR says that the plant location allows easy access to the main industrial areas of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund and the south west of the Netherlands. It adds that the new plant will 'set the new standard in recycled gypsum, unmatched particle size and paper content, combined with the highest care for safety and the environment.'

100% of the recycled gypsum produced by the plant will be used in the production of gypsum wallboard in the Rigips plant in Scholven, Germany.